PREVIEW

Britain's 'Rainforests' To Be Restored With Seed Drones. Drones are being used to try and bring temperate rainforests back to the South West of England. In one of the largest trials using native tree seeds, the Woodland Trust has deployed high-tech drones to scatter 75,000 seeds across the hills around Bodmin in Cornwall. Weighing 110kg and capable of carrying up to 58kg of seeds, the drones can access areas too steep or remote for human planting. The project, conducted in collaboration with the South West Rainforest Alliance, aims to triple the area of temperate rainforest in Devon and Cornwall from 8% to 24% by 2050. Sam Manning, project officer for South West rainforests at the Woodland Trust, said: ”Rainforest once covered 75% of Devon and Cornwall but we have lost 90% of it. These are among the most threatened ecosystems on Earth “. ”Restoring and expanding our temperate rainforests is vital to addressing the climate and biodiversity crises”. “Drones offer a faster, cheaper way to reach areas that are inaccessible or unsafe for human tree planters.” The drones scattered seeds across 11 hectares of land in just eight hours, targeting species native to rainforests, including pedunculate oak, alder, wild cherry, downy birch, and hazel.