What is the difference between reforestation and restoration of degraded forests?
Reforestation is the planting of entire new forests to replace those cut down during harvesting. Since the late seventies all forests that are harvested in Canada must be reforested. So, reforestation done this way is not eligible for offsets since it would have to happen anyway. Reforestation also often requires a clearing operation, which may release a significant amount of carbon. So reforestation may be a net releaser of carbon until the forest has reached a certain level of maturity. The picture you should have here is a big open clearcut forest being replanted. Restoration, on the other hand, is aimed at accelerating the natural process that often takes over hundreds of years, whereby a degraded forest restores itself to its natural state with indigenous species. When a (say) large, mainly Spruce forest is clearcut and left to nature, trees such as Alder, Cottonwood and brush take over. The original Spruce would have had deep root systems that hold the soil together whereas the A
