Planting the right seed in the right soil in Asia's forests

Planting the right seed in the right soil in Asia's forests

The health and resilience of forests lie on a good foundation. We can set forests for the future on the right track by establishing quality seed sources across deforestation hotspots.

In a four-country project across Asia, the Alliance worked with national research institutions and forest departments to identify and map seed zones and potential seed sources that allow forest and landscape restoration projects to deliver effective and lasting biodiversity and climate outcomes.

Asia’s forests are no strangers to constant land use change that drives deforestation to meet global demands for food and shelter. While many countries have succeeded in curbing forest depletion rates, the region continues to experience losses of approximately 2 million hectares per year. Countries have responded by setting ambitious restoration goals of over 100 million hectares by 2030, but the tree seeds and seedlings needed to meet this target will have to come from the dwindling natural forests. The loss of seed sources slows down what is already widely regarded as a long restoration process.

Asia’s restoration targets alone demand billions of seeds. If those seeds, however, are sourced from degraded forests, they may be poorly adapted to local soils and climates and risk carrying low genetic diversity. That nearly half of the planted seedlings die within the first years of restoration reflects the persistent gap in the availability of quality and site-adapted seeds.

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