Why can't desert regions be reforested?

Question

Could it be done or is it just impossible? And if it is possible why don't they try it?

Answer 1

It's a desert because there is little water there.  Without water and soil that is rich in nutrients, you aren't going to get anything to grow there.

Answer 2

It takes water. Water is scarce and expensive to transport to desert areas. Israel has done this successfully on a small scale.

Answer 3

With enough water, a desert could be turned into a rainforest...in fact, its easier to grow on sand than it is to grow on soil because its looser.

Answer 4

Deserts are naturally occurring biomes, they may look lifeless but there are plenty of plants and animals that make a living in desert regions. There's no reason for people to try to change that. At any rate I'd doubt that humans could make a self sustaining forest in the desert, there's just not enough rainfall to support the needs of large trees.

Over (geologic) time as the global climate changes and land masses shift a desert may become a forest and a forest may become a desert (I think there's evidence that the Sahara was once forested).

Answer 5

no topsoil

Answer 6

They can- if there's enough water available.  People have tried, but moving water around can be difficult and expensive.  For a classic example of costs and difficulties, google up the "Central Arizona Project".

Answer 7

Reforestation must begin with a region that until recently supported vegetation. Then working in from the periphery in it can be replanted with vegetation native to the region placed around water catchments or wells. Seasonal water is held and flood erosion stopped with earth banks that soon support native plants to hold them. Water begins to percolate into the soil and the water table. Soil is restored with plants that fix nitrogen and by adding composting biomass from the communities.

Auroville India & Central Java are examples of reforestation and community managed resources. Local people are taught how to replant and manage their lands in order to have a renewable income and better water supply.

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