VOA慢速英语--重建森林有助于气候和栖息地

Rebuilding Forests Help Climate, Habitats

Forests can be destroyed quickly. Regrowth happens much, much slower.

But around the world, people are working to help it happen.

In the Peruvian Amazon, illegal gold mining damaged forests and poisoned the ground. Now scientists work to change this wasteland back to wilderness¹.

Almost 5,000 kilometers north are former coal mining lands across Appalachia, in the American state of West Virginia. Workers there tear out old trees that never put down deep roots. They make the soil better so native trees can grow there once more.

In Brazil, a plant business owner grows different kinds of young plants to help reconnect forests along the country’s Atlantic coast. Such efforts also help endangered animals, like the golden lion tamarin.

Rebuilding woodland requires patience. It can take several decades or longer for forests to regrow as true habitats.

“Planting a tree is only one step in the process,” says Christopher Barton. He is professor of forest hydrology at the University of Kentuckty’s Appalachian Center.

And yet, there is urgency to that work. Forests are one of the planet’s first lines of defense² against climate change. They collect as much as 25 percent of manmade carbon released into the air each year.

Trees and other plants use carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to produce chemical energy to fuel their growth. They then release oxygen. As forests have shrunk, however, so has Earth’s ability to deal with carbon releases.

Successful reforestation programs pay attention to native plants. They are also overseen³ by groups with a proven commitment to monitoring forests -- not just for tree-planting events that happen only once. And, successful programs help people living nearby. They may create jobs or reduce the effects of erosion, which may damage crops and homes.

The effects of reforestation could be great. A recent study in the publication Science reported that if around 500 billion young trees were planted, they could take in 205 gigatonnes of carbon once they were fully⁴ grown.

The Swiss researchers who carried out the study estimated this is equal to about two-thirds of manmade carbon emissions⁵ since the start of the Industrial Revolution.

Other scientists have disagreed with those numbers. And, some fear that mass tree-planting events will be seen as an easy solution to climate change. This could prevent people from looking for other needed action.

But all agree that trees matter – a lot.

In southeastern Peru, forestry⁶ researcher Jhon Farfan works in the Amazon to reforest old gold mines. He inspects lands where the forest has already been lost to illegal mining. The mining activity was fueled by the major increase in gold prices following the 2008 worldwide financial crisis. The gold mining left the land poisoned.

Since the project began three years ago, the team has planted more than 42 hectares of native trees. It is the largest reforestation effort in the Peruvian Amazon to date.

In the United States, activists⁷ deal with poor past attempts to heal the land after mining. Heavy machines had pushed soil into West Virginia’s Cheat Mountain in the 1980s. The soil was packed so hard that tree roots could not expand.

The non-profit Green Forest Work is working with the U.S. Forest Service to restore native Appalachian forests. They do this by tearing down other trees in a process called “deep ripping.”

In Brazil, a woman named Dona Gra?a runs a tree nursery that grows seedlings⁸ of species native to the country’s Atlantic coastal⁹ rainforest. Local replanting efforts often use her seedlings. They aim to reconnect broken pieces of forest.

Dona Gra?a says she is angry at what has happened to the coastal forest, which has shrunk as Rio de Janeiro and other cities have expanded.

She raises many kinds of rare, native trees from seed. She does this, she says, for future generations.

“In the future when I pass away ... that memory I tried to leave for the people is: It’s worth it to plant, to build,” she said.

I’m Anne Ball.

Words in This Story

habitat – n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows

hydrology – n. the part of science concerning the properties of the earth’s water, and especially its movement in relation to the land

erosion – n. the gradual destruction of something by natural forces (such as water, wind, or ice): the process by which something is eroded¹⁰ or worn away

biomes – n. a biological community that has formed in response to a shared physical climate; can include more than one habitat

1 wilderness   

n.杳无人烟的一片陆地、水等，荒漠

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 overseen   

v.监督，监视( oversee的过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was overseen stealing the letters. 他被人撞见在偷信件。 来自辞典例句
• It will be overseen by ThomasLi, director of IBM China Research Laboratory. 该实验室由IBM中国研究院院长李实恭(ThomasLi)引导。 来自互联网

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

6 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

7 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 seedlings   

n.刚出芽的幼苗( seedling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Ninety-five per cent of the new seedlings have survived. 新栽的树苗95%都已成活。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• In such wet weather we must prevent the seedlings from rotting. 这样的阴雨天要防止烂秧。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

9 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

10 eroded   

adj. 被侵蚀的，有蚀痕的 动词erode的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• The cliff face has been steadily eroded by the sea. 峭壁表面逐渐被海水侵蚀。
• The stream eroded a channel in the solid rock. 小溪在硬石中侵蚀成一条水道。