Current Technology
Over the past years, there have been many efforts to combat deforestation. On this page, we will look at some of those efforts.
Satellite Monitoring
Satellite monitoring is currently used to understand if the forests are changing and what are the causes for those changes. One example of this is Global Forest Watch 2.0. It was developed by “Google, in partnership with the University of Maryland and the UN Environment Programme,” according to enviromentalleader.com. This forest watch uses “satellite technology, data sharing and human networks around the world.” The purpose of this is to give real-time information regarding deforestation to all countries across the world. The limitation is it’s a monitoring system, and cannot actually stop deforestation without something to act on it.
Controlled Burns
Forest Management tries to prevent fires by burning under the right conditions and removing small trees, branches, and twigs. The limitation is that a controlled burn could remove more trees than planned. Controlled more effectively in lower elevations than higher elevations because in higher elevations there is less soil and it is harder for trees to survive so there can't be any fires.
Replanting.
One way to stop the removal of trees is to replant them. There are many different ways to replant a tree. You can replant a tree by hand in your backyard or use tools.
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One technology that exists for replanting trees is drone planting. Drone planting is drones dropping seed pods. Over time, the pods dissolve and the seeds pop out. The benefits of this technology are that this can easily reach hard-to find areas. Some of the challenges with this technology are that many times the seeds don’t get planted down far enough or die as saplings for other reasons. Trees also take a long time to grow, and during this time many die. This technology is estimated to restore forest 150 times faster than by hand and be up to ten times cheaper. While drone planting is efficient, it does have some cons. Drones are vulnerable to weather. The main limitation, however, is the time it takes to regrow the forest.