Some farm fields, particularly those rented out for several decades, have reached the end of their useful life, even for hay. What to do next? Build a forest! But wait, it’s not that easy.

If a farm field cannot grow hay, how would forest seedlings fair?

Building a new forest where there hasn’t been one for hundreds of years requires improving the soil by greatly increasing its water holding capacity and its carbon and nitrogen content using nurse trees.

Building soils is not agroforestry, it is an essential first step in afforestation without which a new forest planting can fail.