Replanting trees after events like last year’s catastrophic Western wildfires not only is critical to forest recovery, but could actually help soils take up more carbon from the atmosphere than if the burned areas were just left idle or cultivated.
Before farmers settled the Midwestern United States and planted crops, the extensive root systems of prairie grasses — including the tall, strong-stemmed switchgrass species — enriched the soil, creating millions of acres of prime farmland.