China gains planted forest but loses natural forest, fragmenting habitats

Summary

China has gained 447,500 sq km of planted forest but lost 219,100 sq km of natural forest, with large-scale tree planting increasing overall forest cover but fragmenting natural habitats. A new study indicates that while planting programs expanded forest cover, they also led to increased fragmentation of natural forests, though the Natural Forest Protection Program helped mitigate this in protected areas.