How is Darwin’s observation about plants helping scientists tackle the climate crisis?

How is Darwin’s observation about plants helping scientists tackle the climate crisis?

Charles Darwin once observed that a mixture of species planted together grow better than those planted individually.

This method is now being tested by leading academics who research forests and climate change.

Evidence shows that forests made up of the greatest variety of trees, including a variety of ages of trees, are the healthiest.

A diverse forest grows more strongly and maximizes both carbon capture and resilience to environmental changes.



More than 150 years ago Victorian biologist Charles Darwin made a powerful observation: that a mixture of species planted together often grow more strongly than species planted individually.

It has taken a century and a half — ironically about as long as it can take to grow an oak to harvest — and a climate crisis to make policymakers and land owners take Darwin’s idea seriously and apply it to trees.

There is no human technology that can compete with forests for take-up of atmospheric carbon dioxide, and its storage. Darwin’s idea of growing lots of different plants together to increase the overall yield is now being explored by leading academics, who research forests and climate change.

Scientists and policymakers from Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK