#john-james-audubon — Public Fediverse posts

“The one who plants trees knowing that he or she will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life”*…

… Yes, and, as John Parker and Justin Nowakowski explain, it turns out that what and how we plant matters enormously…

Around the world, people plan to plant more than 1 trillion trees this decade in an ambitious effort to slow climate change and reduce biodiversity loss. But if the past is prologue, many of those planted trees won’t survive. And if they do, they could end up as biological deserts that lack the richness and resilience of healthy forests.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

The United Nations declared 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to encourage efforts to repair degraded ecosystems. Tree planting has become a centerpiece of that effort, championed by initiatives such as the Bonn Challenge and the Trillion Trees Campaign.

However, many tree-planting commitments have a critical flaw: They rely too heavily on monoculture plantations – vast areas planted with just a single tree species.

Monoculture plantations are generally one-way tickets to producing wood. But these high-yield plantations are high risk and can be surprisingly fragile. When drought, pests, or forest fires strike, entire monoculture plantations can fail at once. In one example, nearly 90% of 11 million saplings planted in Turkey died within three months due to drought and lack of maintenance.

Forests are more than just timber factories. They regulate water, store carbon, provide habitat for wildlife, cool the landscapes around them and even provide human health benefits.

Rather than gambling on a single species and hoping for the best, science now points to a smarter path that captures both ecological and economic benefits while minimizing risk: mixed-species plantings that mirror the biodiversity of a natural forest, ultimately creating forests that grow faster and are more resilient in the face of constant threats.

We are community and landscape ecologists at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. Since 2013, we and our colleagues have been rigorously testing this idea in a large, ecosystem-scale experiment called BiodiversiTREE. The verdict is striking: Trees in mixed forests don’t just survive – they outgrow their monoculture counterparts and support dramatically more biodiversity…

[Parker and Nowakowski outline their project, unpack it’s (impressive) results, and explore the challenges to sclaing their example. They conclude..]

… The stakes are high. Restoration has become a major global investment, with hundreds of billions of dollars already being spent annually. Getting it wrong means wasted resources and missed opportunities to address some of the most pressing environmental challenges of our time.

If the world is going to plant a trillion trees, we believe it needs to do more than just put seedlings in the ground. It needs to rethink what a forest should be.

The goal isn’t just to grow trees. It’s to grow forests that last.

Eminently worth reading in full: “Don’t just plant trees, plant forests to restore biodiversity for the future,” from @johndparker.bsky.social and Justin Nowakowski in @us.theconversation.com.

* Rabindranath Tagore

###

As we see the forest, we might send observant birthday greetings to a man who spent a good bit of time in and around forests, John James Audubon; he was born on this date in 1785.  An ornithologist, naturalist, and artist, Audubon documented all types of American birds with detailed illustrations depicting the birds in their natural habitats.  His The Birds of America (1827–1839), in which he identified 25 new species, is considered one of the most important– and finest– ornithological works ever completed.

 source

A Heron’s Antidote to Fear of Death

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.themarginalian.org/2026/04/07/heron-divination/

We went to beautiful #ComptonVerney, #Warwickshire, today to see an #exhibition of #engravings by #JohnJamesAudubon, from his book: "The #BirdsOfAmerica".

I'd only seen two original Audubons before but today I saw 46!

Pic 1: a detail of the heads of the osprey and a fish it's just caught

Pic 2: a detail of an astonishing composition of Northern mockingbirds repelling a rattlesnake from their nest. 👈 This one was worth the price of admission alone.

Recommended!
#Audubon #Birds

Plate 33. American Goldfinch #johnjamesaudubon #audubon https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-james-audubon/plate-33-american-goldfinch

3 members of #NationalAudubonSociety #BoardOfDirectors #resigned Wednesday in response to the conservation group’s announcement that it will retain name tied to #enslaver & #bird #artist , #JohnJamesAudubon .

The national #conservation organization is facing an #internal #backlash after opting to keep the name after a yearlong deliberation. The #decision #outraged employees, prompted an uncomfortable all-staff meeting & drove three board members to #ResignInProtest .

https://www.eenews.net/articles/revolt-at-audubon-as-3-board-members-resign/

California Hare, 1847 #audubon #johnjamesaudubon https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-james-audubon/california-hare-1847

John James Audubon, Blue Crane or Heron, 1861 #johnjamesaudubon #brooklynmuseum https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/120425

Plate 1. Wild Turkey #naturalism #johnjamesaudubon https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-james-audubon/plate-1-wild-turkey

John James Audubon, Swift Fox #johnjamesaudubon #americanart https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/84202

Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, 1830 #johnjamesaudubon #audubon https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-james-audubon/rose-breasted-grosbeak-1830

Plate 54. Rice Bird #naturalism #johnjamesaudubon https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-james-audubon/plate-54-rice-bird

John James Audubon, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Curlew Sandpiper, 1861 #johnjamesaudubon #brooklynmuseum https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/171624

John James Audubon, Least Water Hen and Yellow-breasted Rail, 1861 #americanart #johnjamesaudubon https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/171626

Plate 138 Connecticut Warbler #johnjamesaudubon #naturalism https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-james-audubon/plate-138-connecticut-warbler

Plate 37. Golden-winged Woodpecker #audubon #johnjamesaudubon https://www.wikiart.org/en/john-james-audubon/plate-37-golden-winged-woodpecker

Enjoy these three versions of the amazing #butcherbird, aka #LoggerheadShrike (plus a bonus #NorthernShrike!) from #JohnJamesAudubon, #LouisAgassizFuertes, and #TimWorfolk. I love the beauty, vitality, and simplicity of them all.
#ornithology #NaturalHistory #birding #birds #birbs #borbs #tinosaurs!

Cool timeline too: Audubon 1820s, Fuertes 1920s, Worfolk 2020s.