afforestation

noun

af·​for·​es·​ta·​tion (ˌ)a-ˌfȯr-ə-ˈstā-shən 

ə-,

-ˌfär-

: the act or process of establishing a forest especially on land not previously forested

afforest

a-ˈfȯr-əst 

-ˈfär-

transitive verb

Examples of afforestation in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

To this end, there are global efforts to map potential areas for afforestation initiatives, but these efforts often identify grassland ecosystems as good candidates for afforestation, threatening more than one million square kilometers of grasslands in Africa, for example. —Sutirtha Lahiri, Scientific American, 3 Mar. 2023

Ancolie Stoll tends to one such space called Nilatangam, a 7.5-hectare afforestation project started by her European parents when Auroville was first set up. —Mahima Jain, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2023

Over decades, a motley crew of foresters, ecologists, and conservationists worked on afforestation, soil restoration, and water conservation projects within Auroville. —Mahima Jain, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2023

But a 2021 analysis by Our World in Data found that, despite afforestation efforts, the world is currently losing about 5 million hectares of forest each year to pressures like development, agricultural expansion and the influences of climate change. —The Arizona Republic, 14 Dec. 2022

But the really big, concerted effort to plant trees almost at scale as part of an afforestation drive by companies and institutions—that didn’t really begin until the second half of the 20th century. —Quartz Staff, Quartz, 28 Feb. 2023

Located roughly 19 miles north of Auckland, Tiritiri Matangi was subject to intense afforestation efforts followed by the eradication of Polynesian rats, and in the modern era, this lush island is a haven for many of New Zealand’s native birds. —Jared Ranahan, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2022

Since then, efforts to slow global deforestation, speed up afforestation (the planting of new trees) and improve forest management have been a central part of the climate conversation. —The Arizona Republic, 14 Dec. 2022

In the same vein, afforestation efforts to stabilise shifting sand dunes were also carried out. —Azera Parveen Rahman, Quartz, 27 Oct. 2022

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Medieval Latin afforestātiōn-, afforestātiō, from afforestāre "to convert into a forest" (from Latin ad- ad- + verbal derivative of Late Latin forestis "unenclosed woodland, forest entry 1") + Latin -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above