Counteracting deforestation
Many believe that to counter deforestation, people simply need to plant more trees. Though a massive replanting effort would help to alleviate the problems deforestation caused, it would not solve them all.
Reforestation would facilitate:
Restoring the ecosystem services provided by forests including carbon storage, water cycling and wildlife habitat
Reducing the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
Rebuilding wildlife habitats
Reforestation won't completely fix the damage, though. For example, Daley points out that forests cannot sequester all of the carbon dioxide humans are emitting to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels and a reduction in fossil fuel emissions. It is still necessary to avoid buildup in the atmosphere. Reforestation will not help with extinction due to deforestation, either. "Unfortunately, we have already diminished the population of many species to such an extreme that they might not recover, even with a massive reforestation effort," Daley told Live Science.
In addition to reforestation, some other tactics are being taken to counteract or slow deforestation. Some of them include shifting the human population to a plant-based diet. This would lower the need for land to be cleared for raising livestock.
Global Forest Watch has also initiated a project to counteract deforestation through awareness. The organization uses satellite technology, open data and crowdsourcing to detect and alert others of deforestation. Their online community is also encouraged to share their personal experiences and the negative effects of deforestation.
Additional reporting by Jessie Szalay, Live Science Contributor