18/07/2026
🌳 China's planted forests are growing 66% faster than nearby natural forests—but there's an important reason why.
For almost 50 years, China has been building the world's largest reforestation project, known as the Great Green Wall, to slow the expansion of the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts. Today, the initiative includes an estimated 66 billion planted trees.
A new scientific study has found that these planted forests have increased their leaf area about 66% faster than nearby natural forests.
Part of this difference is expected because younger, managed forests typically grow more quickly. However, even after researchers accounted for tree age and local environmental conditions, the planted forests still showed a 4.6% greater growth rate than natural forests.
Scientists believe the main reason is that these younger forests respond more strongly to the rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO₂) in Earth's atmosphere, allowing them to expand their foliage more rapidly.
But there is a significant limitation.
The study found that this accelerated growth reaches its peak when the forests are 30 to 40 years old. After that, the growth advantage gradually declines. In contrast, natural forests grow more slowly but continue storing carbon for centuries while providing far richer biodiversity and healthier ecosystems.
The findings suggest that large-scale tree planting can play an important role in removing greenhouse gases in the short term, but it cannot replace the long-term climate and ecological benefits of protecting existing mature and ancient forests.
Source: Luo, Y., Wang, Y., Wang, H., Wang, H., & Wu, J. (2026). Enhanced CO₂ Response and Aging-Related Dynamics Drive a Greater Leaf Area Index Increase in China's Planted Forests in Comparison to Natural Forests. Geophysical Research Letters, 53(11).