Dear reader,

Welcome to this new edition of Infosylva, which opens with an article about urban trees and the ecosystem services they provide. These ecosystem services should be taken into account by city councils when planning the replacement of large old trees. These trees absorb much higher quantities of carbon dioxide than the smaller ornamental trees, with which for financial reasons they are generally replaced.
As part of a programme to protect the land rights of single women in India, the Chief Minister of Odisha recently distributed property rights to homestead land to 57 women in the Ganjam district. The programme intends to match FAO’s Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (VGGT) of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, including in the sensitive area of gender equality.
In Algeria, FAO is supporting a project focused on the prevention of fires, in order to eliminate the ruinous plague of forest fires in the summer.
Forestation and reforestation initiatives in tropical forests, although appreciable, cannot in any way replace the original forests, which are rich in biodiversity, or recreate their irreplaceable ecosystems.
According to scientists, megafires - extensive fires that involve at least 100 000 acres of forested land – are expected to become the norm in the USA by the end of this century. Scientists also warn that forests that are completely burnt down by fires of such magnitude are unlikely to grow back.
This news and much more in this new edition of Infosylva.
Enjoy your reading.