Can trees stop climate change. - DW Documentary

Forests around the world are suffering. Threatened by drought, extreme weather and deforestation. It's a vocation and a calling to observe this damaged environment and to recognize that we must restore the forest to give back to the world. We've realized that other players, including indigenous groups, can be experts in their field, with very valuable knowledge. People everywhere are looking for ways to halt the die-off of our forests. We're injecting the roots with a variety of spores, leading to a much healthier forest ecosystem from the start. How can we save ancient woodlands while creating new forests? Stefan Schaffer wants to plant very unique new forests. He started two years ago and has found others who share his vision. The buds on the spindle are opening. He wants to create new woodlands on mini-plots, known as tiny forests. Species-rich, wild and resilient. Yes, that's our baby. The first forest we planted. We did it through crowdfunding back then and were relatively unsure, but then we raised enough money. It was really exciting. The 27-year-old forest scientist and his friends collected 14,000 euros and planted their first miniature forest. 3,000 ground-covering plants, shrubs and trees. The native species are planted close together and compete with each other for light, which makes them grow unusually fast. The tiny forest concept was developed in the 1980s by Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki. Small new forests, ideal for urban areas. Stefan looks at how nature works in nearby forests to gain a better understanding of what his tiny forests need. The foliage here, the biomass that falls from the trees, we try to compensate in our tiny forests during the early years with straw or chopped up hardwood. It's like firing up the system at the start, giving it what it would normally have after several decades. And then we can leave it on its own after a short period, which means it doesn't have to do all the hard work of developing soil and humus, because it's there from the start. They enriched the soil with nutrients as a trial before planting, and then left a different area untouched to judge its success. A 3D scanner records everything that's growing. Are they on the right track? The images give a clear answer. On the right-hand side, grown according to the Miyawaki method, the trees are especially healthy. That's our liveliest section. It's really dense. Stefan Schaffer has big plans for his tiny forests. This rainforest in Brazil would now be a barren wasteland if two people hadn't decided to dedicate their lives to saving native woodlands. Miriam Protno and Wigold Schaffer are the descendants of German immigrants. They've fought hard for this 50 hectare forest reserve. The area is special to the pair because it's where they met for the first time, when she was 17 and he was 23. Both their love for each other and their passion for saving Brazil's coastal rainforests were born here. Sunday was the day we met. That was the day we always went for a walk. And we saw the good things, but also the not-so-good things. And that always bothered us. That can't be right. Something had to be done. We talk about nature conservation over lunch, at dinner, always. We've managed to save a bit, but there's a long way to go. Dense rainforests like these used to cover all of Brazil's southeast. The forest is known as the Mata Atlântica. But many species are also popular with the timber industry. Wigold Schaffer is looking for a specific tree. This is the first tree I ever planted in my life. I was five years old in 1964, and it's an arucaria. The Brazilians call the arucaria Her Majesty, a straight trunk with exceptional wood. These little arucaria plants, they're growing from seeds from the tree I planted. The young couple collected the seeds of the giant jungle trees in the 70s and grew seedlings on their terrace to plant wild forests. At the time, they had no idea where their ideas would take them. But by 1987, Aprimavi, a project to save forests, was born. It's now a kind of non-profit tree nursery with a staff of 25. Morning. All good? Yes, all good. This 63-year-old visits the nursery every day. The soil is a special blend of minerals, rice husks, pine bark and fertilisers. Up to 5,000 seedlings are planted here every day. The seeds are stored in a special refrigerated room. Wiegold Schaffer checks the latest delivery. We managed to get good quality arucaria seeds. These will yield around 20,000 seedlings that will be planted in the coming days. 200 different types of trees are grown at the nursery, primarily to save ancient species. Wiegold learned some German from his parents, but when it comes to trees, he'd rather stick to Portuguese. And here we have the pau-brasil, the tree that gives Brazil its name and that's been heavily exploited since colonialisation, primarily for export to Europe for the manufacture of dyes to colour textiles. This is an extremely important tree that was practically extinct in our forests and today we're working on reintroducing these species to our reforestation zones in the Atlantic rainforest. The reforestation project relies on donations. The work is financed by private individuals or companies that care about the rainforests. A computer programme has tracked areas where new forests have been planted since 2022. The progress can be seen online. All the green areas show the farmland where we've already worked. Reforestation in a country where a powerful agricultural lobby has fuelled jungle deforestation for many years. The mixed woodland directly behind the nursery was planted 17 years ago. Wiegold Schaffer wanted to find out what a small 16 hectare forest could do for the environment and commissioned a study. The result? Reforestation is worthwhile. The tiny forest stores 180 tonnes of CO2 every year, about as much as 100 medium-sized cars produce while driving 100,000 kilometres. Their nursery has now planted 9 million trees. In Germany, storms and drought are the forest's main enemies. The Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development is in the heart of a difficult area for forests. Downed trees, a high risk of forest fire and damage from pests. Researchers have their work cut out for them. Information is collected and temporarily stored here. It's then sent by radio. Temperature, humidity, global radiation and wind speed are sent by computer to the office through this antenna. And last but not least, the forest damage is also documented by drones. All to better support the forest ecosystem. Two of the researchers are trying something completely new. They've invited representatives of the Kogi, an indigenous people from Colombia, that is well known for its unique connection to nature. Mónica Hernández-Morcillo and Karsten Mann are hoping to discover new ideas. The Kogi are sharing their expertise during a European tour and passing through Eberswalde. For us, in this west part of the world, it is still important that we have science to clarify what is happening here, the dynamic of the ecosystems. But there are other parts of the world where this is not needed, because they have a direct understanding of their own environment. They communicate with other parts of themselves, which is not precisely the mind, which is the heart. The visitors arrive in the heart of the Brandenburg Forest two weeks later. The Kogi's spiritual leaders, known as Mamos, spend the first 18 years of their lives in darkness. Though we can hardly imagine such an upbringing, it's supposedly how the Mamos become attuned to the natural world. They only speak their language, Kagaba. An interpreter translates into Spanish. Scientists have come to listen to them. The Kogi speak of connections alien to our science, energy fields, spiritual places long forgotten. Lukas Buchholz organized the trip and translates into German. They say there is a sacred place somewhere around here that's responsible for maintaining a balance, a place that contains a kind of blueprint of the ecosystem that regulates this area. And they suspect that changes have occurred there, that have ultimately weakened the Earth's own regenerative power. Their next stop highlights one of the biggest problems facing German forests, the bark beetle, the spruce forest's biggest enemy. They've eaten their way through hectares of forests across Germany. At first the Kogi are quiet, but then their intuition leads them off the planned route. Although the group tries to go left, the Kogi are drawn to the right. To an ancient native oak tree. The Kogi's message is clear. This is a mother tree, the head of this area and should never be felled. Unlike this spruce. The trees that don't belong here should at some point go home. And if we try to protect the spruce here, to protect the trees under attack from the bark beetle, we won't succeed and we'll even end up harming ourselves. The Kogi spend five hours looking at the forest's problematic areas. Tree damage, monocultures and dwindling water resources. Their comments are inspiring. According to the Kogi, what happened with this bark beetle infestation that we thought was so bad for our forests, that is a natural process of letting the trees that are not belonging to the place not stay there anymore. So for this way of looking, it's a natural process that is actually for cleaning the forest. The Kogi's are touring 33 sites in Europe, primarily in Germany and Switzerland. And people are listening. At this university too. Taking a holistic view of the connections in the natural world is the only way to find the right solutions. These three are working on an unusual project at the Hereford Clinic. Corina Lass is a journalist and convinced the directors to launch an innovative forest experiment. A tiny forest for people, birds and insects on a small plot of wasteland next to a parking garage. They're taking a final look before the work begins. This is why it makes sense to take another look. There's still some pebbles that need to be taken away. You'd think planting a tiny forest like this would be done in a day, but it isn't. The amount of time we've invested in it. It's good we didn't know it in advance. But it'll be worth the effort when the forest is finally there and kids can play in it. It's worth it. We'd like as many people as possible to see what we're doing and plant their own tiny forests. So that towns and cities will have as many little mini-forests as possible. In Hereford, but also in other places. Linked up with each other, so that at least the birds can use the different woodlands. A metre of dirt is being removed in Hereford, as well as all associated debris. Trucks bring in fresh topsoil. Look at these bits of charcoal. A highly fertile soil made of charcoal, dung and compost. The topsoil is mixed with an especially fertile potting soil called Terra Freta to create a humus-rich soil that will help the new forest grow. Corinna Lass received more than 21,000 euros in crowdfunding and has spent countless hours in video conferences. Tiny forest expert Stefan Schafer is contributing his expertise to the project. He's now preparing for the planting in Hereford, together with his girlfriend Emily Ebert, who studies forestry. They co-founded the non-profit MIA two years ago to spread the word about Akira Miyawaki's tiny forest method in Germany. They're getting more and more work. Stefan Schafer now earns his living from the projects. Hereford, 450 kilometres away, is just one of many new tiny forests. Ah, that's really good. You can really see the dark earth, the Terra Preta, with charcoal, all part of the upper layers. Yes, that's definitely a good basis for the saplings. Some work remains before the first trees can be placed in the ground. Stefan Schafer combines native bushes, shrubs and the seedlings into packages. Emily Ebert measures the site and divides it up into sections for planting. 3.70 metres. Okay. Now the sections will be marked with stakes and string. We want ten sections where groups can plant the trees. It's planting day, and a whole host of people have been invited to participate, along with their children. The next generation can learn how to inject some green into the asphalt and concrete landscape. A tiny forest offers many benefits to urban areas in the throes of climate change. It removes sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and dust particles from the city air. The biological diversity of a tiny forest is 18 times greater than in natural mixed woodlands. Shade can provide a surface temperature up to 30 degrees lower than on covered soil. And it lowers the air temperature around it by as much as three degrees. What about watering in the future? Tiny forests should generally be watered for two to three years, but after that no additional external inputs are needed. Time, effort and 25,000 euros. Four months later, the hard work alongside the parking garage is already bearing fruit. Hereford has its first tiny forest. In Brazil, a team from the Apremavi Tree Nursery is on its way to a new project. Miriam Prochno and Vigol Schaffer are visiting a farmer with dwindling water resources. A tiny forest might be able to prevent the land from running completely dry. 20 to 80 tree species are usually planted at random per hectare. There are many plants that grow more quickly. And they protect the ones that grow slowly. There are those that quickly produce fruit. This attracts animals, which then spread the seeds. This concept is really about protecting and restoring biodiversity. Brazilian law calls for the protection of all river and stream beds with strips of wide forest to prevent them from drying out. But many farmers ignore the rules and often need encouragement to follow them. Sidney Prochno doesn't need any convincing. Reforestation makes complete sense to him. We see this in the medium and long term, because experience and practice has already shown that when we reforested in areas where there were no trees, the water returned. People look at it and see that it's possible to restore river beds. After all, we're not the only ones with a lack of water. It affects everyone. Vigol and Miriam's battle for reserves and against deforestation is both practical and political. That's why they're regularly threatened by right-wing populists and the farming industry. A sad story mirrored by that of his favourite tree, the native Araucaria. Vigol Schaffer has been documenting it for years. It was the perfect wood for construction and a major export to North America and Europe, mainly for German immigrants here in southeastern Brazil. That meant regional logging on a massive scale. The white areas here have been logged. 1930. 1965. 1990. 2005. That's a reserve. And these are reserves. That's also a small reserve. State of Paraná, Brazil. Deforestation rates hit a new high in recent years during the administration of former president Bolsonaro, primarily in the Amazonian rainforests. But they never stopped planting new trees. Reforestation where others are chopping down trees. A successful campaign now supported by daughter Carolina. They're trying to make good on past mistakes. Carolina's ancestors were part of the logging. But her parents have set out to protect nature and replant trees. For Carolina, the reforestation programme is a kind of legacy. It's a vocation and a calling to observe this damaged environment and to recognise that we must restore the forest to give back to the world what my family and our ancestors had a role in destroying. This is Stefan Schaffer's first project outside of Germany. A tiny forest in Poland. The country's first. Agnieszka Taruchela-Lewitan and her husband Niko hope their little woodland will inspire others. They initially hoped to show schools and urban planners, as well as politicians. There's not much woodland here, for example. And lots of agricultural land that also needs this kind of natural island to offer protection from wind, desiccation and soil erosion, as well as being a good way to store water. Volunteers plant the last of the 4,500 saplings. Mini-forests are becoming more popular since Stefan Schaffer planted the first woodland of its kind in nearby Brandenburg. As well as the wood in Poland, he and his team have planted 14 tiny forest projects in nine locations in Germany. The forest scientist checks on the growth after a year. It's all grown this year, since this spring. You can see there's a little bit of colour difference here, and it's the same with many of the other trees. It's so nice to see. The growth rate is really high, too. We've generally found that more than 90% of the trees have grown, and the conditions are now ripe for the forest to thrive over the coming years. Poland's first tiny forest has now even caught the attention of politicians. Olgierd Gieblewicz is chairman of the local assembly for this region. What interests him most is whether the forest could also serve as green lungs for the nation's cities. Yeah, yeah, that's true. I mean, you can do variations of the method, but basically it's meant to be a climate adaption method for cities, like since due to climatical change. Right now it is our job to promote it, you know, among our citizens, among the mayors. It is something worth promoting, and I think that we will find a lot of followers. The fact that it's so popular is definitely exciting. You plant a forest and then some important politicians come along. It wasn't like that a few years ago. Yes, I think it's pretty cool. Whether a forest is tiny, or as in the case of Brazil, gigantic, every tree counts in the fight against climate change.