Hiking, camping, and just being in nature rejuvenates in ways nothing else can. You don’t have to be outdoorsy to appreciate a lush, green forest and the approximately 28% of the world’s oxygen supply it provides. [1]
But we’re losing our forests to deforestation, not just in Canada but worldwide. From agricultural expansion to the devastation from forest fires, reforestation efforts emerge as a crucial strategy to restore and replenish our dwindling forests. Reforestation is certainly not new, but innovative AI technology may be more efficient and have a reduced environmental impact.

What is Reforestation?
Reforestation efforts replenish depleted forests and woodlands, typically due to deforestation or clearcutting. These programs serve two primary purposes:

Wood harvesting – Reforestation helps reclaim deforested land and enhances the quality of degraded wild and managed forests, like those used for timber or paper production.
Climate change mitigation – Global reforestation helps fight against pollution, particularly in mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon dioxide and restoring ecosystems. The more forest canopy cover we have, the better for Earth’s reflectivity and evapotranspiration — the process of transferring moisture to the atmosphere.
Innovation in Reforestation Technology – AI and Drones
For years, reforestation relied on slow, manual methods of re-seeding. Recently, re-seeding efforts have become more efficient with aerial drone seeding. One human supervisor can control a whole swarm of drones. A single drone can disperse 180 seed capsules, 100 times faster than a human. [2] Modern drones can seed up to 60 hectares per day and carry 700 kg. [3] The experts think the new technology will make accessing mountainous terrain and other hard-to-reach places much easier. A recent study also concluded that when using drones, the greenhouse gas emissions per parcel can be up to 84% lower than when using trucks. [4]

While it does seem like aerial seeding is the future, it isn’t perfect. In 2021, researchers from more than a dozen government agencies concluded that the new technology doesn’t improve the bottom-line results that much since less than 20% of seeds take root and become trees.
Drone seeding companies emphasize the number of seeds disbursed rather than the number of actual trees grown. [5] Plus, the lack of precise seed dispersion may mean trees sprout too closely together. Manual tree planting may be time- and labour-intensive, as saplings must be carefully placed into the soil. Still, it does ensure optimum spacing.
Plus, according to Matthew Aghai, vice president of bio-research and development at Mast Reforestation, not all modern drones are up to the task. “Reforestation needs better drones that are readily available since conventional drones don’t allow for a great degree of control and precision.” [6]

Fortunately, there’s a wave of innovation in the field. Recently, researchers from the Morphing Matter Lab at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania came up with an “E-seed” carrier that, when dropped from a drone, drills into the soil when it rains. The smartest part is that it requires no energy source. [7] According to research, this “E-seed” carrier has an “80% drilling success rate on flat land”, protecting the seed from natural elements and animals. [6]
In 2024, another innovative technology aims to make re-seeding even smarter — AI. Companies like AirSeed use AI-powered drones to drop seeds in precise locations, especially in remote and difficult-to-access sites where volunteers are unavailable. These drones can plant seeds 25 times faster than manual planting methods, dropping up to 40,000 seed pods daily in inaccessible areas. [8]
AI has much potential in terms of reforestation. Recently, IBM has partnered with NASA to measure biomass in Kenya. The effort is not only fruitful but also crucial for future endeavours since this AI model is open-source.
Still, we have a long way to go.
“Machine-learning approaches give us unparalleled ability to predict what trees will thrive where. However, these algorithms usually don’t explain the mechanisms behind their predictions. It is not always easy to understand why those predictions look like [they do].” says ecologist Tom Crowther of ETH Zürich in Switzerland. [9]
“Basically, we look at two different pictures — the before and after — so two different time frames, and we can overlap and compare the data. We can [observe] the data in terms of where we see trees or forestry being added, or forestry being removed, over two different points of time. We can really quantify the kind of the sequestration potential of this above-ground biomass.” says Juan Bernabe-Moreno, the director of IBM Research Europe in Ireland and the U.K. [10]
Does Planting More Trees Impact Climate Change?
For many, planting trees sounds like an easy way to “fix” climate change. Trees are a symbol, something that’s easy to understand. Politically, the idea of re-seeding rarely meets opposition since no one really is “anti-tree.” But while reforestation (and afforestation — planting forests where there were none) is essential, it’s not always the way to go, especially when done incorrectly. For many governments, reforestation means “planting rows of trees” and calling it a day. But re-seeding is not a numbers game.

On its own, re-seeding is not enough. Still, combined with other strategies, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it can become a powerful weapon against climate change.
Successful reforestation initiatives require a nuanced understanding of local conditions, including soil composition, climate patterns, and indigenous species. This calls for collaboration between scientists, policymakers, and people in local communities to develop plans that prioritize biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience.
Moreover, we must also consider allowing nature to regenerate forests through natural processes, particularly in areas where human intervention may do more harm than good. To achieve results, we must recognize the uniqueness of each forest ecosystem and base our approach on these differences.
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