🙌 If you think this project is worth supporting then be sure to check out our membership mossy.earth . It is truly what makes it all possible! Oh and if you are in need of a last minute gift 🎁then maybe consider gifting the membership, I think it is a very thoughtful present! www.mossy.earth/gift - Cheers, Duarte
As someone who's been to Iceland every year since 2016 (except 2020), it's honestly amazing how many trees have been planted. Every year I go, especially in the last two years, I've said as I'm driving "Wow, look at all those trees!" no matter where I'm driving; south, north, east, west etc, it's so noticeable. Keep up the great work you're doing in Iceland!
@@TKUA11 Depends where you're flying from and with which airline as well as when you book and what time of year you're going. I generally fly from Manchester Airport, UK with Easyjet and like going in March in particular or November. Winter months are generally cheaper. Book the day the flights are released from Easyjet and you'll get the best prices. Pre-pandemic, I could get return flights for as little as £50, once I got it for £46! Post pandemic it's closer to £65/70. Pre pandemic flights included a cabin bag. Post pandemic they only include a bag that can fit under the seat. So, now prices are more expensive as I need to bring on a cabin bag, too. So, you can easily add on an extra £80 onto the flight for this, annoyingly. But yeah, still you're probably looking all in maybe £140 return if you include a cabin bag nowadays and book on the first day flights are released. Hope this helps!
At the time of discovery, Iceland was 40% forested and greatly resembled Norway. The trees were mostly cleared for farmland in the ensuing centuries, and never came back. It's so heartening to know that humans are in fact capable of enriching their environments rather than just destroying them
You can think of it this way: There are 375,000 people on Iceland. If everybody had managed to plant five trees that survived, it would have added up to almost two million new trees. You've done well!
More to the point.. trees don't live in Iceland. Your 5 survivors were aberrations. Incredibly tough environment for any species to take hold let alone populate into a forest. By way of a personal planting contrast.. I planted 25,000 black spruce in Canada when I was 16 in the late '70s. Those trees were probably harvested about 10 years ago at the latest.
@@Hobbyrepubliken The point that many people seem to miss is that a tree can't exist on barren tundra in isolation. You need to bootstrap a whole ecosystem . If there are enough other trees and undergrowth and all the bacterial, mycological and insect life that comes with it, the trees have a chance. As individual lone trees they're not going to survive.
I love how candid you guys are about when things don’t work out exactly like you planned. It makes the projects feels much more real and it's nice to see the replanning to find workarounds and keep progress moving. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next phase!
We have to be candid, it is after all no our money to spend but our member's money! Glad to hear that it is appreciated. Challenges and mistakes will keep happening but we are moving in the right direction. - Cheers, Duarte
the average person was not wealthy enough to afford education, the ability to read being the most important factor for both technological and conscious education today, you're watching a video from across the planet in real time if need be be glad you have the ability to improve the world today, than lament for what was impossible a few centuries ago
@Pilvenuga it doesn't take a formal education to understand these concepts. Folks have and do understand that their practices are harmful in the long run, but they are concerned with food today for them and their families. Food insecurity is a huge driver of this ecological destruction, not ignorance. If we would.get our heads removed from our rears, and turned a few sky scrapers into giant greenhouses to feed our cities, this ecological recovery could happen far, far faster. That and collaborating with chefs and restaurateurs on pushing the foods that are easy and efficient to grow in that manner. Then we can make some moves.
Those of you at Mossy Earth have been accomplishing many important projects that have restored formerly abused ecosystems back to what nature intended them to be. I've been following your work for several years, but, unfortunately, I don't have the means to financially support your work. I am really happy that those who do have the money are helping to turn your plans into action because we desperately need to undo the damage that mankind has done around the globe. Thank you to Mossy Earth and, especially, for the generosity of the people who fund your work.
Planting trees is important But you also need to create soil so you need fungal spores and moth spores and legged spores and fern spores To create the soil and hold it in place until the trees are available to hold it all together. don't forget the small things because they are just as important as the large trees. plus you're better off creating wetlands which absorb 40 times the carbon as a forest does of the same size. Good luck and happy holidays.
Yup, there's a reason why fungus was king of the land rather than plants before enough plants died to generate soil. Fungus can do all sorts of cool things to rocks and soil that plants just can't in themselves. Things plants evolved to rely on.
Wetlands do hold more Carbon, but planting trees in Iceland isn't really about Carbon capture, it is about restoring the ecosystems on the island ruind by humans. Before humans settled Iceland in the late 800s there was big areas of the island covered by Birch forest. During the millenium after settlement all of these where cut down for sheep pasture. Reforesting Iceland is about rectifying this mistake of the past and giving wildlife in Icland better conditions.
@@NethDugan Not only can they affect the soil but most plant species including trees have symbiotic relationships with fungi that inhabit their roots called mycorrhiza, a well known example being the truffle. In exchange for the plant giving the fungi resources to stay alive the fungi's mycelium spreads out in a much denser pattern and acts as an extension of the plant roots, effectively giving them far more surface area to find water and nutrients. Makes them more hardy against root borne diseases and rot as well. There's a specific kind of mycorrhiza to trees though, and there probably aren't any viable spores left in that soil since there haven't been trees there for a long time, so you'd need to add them when planting. You'd also need to research which fungi species to use because some are specific to a particular tree species while others are generalists and form symbiosis with more than one tree species. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza
@mossyearth I want to do this as a job I am going back to school to do so. In specific, mushrooms. They are the most important part of rebuilding forests
I'm impressed with the quality of your work. I'm also involved in rewilding desserts, although I think mine needs a few more dinosaur-shaped sprinkles.
This is so great. Those (nearly) 200,000 trees look to be thriving: such a difference in the way they were planted than the planting that is geneally done, which isn't designed to optimise each sapling's chances. It is also brilliant that you have found some local landowners to work with. But the idea of buying a chunk of dried-out land and restore it to wetlands is also an incredibly valuable decision. What an opportunity to increase biodiversity as well as providing a great opportunity for carbon capture. I shall be following this with huge interest. ❤
Thank you for the work you do. Here in the states i am starting some programs in my local communities to encourage native plant and habitat restoration.
Thank you for not only including the stuff that doesn’t work but also HOW you present those things. Lots of popular media will use failures as a point for negative drama but you guys present it so calmly and as part of the process. It’s so wonderfully refreshing.
If you think this project is worth supporting then be sure to check out our membership mossy.earth . It is truly what makes it all possible! - Cheers, Duarte
I have a major passion for reforestation, I have a property in Australia and have found the Eucalyptus trees stop the undergrowth and make it very dry, I have been using wetting agents and grass to green up the place and its working, once the grass gets going it locks in the moisture and fertilises the ground, second stage would be deciduous trees that give off alot of mulching leaf litter
Eucalyptus causes desertification and aridness to form and caused many plants and animals to dissappear, hence australians stark landscape lacking many animals and laking edable plats and plant divercity. In india in some states they are banned to plant as the damage they cause is noticable. The absolute dominant spread of eucalyptus in australia is recent - 15000 years ago and is tied to tge arrival of austroloidic humans who used fire hunting. Australias deserts have much higher rainfall than other deserts in the world and should infact be couvered with grass and trees like a savanna woodland. Once this was the case. Australia has many species tgat can survive on very low rainfall and provide food for large and small aninald, the eucalyptus has no food for any animal but some koalas.. It has no fruit and very little flowers. It destroys soil and gives no canopy. It also cannot survive in deserts so it crowds the areas where more water and plants are and it takes over and destroys the soil. They cause fires, as they can coppice they survive almost any fire while most productive species canno survive. As they dont create a leaft mat and dont have a canopy and cant survive on very low rainfall they burn out the other trees and dry the land out. You will see the soil in a eucalyptus infested area will be nothing but hard rocky clay. In the deserts once huge acacia forests exsisted, this allowed australian megafauna to browse across the country as these plants have eddable seeds and leaves, thry cannot survive fires. In the wetter forests on the coasts a broad range of nut bearing and seed and fruit producing trees exsisted creating a dense wet canopy forest. This now nolonger exsists almost anywhere but far noth queensland. So even damp eucalyptus forests have no food in them.. Humans are the main cause although id argue thatvthe eucalyptus is so well evolved it could take over any place, it could take over england or ireland or turkey or south carolina with enough time, it grows tall, has long lasting seeds, has a short life cycle, ect ect and all it neds is one fire to get well established.. Once its in its only a matter of time. Europes tallest trees are all eucalypts planted in the last 90 yeard.. I say cut every singly one done and plant acacias, black bean, bunya pines, lillypilly ect ect and you will have a lush vibrant productive land. Also dont use decidious, use canopy forming evergreens, native to australia, timor and the dryer parts ofnew zealand or png. Depending your climate zone in australia. These trees with form a canopy and their fruits and seeds and leaves will form mulch. For example beach hibiscus give great cover, its native looks fantastic and can grow in many place it is a lowlying fast growing tree with a good canopy, also dont just think grasses, think what australian eucalypts woodland lacks, vines, ferns ect., clumping plants with bulbs. These will help the soil production.
@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 very well said, I have been cutting down the pest-categorised Sugar Gums on my property, they are the worst of the worst species and now things are starting to grow
@@itsoktoberight4431 nice, yes, remove them all. Its hard to kill them off quickly but if you keep it up you will see a huge chsnge in wildlife too. Another thing many gumtrees in wetter areas have is fungus in their roots that kills the tree and also other trees around them but the gums go so fast they are dying as they grow and just get replaced but other species just succumb to the fungus. Southern European trees like oaks, ash, plane trees olive ect grow very well in australia as do some chinese trees, the problem is these trees all drop their leaves when its dry and can be burn easily especially if near to eucalyptus trees which are real fire starters. Id go for the best canopy you can create quickly. Where in australia are you?. Further south species that are suited better will be quite different
You might want to shred some ratio of mulching leaf litter because, as good as their moisture retention can be, it's locking out new growth in the understory (as to serve that trees few offspring) Ps consider getting some fungi involved, degraded soil often lacks diversity
When we outplant our dryland areas on the reserve I work at, we had really good results with growing & planting with trays rather than individual plants, especially with groundcover species like grasses, mosses, ferns, etc.
I'm graduating in June (The Conway School, MA, USA) with a masters in ecological design (my bachelor's is in theater), and y'all are seriously inspiring my future plans. The work you're doing ecologically, paired with the excellent visual storytelling, is 1000% what I hope to be doing after I leave school. Cheers
As always, love the videos, and love the honest, scientific way of going about these! If I ever hit the lotto groups like yours are where I will be donating for my tax write offs ;) Until then everyone has to settle for the membership!
Haha thanks! The membership does so much that it is all we would ever ask for. Its amazing what a few thousand people together can do. A big thank you for the support! - Cheers, Duarte
I do work in some tree planting projects and can attest that this is a very abore-average quality project, and very honest at telling you the struggles that most people in conservation and restoration projects are not really transparent about.
Awesome work Mossy Earth!!! I'm on the other side of the planet so I cannot support this other than my membership But I hope that you get loads of ideas and some great "on the ground" team members
Thank you Liesl! Your support is much appreciated! I like to think of Mossy Earth as a village of a few thousand people from all over the world that can make a difference regardless of where they live! - Cheers, Duarte
13:15 Ditches this size are found all over South West and East Anglia in England. In the Middle Ages, they were built to drain the vast wetlands that stopped agriculture. I think they difference is the areas were not 100% drained, with 25% left for birds and fish. Not for ecological reasons, but to provide food back then. Today, they are vast nature reserves.
This is exactly where your work is needed. You arent destroying anything here. Destroying farmland for nature is a mixed bag, but here you are only making things better. Stay on it.
Fascinating projects you've been doing in Iceland. I'm very interested in what you are learning about what works and doesn't. The overgrazing sounds similar to what you've been encountering in Scotland where the deer overgrazing areas kills the small saplings before they get a chance to become established. Glad to see you are also planning to restore wetlands.
Reforestation in Iceland is a topic that I have been following for a while. As posted before, it would be a good idea to have as diverse a forest as possible to allow as many animals as can to benefit from it. Birch is great, but it would be good, too, to plant some Aspen, Rowan and Willow amongst the Birch. Icelandic foresters have even worked to raise Scots Pine from the survivors of those that did not succumb to the aphid infestation. So, it could be possible to plant a few groves of them, as well. Also, don't forget that Alaskan Lupine is great for preparing the soil for future tree planting.
I wonder, too, if planting a few small patches of mixed tree-types using the Miyawaki Method in a patch of lupine might be a good experiment to see if it could be effective.
Hey Duarte, just wanted to applaud you, (again) for the all the hard work and effort you put into these videos, they really are becoming very professional. From the graphics to the slight humour to the reality filming. it really shows how hard you and the Mossy Earth Team are working. Well done again! So proud to part of this!
something similar to this is New Zealand, I always hold hope that there may be a chance these people have a wetland, or forest rewilding project for our native Taonga. birds, but just a thought😊 keep this going I love to see this as it gives a bit of hope.
I am so happy to be living in an era and time where not only can I see this happen, but know I'll be alive to see the results. Two years might not seem much, but nature does crazy things in that little time. Wish the project a lot of success.
I'm such a happy supporter of Mossy Earth! Somehow these projects in Iceland are my favourites to watch in your videos. Can't wait to see in 5 or 10 years the impact of your work there!
As a middle European forester, it makes me so mad to not yet know how the planting in the icelandic desert will develop. I wish i could jump right into the future to see if it works. For me, it seems almost unimaginable for ghe forest to reclaim that land... But if any kind of tree can do it, then birch!
I didn't really appreciate what you guys were after until I visited Europe (obviously not pertinent to this vid) this past summer. Coming from NY state the lack of wildlife density and diversity was jaw dropping. I went up into the Black Forest, spent most of my time in rural-ish Germany and Switzerland, and even that relatively friendly approach left me looking for birds (none by my standards) and plant variety. It was all beautifully lived in and manicured, even the hard-core ag stuff, but humans have just lived there for so long that a deep mark has been made in terms of what still grows and lives there. Seeing it reminded me of coming across a valley that some cattle had been living in while hiking out west, just you know, on a bigger scale.
That little strip of land with the grasses and shrubs is stunningly beautiful, as are the wetlands! I can't wait to see the results as you try to expand these wild areas!
I hope you do all the layers on your own plot, all from groundcover, to herb, bush and tree layers, bush layer is also very quick to produce food for birds (or humans). Lots of good bushes, from currants to nitrogen fixing species.
If you look through their earlier videos, you'll see that that is one of the big things they do: filling in the understory once the anchor trees are in place. It's one of the really unique things about this organization! They think about the big ecological picture and full ecosystem health, from the soil up, not just the charismatic species or a set of checklists on the fundraiser ledgers. The trees have to be established first for the understory plants to survive, but you can see older plantings in other videos and what understory species they bring in to complete the system.
Absolutley amazing work Mossy Earth great to see people do so much for the enviroment and ecosystems its great to see you guys expanding your presence as well
Kudos to your hard work! Your projects are amazing. Restoring wildlife, forest and lakes are hard but you all manage to do it. I wish I could be part of your team since I love nature. Keep it up and God bless.❤
i just thought about a seed spreader driving along roads in my ute that shot a few wild flower & tree seeds 2/5 years L8tr be a sight all the colors and new trees growing wind spreading them as they seed
Awesome! Thanks, from northern iceland :) id be curious to try and get my hands on one of these traditionally drained fields, plug em back up and plant an aspen and willow forest there. The icelandic willow species are super hardcore, although not so tall if left unprotected from the winds, however in collab with alaskan aspen...
🙌 If you think this project is worth supporting then be sure to check out our membership mossy.earth . It is truly what makes it all possible! Oh and if you are in need of a last minute gift 🎁then maybe consider gifting the membership, I think it is a very thoughtful present! www.mossy.earth/gift - Cheers, Duarte
Mmmmm
You guys ever think about potentially planting Greenland Mountain Ash? If you find seeds mind telling us how you get em?
Wish y'all would pick Nw Ohio and SE Michigan as areas you'd come rewild!!
We need wildlife highway crossings everywhere
Why don't you plant pine in Iceland to increase biodiversity?
Hey Duarte, where can I apply to work on this project for the 2024 planting season?
As someone who's been to Iceland every year since 2016 (except 2020), it's honestly amazing how many trees have been planted. Every year I go, especially in the last two years, I've said as I'm driving "Wow, look at all those trees!" no matter where I'm driving; south, north, east, west etc, it's so noticeable.
Keep up the great work you're doing in Iceland!
Glad you can see the progress that is being made in this landscape! - Cheers, Duarte
Love to hear it, keep us updated ;)
Iceland use to have massive forests. Bring them back is great for the environment
How much does it cost to fly there
@@TKUA11 Depends where you're flying from and with which airline as well as when you book and what time of year you're going.
I generally fly from Manchester Airport, UK with Easyjet and like going in March in particular or November.
Winter months are generally cheaper.
Book the day the flights are released from Easyjet and you'll get the best prices.
Pre-pandemic, I could get return flights for as little as £50, once I got it for £46!
Post pandemic it's closer to £65/70.
Pre pandemic flights included a cabin bag.
Post pandemic they only include a bag that can fit under the seat.
So, now prices are more expensive as I need to bring on a cabin bag, too. So, you can easily add on an extra £80 onto the flight for this, annoyingly.
But yeah, still you're probably looking all in maybe £140 return if you include a cabin bag nowadays and book on the first day flights are released.
Hope this helps!
Every time Mossy Earth posts it's like an injection of hope straight into my bloodstream.
Exactly how I feel. So much doom and gloom out there, and then these videos show that change can be for the better! ❤
And this is what only one person can achieve. Imagine what a whole army of philantrophists can do.
@@Anonymous-bm8sv"We" is one person? It's a team
At the time of discovery, Iceland was 40% forested and greatly resembled Norway. The trees were mostly cleared for farmland in the ensuing centuries, and never came back. It's so heartening to know that humans are in fact capable of enriching their environments rather than just destroying them
Thanks. I was patiently waiting to hear this explanation in the video
I am from Iceland and i have planted over 2000 trees in school over many years and maybe 5 are still alive
Trees live a hard life in Iceland
You can think of it this way: There are 375,000 people on Iceland. If everybody had managed to plant five trees that survived, it would have added up to almost two million new trees. You've done well!
There has been a lot of progress made in planting trees in Iceland in the last 20 years, the south of iceland espesially 👌
More to the point.. trees don't live in Iceland. Your 5 survivors were aberrations. Incredibly tough environment for any species to take hold let alone populate into a forest. By way of a personal planting contrast.. I planted 25,000 black spruce in Canada when I was 16 in the late '70s. Those trees were probably harvested about 10 years ago at the latest.
t@@davidpetersen1Trees used to live on Iceland, but humans changed that
@@Hobbyrepubliken The point that many people seem to miss is that a tree can't exist on barren tundra in isolation. You need to bootstrap a whole ecosystem . If there are enough other trees and undergrowth and all the bacterial, mycological and insect life that comes with it, the trees have a chance. As individual lone trees they're not going to survive.
I love how candid you guys are about when things don’t work out exactly like you planned. It makes the projects feels much more real and it's nice to see the replanning to find workarounds and keep progress moving. Can’t wait to see what happens in the next phase!
We have to be candid, it is after all no our money to spend but our member's money! Glad to hear that it is appreciated. Challenges and mistakes will keep happening but we are moving in the right direction. - Cheers, Duarte
Also feels like I can learn something this way.
Its better to slow things down and make sure they're done correctly, great decision!
Exactly!
I wish humanity realized the beauty of a biodiverse area a few hundred years earlier
That would have been great! - Duarte
Well, wooden ships cannot be built from thin air. Sooooo...
I mean, Italy was covered in woods before the Roman Empire
@@sebastiansatorius3242 To be fair, most of deforestation is due to animal agriculture nowadays.
the average person was not wealthy enough to afford education, the ability to read being the most important factor for both technological and conscious education
today, you're watching a video from across the planet in real time if need be
be glad you have the ability to improve the world today, than lament for what was impossible a few centuries ago
@Pilvenuga it doesn't take a formal education to understand these concepts. Folks have and do understand that their practices are harmful in the long run, but they are concerned with food today for them and their families. Food insecurity is a huge driver of this ecological destruction, not ignorance. If we would.get our heads removed from our rears, and turned a few sky scrapers into giant greenhouses to feed our cities, this ecological recovery could happen far, far faster. That and collaborating with chefs and restaurateurs on pushing the foods that are easy and efficient to grow in that manner. Then we can make some moves.
Bro's playing the first level of plants vs zombies
😂
Where is the mower tho
@@inqizzo6:53
Or Plants vs Sheep
Wabby waboo
Those of you at Mossy Earth have been accomplishing many important projects that have restored formerly abused ecosystems back to what nature intended them to be. I've been following your work for several years, but, unfortunately, I don't have the means to financially support your work. I am really happy that those who do have the money are helping to turn your plans into action because we desperately need to undo the damage that mankind has done around the globe. Thank you to Mossy Earth and, especially, for the generosity of the people who fund your work.
Your words mean a lot to us! Thank you for watching our videos. It is also a great form of support! - Cheers, Duarte
Planting trees is important But you also need to create soil so you need fungal spores and moth spores and legged spores and fern spores To create the soil and hold it in place until the trees are available to hold it all together. don't forget the small things because they are just as important as the large trees. plus you're better off creating wetlands which absorb 40 times the carbon as a forest does of the same size. Good luck and happy holidays.
Thank you for the extra ideas! Added to the list. Happy holidays! - Cheers, Duarte
Yup, there's a reason why fungus was king of the land rather than plants before enough plants died to generate soil. Fungus can do all sorts of cool things to rocks and soil that plants just can't in themselves. Things plants evolved to rely on.
Wetlands do hold more Carbon, but planting trees in Iceland isn't really about Carbon capture, it is about restoring the ecosystems on the island ruind by humans. Before humans settled Iceland in the late 800s there was big areas of the island covered by Birch forest. During the millenium after settlement all of these where cut down for sheep pasture. Reforesting Iceland is about rectifying this mistake of the past and giving wildlife in Icland better conditions.
@@NethDugan Not only can they affect the soil but most plant species including trees have symbiotic relationships with fungi that inhabit their roots called mycorrhiza, a well known example being the truffle. In exchange for the plant giving the fungi resources to stay alive the fungi's mycelium spreads out in a much denser pattern and acts as an extension of the plant roots, effectively giving them far more surface area to find water and nutrients. Makes them more hardy against root borne diseases and rot as well. There's a specific kind of mycorrhiza to trees though, and there probably aren't any viable spores left in that soil since there haven't been trees there for a long time, so you'd need to add them when planting. You'd also need to research which fungi species to use because some are specific to a particular tree species while others are generalists and form symbiosis with more than one tree species.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza
@mossyearth I want to do this as a job I am going back to school to do so. In specific, mushrooms. They are the most important part of rebuilding forests
that strip of life looks painted onto the dessert! what a magically little slice of life!
I'm impressed with the quality of your work. I'm also involved in rewilding desserts, although I think mine needs a few more dinosaur-shaped sprinkles.
Thank you for the support :) - Cheers, Duarte
Your team has an amazing special effect/ graphics team working really hard on this video, I love it!
Glad to see it appreciated! We have had some newcomers to the team that are starting to make an impact :) - Cheers, Duarte
That's great, it shows!
Just commenting to make your videos reach more people 😊
Always appreciated!
just reiterating this. The visual styles of the maps were terrific!
This is so great. Those (nearly) 200,000 trees look to be thriving: such a difference in the way they were planted than the planting that is geneally done, which isn't designed to optimise each sapling's chances. It is also brilliant that you have found some local landowners to work with. But the idea of buying a chunk of dried-out land and restore it to wetlands is also an incredibly valuable decision. What an opportunity to increase biodiversity as well as providing a great opportunity for carbon capture. I shall be following this with huge interest. ❤
Thank you for the work you do. Here in the states i am starting some programs in my local communities to encourage native plant and habitat restoration.
So inspiring to see money finally being channelled to something this awesome. Keep it up!
Thank you! We are doing our best :) - Cheers, Duarte
I would love to see your long term involvement in Iceland being related to wetlands, that could be really incredible
I would love for that to be the case as well! What a special habitat. - Cheers, Duarte
Thank you for not only including the stuff that doesn’t work but also HOW you present those things. Lots of popular media will use failures as a point for negative drama but you guys present it so calmly and as part of the process. It’s so wonderfully refreshing.
If you think this project is worth supporting then be sure to check out our membership mossy.earth . It is truly what makes it all possible! - Cheers, Duarte
Wonderful work
Thank you! It is always good to hear that :) - Cheers, Duarte
Its always a good day when mossy earth uploads
Thank you! That is great to hear :) - Cheers, Duarte
Another update on my favourite project. I really have a soft spot for Iceland so it makes me happy to see it getting it's forests back.
Glad you enjoy the project! I have a soft spot for Iceland as well and I'm quite excited to see it improve! - Cheers, Duarte
I have a major passion for reforestation, I have a property in Australia and have found the Eucalyptus trees stop the undergrowth and make it very dry, I have been using wetting agents and grass to green up the place and its working, once the grass gets going it locks in the moisture and fertilises the ground, second stage would be deciduous trees that give off alot of mulching leaf litter
Eucalyptus causes desertification and aridness to form and caused many plants and animals to dissappear, hence australians stark landscape lacking many animals and laking edable plats and plant divercity.
In india in some states they are banned to plant as the damage they cause is noticable.
The absolute dominant spread of eucalyptus in australia is recent - 15000 years ago and is tied to tge arrival of austroloidic humans who used fire hunting.
Australias deserts have much higher rainfall than other deserts in the world and should infact be couvered with grass and trees like a savanna woodland.
Once this was the case.
Australia has many species tgat can survive on very low rainfall and provide food for large and small aninald, the eucalyptus has no food for any animal but some koalas.. It has no fruit and very little flowers. It destroys soil and gives no canopy. It also cannot survive in deserts so it crowds the areas where more water and plants are and it takes over and destroys the soil.
They cause fires, as they can coppice they survive almost any fire while most productive species canno survive.
As they dont create a leaft mat and dont have a canopy and cant survive on very low rainfall they burn out the other trees and dry the land out. You will see the soil in a eucalyptus infested area will be nothing but hard rocky clay.
In the deserts once huge acacia forests exsisted, this allowed australian megafauna to browse across the country as these plants have eddable seeds and leaves, thry cannot survive fires. In the wetter forests on the coasts a broad range of nut bearing and seed and fruit producing trees exsisted creating a dense wet canopy forest. This now nolonger exsists almost anywhere but far noth queensland. So even damp eucalyptus forests have no food in them..
Humans are the main cause although id argue thatvthe eucalyptus is so well evolved it could take over any place, it could take over england or ireland or turkey or south carolina with enough time, it grows tall, has long lasting seeds, has a short life cycle, ect ect and all it neds is one fire to get well established.. Once its in its only a matter of time. Europes tallest trees are all eucalypts planted in the last 90 yeard..
I say cut every singly one done and plant acacias, black bean, bunya pines, lillypilly ect ect and you will have a lush vibrant productive land.
Also dont use decidious, use canopy forming evergreens, native to australia, timor and the dryer parts ofnew zealand or png. Depending your climate zone in australia.
These trees with form a canopy and their fruits and seeds and leaves will form mulch.
For example beach hibiscus give great cover, its native looks fantastic and can grow in many place it is a lowlying fast growing tree with a good canopy, also dont just think grasses, think what australian eucalypts woodland lacks, vines, ferns ect., clumping plants with bulbs. These will help the soil production.
@@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 very well said, I have been cutting down the pest-categorised Sugar Gums on my property, they are the worst of the worst species and now things are starting to grow
@@itsoktoberight4431 nice, yes, remove them all. Its hard to kill them off quickly but if you keep it up you will see a huge chsnge in wildlife too. Another thing many gumtrees in wetter areas have is fungus in their roots that kills the tree and also other trees around them but the gums go so fast they are dying as they grow and just get replaced but other species just succumb to the fungus.
Southern European trees like oaks, ash, plane trees olive ect grow very well in australia as do some chinese trees, the problem is these trees all drop their leaves when its dry and can be burn easily especially if near to eucalyptus trees which are real fire starters.
Id go for the best canopy you can create quickly. Where in australia are you?. Further south species that are suited better will be quite different
You might want to shred some ratio of mulching leaf litter because, as good as their moisture retention can be, it's locking out new growth in the understory (as to serve that trees few offspring)
Ps consider getting some fungi involved, degraded soil often lacks diversity
@manchagojohnsonmanchago6367 this is the most interesting comment I have ever read on RUclips
When we outplant our dryland areas on the reserve I work at, we had really good results with growing & planting with trays rather than individual plants, especially with groundcover species like grasses, mosses, ferns, etc.
Thanks for the tip! - Cheers, Duarte
I get really excited about all the new projects. It makes me feel hopeful about our future
Glad it brings you some hope. I think if we all do our best the future could be great! - Cheers, Duarte
I love your videos and think they are very therapeutic! I can’t believe that I didn’t find this channel earlier!
Glad they have this effect! - Cheers, Duarte
Super cool to see this update, and exciting plans ahead!
Glad you enjoyed it Paul! - Cheers, Duarte
I'm graduating in June (The Conway School, MA, USA) with a masters in ecological design (my bachelor's is in theater), and y'all are seriously inspiring my future plans. The work you're doing ecologically, paired with the excellent visual storytelling, is 1000% what I hope to be doing after I leave school. Cheers
❤ Go get 'em! We're depending on folks like you to guide the change we need in the world. Best of luck!
I think this channel has terraformed back to its natural state so much of the world now! It’s great to see ❤
The contrast at the start is hard to believe
It is a very strange place!
You guys are real heroes at Mossy Earth, and so is that couple that bought the land!
Amazing work im with you guys😁🌿🌳☘🌱🍀🌲
Thank you! - Cheers, Duarte
I love your dedication to rewilding efforts! Keep it up 💪
Espero ver-vos mais por Portugal no futuro... Estamos a precisar!
Estamos a trabalhar num projecto novo! Keep an eye on the channel :) - Cheers, Duarte
As always, love the videos, and love the honest, scientific way of going about these! If I ever hit the lotto groups like yours are where I will be donating for my tax write offs ;)
Until then everyone has to settle for the membership!
Haha thanks! The membership does so much that it is all we would ever ask for. Its amazing what a few thousand people together can do. A big thank you for the support! - Cheers, Duarte
Thanks!
Thank you Derek! - Cheers, Duarte
You should look into what can be done on Madagascar, the destruction to that habitat has been horrendous, great work in Iceland!
👏👏👏 I really appreciate when people cut out the blah blah and get to the point!👏👏👏
I do work in some tree planting projects and can attest that this is a very abore-average quality project, and very honest at telling you the struggles that most people in conservation and restoration projects are not really transparent about.
Awesome work Mossy Earth!!!
I'm on the other side of the planet so I cannot support this other than my membership
But I hope that you get loads of ideas and some great "on the ground" team members
Thank you Liesl! Your support is much appreciated! I like to think of Mossy Earth as a village of a few thousand people from all over the world that can make a difference regardless of where they live! - Cheers, Duarte
13:15 Ditches this size are found all over South West and East Anglia in England. In the Middle Ages, they were built to drain the vast wetlands that stopped agriculture. I think they difference is the areas were not 100% drained, with 25% left for birds and fish. Not for ecological reasons, but to provide food back then. Today, they are vast nature reserves.
I think we hired the Dutch to do it in the 16th. century. They had the expertise from reclaiming their land from the sea.
Always a good time when Mossy Earth drops a video.
This is exactly where your work is needed. You arent destroying anything here. Destroying farmland for nature is a mixed bag, but here you are only making things better. Stay on it.
Fascinating projects you've been doing in Iceland. I'm very interested in what you are learning about what works and doesn't. The overgrazing sounds similar to what you've been encountering in Scotland where the deer overgrazing areas kills the small saplings before they get a chance to become established. Glad to see you are also planning to restore wetlands.
Reforestation in Iceland is a topic that I have been following for a while. As posted before, it would be a good idea to have as diverse a forest as possible to allow as many animals as can to benefit from it. Birch is great, but it would be good, too, to plant some Aspen, Rowan and Willow amongst the Birch. Icelandic foresters have even worked to raise Scots Pine from the survivors of those that did not succumb to the aphid infestation. So, it could be possible to plant a few groves of them, as well. Also, don't forget that Alaskan Lupine is great for preparing the soil for future tree planting.
I wonder, too, if planting a few small patches of mixed tree-types using the Miyawaki Method in a patch of lupine might be a good experiment to see if it could be effective.
I grow seedlings in Alberta, Canada for reforestation and reclamation -this must be the future great work!
Alder is also a nitrogen fixer.
Hey Duarte, just wanted to applaud you, (again) for the all the hard work and effort you put into these videos, they really are becoming very professional. From the graphics to the slight humour to the reality filming. it really shows how hard you and the Mossy Earth Team are working. Well done again! So proud to part of this!
Cheers. You all are doing wonderfully. I'm always glad to catch these updates
This so impressive. :) Thank you so much for your hard work!
Thank you for the kind words and I'm glad you like the project :) - Cheers, Duarte
Appreciate your transparency and honesty
I am so amazed at the work that you do and so proud that I contribute a little tiny bit to help.
I love that individuals bought the peice of property next to your project and want to help expand. Amazing. ❤
something similar to this is New Zealand, I always hold hope that there may be a chance these people have a wetland, or forest rewilding project for our native Taonga. birds, but just a thought😊 keep this going I love to see this as it gives a bit of hope.
Another great video and I look forward to more updates from Iceland.
I am so happy to be living in an era and time where not only can I see this happen, but know I'll be alive to see the results. Two years might not seem much, but nature does crazy things in that little time. Wish the project a lot of success.
Awesome update. Love your work as ever guys :)
Thanks! - Cheers, Duarte
I absolutely LOVE Mossy Earth!
I'm such a happy supporter of Mossy Earth! Somehow these projects in Iceland are my favourites to watch in your videos.
Can't wait to see in 5 or 10 years the impact of your work there!
Please post your dessert inspired speech, It is nice to hear you talk so passionately :)
😂 I truly got lost on that occasion! But I appreciate the sentiment 😂 - Cheers, Duarte
As a middle European forester, it makes me so mad to not yet know how the planting in the icelandic desert will develop. I wish i could jump right into the future to see if it works. For me, it seems almost unimaginable for ghe forest to reclaim that land... But if any kind of tree can do it, then birch!
Wow ! It will be very interesting to see the results of your work in such a degraded land ! Please keep on updating us! Thanks for your work!
It is projects like this that give me hope.
¡Gracias!
I love this video! Such a great update and I'm excited to continue to see the progress over the years. Keep up the good work!
I hope all your work will progress dispite the eruption in Iceland.
So great to see Dave Foreman's dream coming true with such passion and funding. Hope you guys can become part of a global rewilding powerhouse!
Great video and amazing work! Being a member and watching this video is like me giving the earth a big hug!!
There is no better way to start your day then watching Mossy Earth videos and seeing a glimps of hope for a better future
Great update team and love the graphics for the maps!
Love this episode. I was in Iceland recently and fell in love with it.
I didn't really appreciate what you guys were after until I visited Europe (obviously not pertinent to this vid) this past summer. Coming from NY state the lack of wildlife density and diversity was jaw dropping. I went up into the Black Forest, spent most of my time in rural-ish Germany and Switzerland, and even that relatively friendly approach left me looking for birds (none by my standards) and plant variety. It was all beautifully lived in and manicured, even the hard-core ag stuff, but humans have just lived there for so long that a deep mark has been made in terms of what still grows and lives there. Seeing it reminded me of coming across a valley that some cattle had been living in while hiking out west, just you know, on a bigger scale.
Tack!
Danke!
Your videos are beautyful and inspirering, thank you :)
Thank you! It is really nice to hear that the videos are as appreciated as the projects. - Cheers, Duarte
181k trees > 0 trees, so awesome work!
Thank you and I agree! Its progress :) - Cheers, Duarte
You people inspiring & the depth of knowledge you give is awesome
Great content!!
Beyond thrilled to see what you're doing! Godspeed to all your efforts, and I know you will be very successful!
Gardening and landscaping by another name.
That little strip of land with the grasses and shrubs is stunningly beautiful, as are the wetlands! I can't wait to see the results as you try to expand these wild areas!
I would be happy to go volunteer on any of these projects. Rewilding places is something that I really love.
I love the restorationwork you are doing! And as a huge sci-fi-fan I'm absolutely intrigued by turning barren land into thriving, lush landscapes!
you guys are beacon of hope
I just returned from Iceland,loved it. The deserts are delightful. I had a mango/moose blubber tart,so yum.
So nice to be a part of the project ❤️❤️❤️great job, would love to watch more videos.
I cannot wait to watch this! I have been interested in Lupine, Icelandic plants so much, so I am extremely happy to see this!
Thank you! Enjoy the video! - Cheers, Duarte
No problem!
I hope you do all the layers on your own plot, all from groundcover, to herb, bush and tree layers, bush layer is also very quick to produce food for birds (or humans). Lots of good bushes, from currants to nitrogen fixing species.
If you look through their earlier videos, you'll see that that is one of the big things they do: filling in the understory once the anchor trees are in place. It's one of the really unique things about this organization! They think about the big ecological picture and full ecosystem health, from the soil up, not just the charismatic species or a set of checklists on the fundraiser ledgers. The trees have to be established first for the understory plants to survive, but you can see older plantings in other videos and what understory species they bring in to complete the system.
Guys the volcano started! I can see the light from my house is really cool
The results of rewilding are amazing. Thanks for sharing.
Good Job! Lupine is a really good plant to fix nitrogen and get the soil ready for larger plants and trees.
Exactly! It is good we have it in the area. - Cheers, Duarte
Looks good as always!
Glad you enjoyed the video! - Cheers, Duarte
The kinds of projects you guys do to make the nature better and better are incredible. All love!
Great work.my blessings to whatever your team is doing.
I am so very proud to be a member of your amazing undertaking!!! 🙏🙏❤😂🎉
Thank you for making it so easy and affordable to help make a difference!!!❤😂🎉
Absolutley amazing work Mossy Earth great to see people do so much for the enviroment and ecosystems its great to see you guys expanding your presence as well
Kudos to your hard work! Your projects are amazing. Restoring wildlife, forest and lakes are hard but you all manage to do it. I wish I could be part of your team since I love nature. Keep it up and God bless.❤
I could only imagine the support you'd receive here in America. People love when others try to make the world more beautiful, naturally!
i just thought about a seed spreader driving along roads in my ute that shot a few wild flower & tree seeds
2/5 years L8tr be a sight all the colors and new trees growing wind spreading them as they seed
Love your work. So inspiring! This is the most important work on the planet.
Awesome! Thanks, from northern iceland :) id be curious to try and get my hands on one of these traditionally drained fields, plug em back up and plant an aspen and willow forest there. The icelandic willow species are super hardcore, although not so tall if left unprotected from the winds, however in collab with alaskan aspen...