Japan has begun replacing nearly two million acres of forests to help reduce seasonal allergies.

Planting trees like large forests can be unhealthy! Seems counterintuitive! Wrong trees?

"After World War II, Japan’s government encouraged widespread planting of fast-growing sugi cedar and hinoki cypress trees to supply the country with timber. Unfortunately, the pollen from those trees has since contributed to a national epidemic of hay fever afflicting over 40 percent of the population.

The Japanese government is now accelerating the removal of those forests and replacing them with a variety of local trees, including sugi varieties selectively bred to produce less pollen. The long-term goal is to halve cedar pollen emissions within three decades."

"... In 2023, the Japanese government announced a solution: Fell 750,000 hectares of sugi and hinoki trees in a bid to cut the problem off at the root.

After decades of work, researchers have developed more than 30 strains of low-pollen and no-pollen sugi trees, which will replace some of the trees cut down. ...

The trees were first distributed widely across Japan during the Meiji era, a period of rapid industrialization that ran from 1868 to 1912.

But it was the post-World War II period that accelerated the conversion of natural forests into planted forests dominated by sugi and hinoki. ... explaining that several intersecting shifts in the second half of the 20th century pushed Japan to favor sugi and hinoki trees.

Between 1950 and 1985, Japan’s planted forests grew to account for some 10 million hectares (24.7 million acres) — more than a quarter of the country’s total land area — with much of it converted from natural forests. Deciduous species formerly used for firewood like kunugi (Quercus acutissima) and konara (Quercus serrata) fell out of favor as fossil fuels became widely available. ...

Meanwhile, the construction industry drove demand for timber from sugi and hinoki trees. By the war’s end, aggressive bombing campaigns by the U.S. had left the country in need of some 4.2 million homes, according to a 2021 case study. Japan rebuilt at a staggering pace, spending as much as 40% of the national budget on construction projects. By 2020, the construction industry had built more than 76 million apartments and houses, the study found, with detached single family homes made of wood accounting for the largest share of new housing units. ..."

Doomslayer: Progress Roundup - by Malcolm Cochran

As hay fever sufferers grow in Japan, the country is looking to plant no-pollen trees

A cloud of tree pollen emanates from a sugi tree

Using airborne sensors for Gamma rays to predict tree die-offs in Australia

Amazing stuff! Good news!

"... In a new study, they present a surprising new tool: gamma rays. Beneath the surface of the parched forests lies thick, granite-rich bedrock, which gradually breaks down and leaves potassium-40-rich minerals in the surrounding soils. Potassium-40 produces gamma rays as it decays—and over millions of years of weathering, the researchers reasoned that the gamma-ray signal should be stronger where soils were shallow and full of potassium-40. Shallow soils in turn mean that tree roots have less room to stretch out for water during drought.

Gamma-ray measurements of three forested areas spanning 400 to 900 square kilometers overlapped neatly with the [conventional] electrical measurements.

In fact, gamma rays were a better predictor of tree mortality than the go-to explanations of the slope of the land or the proximity of trees to streams. The technique could be applied throughout the globe, since one-third of Earth’s ice-free land boasts similar kinds of bedrock and weathered soils. ..."

"... The method revealed that all die-off spots had soils 12 meters deep or less, which made it harder for tree roots to stretch out and access water. But it was incredibly labor intensive, requiring the team to lay electrodes across the forest floor. ...

Still, some applications have already begun: Mining companies operating in the same Western Australian forests have been flying gamma ray sensors to understand the surface geology, but are now considering how much soil should be restored after their operations cease ..."

"... Using airborne sensors, the research team measured gamma rays produced by the natural decay of potassium-40, a naturally occurring radioactive isotope found in rocks and soils. In the highly weathered landscapes of south-west Western Australia, potassium has largely been leached from the soil over millions of years, meaning stronger potassium signals often indicate that bedrock is closer to the surface. ..."

From the abstract:

"Extreme drought and heat are driving forest die-off globally, yet regional-scale mapping of subsurface water storage capacity, governing forest vulnerability, remains a major challenge.

Here, we demonstrate that airborne gamma-ray spectrometry (GRS) of potassium (40K) decay provides a powerful proxy for subsurface constraints on water availability.

In southwestern Australia, we found that spatial patterns of forest die-off during an extreme 2023–2024 drought-heat event were strongly predicted by surficial 40K concentrations.

While GRS measures the upper ∼30 cm of soil, 

plot-scale electrical resistivity tomography suggests that elevated 40K signals shallow granite or gneiss bedrock, to depths reaching several tens of meters due to leaching of mobile elements, remnant bedrock minerals, erosional thinning of regolith and biological nutrient recycling from K-rich saprolite.

Airborne GRS can map forest vulnerability across highly leached landscapes, which cover one-third of Earth's ice-free land surface. This enables targeted adaptive management of forests for future drought-heat intensification."

ScienceAdviser

To predict tree death, scientists tapped gamma rays to peer underground | Science | AAAS

Scientists use natural radiation to predict which forests are most vulnerable to drought (original news release) "What do bananas and drought-stressed forests have in common? According to new research led by the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) in collaboration with Murdoch University, both contain potassium and a tiny amount of naturally occurring radiation that can reveal important clues about the world around us."

Gamma Rays Signal the Vulnerability of Forest to Extreme Drought (open access)

Fig. 1 The forests of southwestern Australia occur on highly leached soils and experienced die-off during a record-breaking drought and heat event in 2023–2024.(a), (b)Study region in southwestern Australia; ...

(c) historical (from 1923) and recent 18-month cumulative rainfall ;

(d) 30-day running mean temperatures; and a 

 (e) global map of strongly leached soils, similar to those in this study, with the potential for gamma rays to signal drought vulnerability.

Trump Administration Moves to Open nearly 45 Million acres of National-Forest Acres to Logging and road construction to prevent wildfires

Good news! Bravo President Trump! The federal government owns way too much land anyway! This is not about "pristine" or "untouched" "national forests" as some media outlets want us to believe.

It appears most news media spread disinformation about this latest move by President Trump! According to US Department of Agriculture this rule change serves primarily to improve forest management and to prevent wildfires! This seems to make a lot of sense!

Yes, maybe a large number of wildfires are human caused (incl. arsonists), but better forest management can reduce the damage caused by wildfires by removing the fuel.

"The Trump administration is proposing to rescind the Roadless Rule, a 25-year-old policy that bars development like road construction and logging on nearly 45 million acres of national forest land, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Tuesday. ...

In a letter published last fall, more than 30 leading forest science researchers from across the country refuted the administration’s claims. The researchers found over the last three decades across all Forest Service lands, the density of wildfire ignitions was lowest in wilderness and roadless areas. Their analyses also showed that the highest number of wildfire ignitions came from land in close proximity to roads. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, nearly 85% of wildfires are human-caused.  .."

"Today [8/18/2026], Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins announced the U.S. Forest Service has filed a proposed rule to rescind in its entirety the national 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule, a one-size-fits-all restriction that has frustrated land managers and served as a barrier to wildfire risk reduction work across large swaths of America’s national forests. ...

For 25 years, the 2001 Roadless Rule restricted road construction and limited the Forest Service’s ability to carry out critical active management work within inventoried roadless areas. Today, that includes more than 44 million acres of the 193-million-acre National Forest System. The rescission is intended to prioritize local agency decision-making over regulatory rules that are the same across the country, regardless of specific land management issues and needs. ...

“Active forest management is not an option. It’s essential,” said Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz. “More than 40% of inventoried roadless areas, primarily in the West, have high or very high wildfire hazard potential. And only 5% of those areas have received hazardous fuels reduction treatments since 2014. At the same time, more than a quarter of these lands—11.3 million acres—are already near existing roads. Acting now, thoughtfully and decisively, is the best way to restore the balance, reduce wildfire risk, and secure the long-term health of our forests and neighboring communities.” ..."

Trump Administration Moves to Open Millions of National-Forest Acres to Logging - WSJ (behind paywall) "Forest Service wants to repeal a law that prevented development in parts of national forests"

Trump administration moves to repeal Roadless Rule "Nearly 45 million acres of national forest land could be opened to logging and development."

USDA acts to remove roadless rule restrictions that exacerbate rising wildfire risk (original Trump administration news release)

French Government Admits: Nine in Ten ‘Wildfires’ Started by Human Hands

Arsonists not the climate change hoax!

"On Tuesday [7/28/2026], French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez said that 184 people have been arrested in connection with wildfires since the beginning of the summer. Those arrested are a combination of arsonists, criminals, and careless individuals, he said. ..."

Nine in Ten 'Wildfires' Started by Human Hands, French Gov't Admits "The French government has revealed that an estimated ninety per cent of so-called wildfires are the result of human activity, undermining the persistent media narrative that climate change is driving spontaneous fires ravaging the countryside."

Tree tops sparkle with electricity during thunderstorms

Amazing stuff!

Unfortunately, the source of this article below requires one to login to see the full article! Too bad!

Tree tops sparkle with electricity during thunderstorms "Storm-driven charges ignite tiny flashes across leaves and needles, a new study reports"

Chart of the day

COP30 starts tomorrow! Let's see how much hot air they produce again!

There are also serious efforts going on to reforest the Amazon!

Source

India's Forest Cover Surges, Rises to 9th on Global Ranking with Palki Sharma

Good news! Remember Global warming/climate change is a hoax!

India is not exactly a forest rich country!

Ecuador Completes $1.5 Billion Debt Swap to Save Amazon Forests

Good news!

European trees continue to adapt through millions of years of climate change

Good news! Nature is much more resilient to climate change than what we are supposed to believe and despite all that propaganda and demagoguery!

Keep in mind: Global Warming is a hoax and Climate Change is a religion! It is being used as a pretext by Big Government and the elite to interfere with our lives. It is among the greatest scams and scandals of the last 30 years!

"... The trees, the researchers found, were able to do this despite sharp declines in population range and numbers, especially during ice ages. ..."

From the abstract:

"The effect of past environmental changes on the demography and genetic diversity of natural populations remains a contentious issue and has rarely been investigated across multiple, phylogenetically distant species. Here, we perform comparative population genomic analyses and demographic inferences for seven widely distributed and ecologically contrasting European forest tree species based on concerted sampling of 164 populations across their natural ranges. For all seven species, the effective population size, Ne, increased or remained stable over many glacial cycles and up to 15 million years in the most extreme cases. Surprisingly, the drastic environmental changes associated with the Pleistocene glacial cycles have had little impact on the level of genetic diversity of dominant forest tree species, despite major shifts in their geographic ranges. Based on their trajectories of Ne over time, the seven tree species can be divided into three major groups, highlighting the importance of life history and range size in determining synchronous variation in genetic diversity over time. Altogether, our results indicate that forest trees have been able to retain their evolutionary potential over very long periods of time despite strong environmental changes."

Trees continue to adapt through millions of years of climate change "In some positive news, a big and broad study has found that 7 of Europe’s most common forest trees have adapted to major climatic shifts and protected their genetic diversity."

Adaptability of trees persists after millions of years of climate change (original news release) "Seven of the most common forest trees in Europe have been shown to be able to shelter their genetic diversity from major shifts in environmental conditions. This is despite their ranges having shrunk and the number of trees having fallen sharply during ice age cycles. ..."

Resilience of genetic diversity in forest trees over the Quaternary (open access)

Fig. 1: Admixture, isolation by distance, genetic diversity and divergence patterns of the seven studied European tree species.

Ethiopia aims to plant 50 billion trees by 2026 or reforestation up to almost 25% of the country up from about 17%

Good news! One may have to discount this climate change nonsense!

Regenwälder gibt es nur in den Tropen? Nein, auch in Europa und der Schweiz

Kuriositäten aus Europa und der Schweiz? Der Artikel erschien unter der Rubrik Wissenschaft. Neue Ansichten zum Thema Wald? 😊

"Regenwälder vermutet man meist in exotischen Ländern wie Brasilien oder Thailand. Doch es gibt auch eine kühle Variante davon. Die sogenannten temperierten Regenwälder. Sie wachsen unter anderem an der Westküste Kanadas oder Chiles. Im Jahr 2011 propagierte eine Studie eines internationalen Teams von Forschenden, dass es Regenwälder auch in Europa gebe – unter anderem in der Schweiz."

Vom Napfgebiet bis ins Appenzellerland: der Regenwald der Schweiz Europa entdeckt gerade seine Regenwälder – temperierte und feuchte Wälder mit vielen Flechten, Moosen und Farnen.

Mächtige und alte Fichten, von deren Ästen meterlange Bartflechten hängen: Bödmerenwald auf dem Pragelpass im Muotatal in den Schweizer Alpen.

Giant redwoods: World’s largest trees 'thriving in UK' en masse

Good news! Amazing stuff! Even uprooted trees are capable of adaptation! 😊

Shall we call the UK Giant sequoias country now? 😊

"The trees, which were first brought to the UK about 160 years ago, are growing at a similar rate to those found in their native range in California.

The scientists believe the UK trees are also outnumbering the ones in the mountains of Sierra Nevada.

However, they aren't yet as tall. In California the biggest reach 90m high, but in the UK the tallest is [55m]. ...

Giant redwoods can live for more than 2,000 years, so there's still plenty of time for the UK's trees to catch up.

It's estimated there are half a million redwoods in the UK - this includes the giant redwoods studied (Sequoiadendron giganteum - also commonly called giant sequoias) as well as coastal redwoods and dawn redwoods, both of which were introduced at later dates. But the scientists in the study say they think most of the UK trees are giant redwoods.

By comparison there are [only] about 80,000 mature giant redwoods in their native range in the forests of California. ...

Giant redwoods were first brought to the UK by the Victorians. They were the ultimate botanical status symbol, typically planted in the grand estates of the wealthy. ..."

From the abstract:

"Giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) are some of the UK’s largest trees, despite only being introduced in the mid-nineteenth century. There are an estimated half a million giant sequoias and closely related coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) in the UK. Given the recent interest in planting more trees, partly due to their carbon sequestration potential and also their undoubted public appeal, an understanding of their growth capability is important. However, little is known about their growth and carbon uptake under UK conditions. Here, we focus on S. giganteum and use three-dimensional terrestrial laser scanning to perform detailed structural measurements of 97 individuals at three sites covering a range of different conditions, to estimate aboveground biomass (AGB) and annual biomass accumulation rates. We show that UK-grown S. giganteum can sequester carbon at a rate of 85 kg yr−1, varying with climate, management and age. We develop new UK-specific allometric models for S. giganteum that fit the observed AGB with r 2 > 0.93 and bias < 2% and can be used to estimate S. giganteum biomass more generally. This study provides the first estimate of the growth and carbon sequestration of UK open-grown S. giganteum and provides a baseline for estimating their longer-term carbon sequestration capacity."

Giant redwoods: World’s largest trees 'thriving in UK'

Giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in the UK: carbon storage potential and growth rates (open access)

Credits: Human Progress Weekly Progress Roundup

Figure 1. Locations of 4949 S. giganteum in the UK

More forests could suck up 226 gigatons of carbon

Exactly, plant some more trees and relegate the Global Warming hoax and Climate Change religion to the dustbin of history where it belongs for a long time!

It is totally incomprehensible why the planting of more trees is not mentioned more often in the public discourse! It is so obvious!

"The restoration and protection of forests worldwide could help remove about 226 gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere, according to a study published today in Nature. That’s equivalent to roughly 20 years of emissions from burning fossil fuels and other sources at current rates. Some experts say the analysis provides a more reliable estimate of the carbon-capturing potential of forests than a previous, controversial study that analyzed only the potential benefit from restoring trees to degraded land. ..."

From the comment and abstract:

"The potential for global forest cover

The restoration of forested land at a global scale could help capture atmospheric carbon and mitigate climate change. Bastin et al. used direct measurements of forest cover to generate a model of forest restoration potential across the globe (see the Perspective by Chazdon and Brancalion). Their spatially explicit maps show how much additional tree cover could exist outside of existing forests and agricultural and urban land. Ecosystems could support an additional 0.9 billion hectares of continuous forest. This would represent a greater than 25% increase in forested area, including more than 200 gigatonnes of additional carbon at maturity.Such a change has the potential to store an equivalent of 25% of the current atmospheric carbon pool.

Abstract

The restoration of trees remains among the most effective strategies for climate change mitigation. We mapped the global potential tree coverage to show that 4.4 billion hectares of canopy cover could exist under the current climate. Excluding existing trees and agricultural and urban areas, we found that there is room for an extra 0.9 billion hectares of canopy cover, which could store 205 gigatonnes of carbon in areas that would naturally support woodlands and forests. This highlights global tree restoration as one of the most effective carbon drawdown solutions to date. However, climate change will alter this potential tree coverage. We estimate that if we cannot deviate from the current trajectory, the global potential canopy cover may shrink by ~223 million hectares by 2050, with the vast majority of losses occurring in the tropics. Our results highlight the opportunity of climate change mitigation through global tree restoration but also the urgent need for action."

Forests could suck up 226 gigatons of carbon if restored and protected, study argues | Science | AAAS

The global tree restoration potential (open access; there is already an erratum)

Fig. 2 The current global tree restoration potential.

Amazonia - It probably holds over 10,000 undiscovered earthworks from pre-Columbian indigenous people

Amazing stuff!

"During the pre-Columbian era, the Amazon was home to complex societies throughout its vast forested area. These ancient indigenous societies had a deep knowledge of earthmoving, which they used to create earthworks with social, ceremonial and defensive functions. The scale of that landscape transformation remains unknown -- and much about these civilizations is also unknown. ..."

From the editor's summary and the abstract:

"Editor’s summary

Indigenous societies have lived in the Amazon for at least 12,000 years. Finding evidence of these societies, however, has been greatly hampered by the density of the forest in Amazonia. Peripato et al. used LIDAR (light detection and ranging) surveys to identify more than 20 previously unidentified developments and then modeled the occurrence of others across the Amazon. The authors predict that between 10,000 and 24,000 ancient earthworks are waiting to be discovered. Sampling of some of the LIDAR transects revealed a consistent set of domesticated tree species associated with the developments, suggesting active forestry practices among these societies. ...

Abstract

Indigenous societies are known to have occupied the Amazon basin for more than 12,000 years, but the scale of their influence on Amazonian forests remains uncertain. We report the discovery, using LIDAR (light detection and ranging) information from across the basin, of 24 previously undetected pre-Columbian earthworks beneath the forest canopy. Modeled distribution and abundance of large-scale archaeological sites across Amazonia suggest that between 10,272 and 23,648 sites remain to be discovered and that most will be found in the southwest. We also identified 53 domesticated tree species significantly associated with earthwork occurrence probability, likely suggesting past management practices. Closed-canopy forests across Amazonia are likely to contain thousands of undiscovered archaeological sites around which pre-Columbian societies actively modified forests, a discovery that opens opportunities for better understanding the magnitude of ancient human influence on Amazonia and its current state."

The Amazon is not pristine. It probably holds over 10,000 undiscovered earthworks

More than 10,000 pre-Columbian earthworks are still hidden throughout Amazonia (no public access)

Geographical distribution of known and newly discovered pre-Columbian geometric earthworks in Amazonia.

Some Utah lawmakers claim overgrown forests suck too much water to save lakes like Lake Powell

That is an interesting concern! It is well known that overgrown or badly managed forests can be prone to wildfires.

"... Claiming “overgrown” forests are guzzling Utah’s water resources dry, rural members are now calling for a major logging initiative as the best hope for saving the shrinking Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell, despite a lack of scientific evidence that tree removal would make a big difference. ...
Utah’s 5 million acres of forests are crowded with 100 to 200 trees per acre, about 10 times the densities in the 1800s, Randy Julander, a retired federal hydrologist, told the caucus gathering. And the trees on about a quarter of this land are standing dead because there isn’t enough water in the ground to sustain them, he added. ..."

Utah lawmakers pitch tree removal as plan to save Great Salt Lake “Yellow Cake” legislators claim logging can save Great Salt Lake, but scientists are doubtful.

Too many wildfires in the U.S. are caused by government neglect and failure

This well known fact can not be told enough!

"The largest wildfire in New Mexico history was set by the federal government. In April, a prescribed burn carried out by the U.S. Forest Service escaped about four hours after being set. The fire was intended to reduce hazardous fuels and the risk of wildfire, but it became a conflagration that burned more than 340,000 acres.

The Forest Service made many mistakes during the out-of-control burn ...
One recent study lamenting the lack of prescribed [controlled] fire in the West found that between 1998 and 2018, 70 percent of all burning nationwide was carried out in the Southeast. ...
The federal government has aggressively suppressed all fires for decades, an approach that included outlawing "cultural burning" by tribes in the early 20th century. One consequence of curbing the use of fire for so long is that fuels have accumulated in federal forests across the country, most of which are in the West. ...
When the Forest Service wants to remove those built-up fuels, it takes years to even get started, partly due to bureaucratic red tape. Recent research from my organization, the Property and Environment Research Center (PERC), found that once the agency begins the environmental review process, it takes an average of nearly five years to implement a prescribed burn. ..."

California Could Learn From Florida On Fighting Wildfires What Florida gets right about using controlled burns to prevent damaging wildfires, and what California could learn from it.

Environmental Regulations Are Causing Wildfires in California

Very recommendable! So it is e.g. ancient power lines that cause many of the wildfires! When fanatic environmentalists sabotage reasonable forest management to prevent wildfires!

Trump administration plans to open national forests in Texas to more oil and gas drilling

Good news! Bravo Trump! Environmental concerns can easily and responsibly be addressed!
Alaska ANWR next? That would be great news!
California offshore drilling? Why not!

Trump administration plans to open national forests in Texas to more oil and gas drilling - HoustonChronicle.com: Environmentalists and other opponents are fighting Trump administration plans to open more than 1.9 million acres of national forests and grasslands in Texas to more oil and natural gas drilling activity.

Three Trillion Trees On Earth Blunder

Posted: 9/6/2015

Trigger

Just read Earth Has 3 Trillion Trees Per New Count. The article does not appear to contain a link to the original paper. I believe, this is the original paper referred to “Mapping tree density at a global scale”

There we read (emphasis added):

1. “There are roughly 3 trillion trees on Earth—more than seven times the number previously estimated—according to a tally by an international team of scientists.”
2. “The previously accepted estimate of the world’s tree population, about 400 billion, was based mostly on satellite imagery.”

Global Warming Is A Hoax

I have certainly blogged about the subject of Global Warming (now called Climate Change) is a hoax before.

This revelation of seven times more trees on earth is a major blunder for science. The above popular science article did not investigate the enormous implications as far as those infamous climate models are concerned. Apparently, scientists have for decades significantly underestimated the tree density observed in different types of forests around the world.