News for hackers. Stuff that matters.

A comment on Ethiopia Plants 350M Trees in One Day to Combat Drought and Climate Change. Parent comment

Re:Ethiopia Plants 350M Trees in One Day to Combat Drought a... by dmix on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @11:38AM (#20565893)
> Because the hard part isn’t planting trees it’s making sure they survive the first five years.

Which is interesting because the article already mentions a lack of water resources:

>> as Ethiopians heeded Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s ambitious plan to roll back years of drought and scanty rains that the United Nations says has left some 3.8 million people in immediate need for assistance.

Won't these new trees demand a lot of water?

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ethiopia Plants 350M Trees in One Day to Combat Drought a... by VBprogrammer on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @11:51AM (#20566047)
It's important to remember that the water used by trees is not necessarily zero sum. Trees shade the ground reducing evaporation; they contribute to soil structure increasing the soils ability to hold water; they break hard-pan layers allowing more water to seep into the ground during rain-fail events etc.
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ethiopia Plants 350M Trees in One Day to Combat Drought a... by deevolution on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @12:00PM (#20566155)
Check this out as well: forests attract rain! So if they can manage to keep a forest healthy it should help improve the local climate rain patterns and increase rainfall.[1]

1. Https://academic.oup.com/bioscience/article/59/4/341/346941

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ethiopia Plants 350M Trees in One Day to Combat Drought a... by sitkack on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @06:03PM (#20569659)
https://www.sthelenaisland.info/the-millennium-forest/

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-11137903

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ethiopia Plants 350M Trees in One Day to Combat Drought a... by cferr on Tuesday July 30, 2019 @11:55AM (#20566094)
That's after they grow up though, right?
[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ethiopia Plants 350M Trees in One Day to Combat Drought a... by dmix on Wednesday July 31, 2019 @12:09AM (#20571658)
That’s interesting I wasn’t aware of that. I guess trees are different than agriculture.
[ Parent | on HN ]