Forest transition

Forest transition refers to a geographic theory describing a reversal or turnaround in land-use trends for a given territory from a period of net forest area loss (i.e., deforestation) to a period of net forest area gain.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Forest recovery resulting in net increases in forest extent can occur by means of spontaneous regeneration, active planting, or both.^[6]

Forest transitions are associated with socio-economic transformations towards increased industrialization and urbanization. Other conditions leading to the abandonment of agricultural land (e.g., war and environmental legislation) have been found to play important roles in some cases.

Studies of forest transitions have been conducted for several nations as well as sub-national regions. Territories reported to have experienced forest transitions after the onset of industrialization include Bangladesh, China, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark,^[7] Dominican Republic,^[8] El Salvador,^[9] France,^[10] Gambia, Hungary, Ireland, Morocco, New Zealand, Portugal, Puerto Rico,^[11][12][8] Rwanda, Scotland,^[13] South Korea, Switzerland,^[14] the United States, and Vietnam.^[15][16] Furthermore, forest-transition dynamics have been documented for regions within Brazil,^[17][18] Ecuador,^[19] and Mexico.^[20][21] The findings of returning forests in these widespread studies raise questions about the prospects of a worldwide forest transition.^[6][22]

In other words, can the global extent of forests be expected to reach a turning point in the future, reversing the current trend of overall forest decline towards overall forest expansion?

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