Afforestation and Reforestation
Afforestation plants trees on land that has not carried forest in recent history; reforestation restores tree cover on land that was forested and has since been cleared. Both remove CO₂ from the atmosphere as the trees grow.
Why the afforestation and reforestation distinction matters for carbon credit buyers
The distinction changes the baseline, the ecological risk, and often the credit volume. Reforestation on recently cleared land usually has a clearer land-use history and lower risk of displacing existing habitat, whereas afforestation on grassland or peat can disturb ecosystems that were already storing carbon. Both are removal activities rather than avoidance, but the carbon sits in living biomass, so permanence depends on fire, disease, and future land use, which is why buffer pool contributions are standard for this category. Species mix, land tenure, and monitoring quality separate stronger projects from weaker ones far more than the afforestation or reforestation label does.
Related terms