Applying crushed basalt rock or beneficial soil microbes to newly planted woodlands can increase early tree growth and carbon storage, according to a new study.
The research, published in Communications Sustainability, found that enhanced rock weathering increased aboveground carbon stored in young native woodland by up to 27% after four years. A second approach, enriching soils with beneficial microorganisms from established forests, improved early tree growth and tended to increase aboveground biomass by around 13% over the same period.
The findings come from the Glandwr Forest Carbon Study, the largest field experiment to investigate how enhanced rock weathering and soil microbiome enrichment influence woodland establishment. The study spans 72 research plots across 11.5 hectares of Welsh hillside and is monitoring more than 25,600 trees in both native broadleaf woodland and commercial conifer plantations.