Introduction:
The biodiversity that must be included in my forest means that each species will have different growth rates, different opportunities for profit, and different costs. While some are very fast-growing, other need a longer time being cultivated before they can give back the money that was put into them.
| Tree | Cost to plant | Time to grow | Revenue | Information from |
| Moringa trees | They can be farmed for production of pods and leaves. The linked study found a cost of 54,725 rupees per acre, which is £542.10. This includes labour, planting, land preparation, fertiliser costs, and more. They found that it was 64000 rupees (£624.62) for leaf production per acre. These costs will inevitably be different depending on the cost of land preparation for the Saharan forest, but this is a good estimate. | Within three years, the Moringa tree will produce 300-400 pods a year, which will increase to 1000 per year as it grows to maturity. | The first study estimates that the production of Moringa trees is 3,57,775 rupees (£3491.75) per year for pods, 7,11,000 rupees (£6939.09) for fresh greens, and 2,21,000 rupees (£2156.88) rupees for dry leaves. | https://tinyurl.com/djxrr42w https://tinyurl.com/28mh7f8k |
| Desert acacia trees | The fact that acacia trees do not live long means that replanting will perhaps be necessary. However, its fast growth means that maintenance will not be overly needed during its growth phases. | Acacia trees are known to be very fast-growing, although they only live 20 to 30 years. This makes them good options for wood production. | “A parkland of marture (acacia erioloba) trees per hectare can produce more than twice as much crude protein … as the average smallholder grain crop without any input costs except for the collection of pods.” – Richard Barnes, et al. The trees are very fast growing and can be farmed for pods and wood to make a clear profit. | https://tinyurl.com/47hywvym |
| Neem trees | Neem seed prices have varied in the past. In India, 1998, prices varied from US $0.05 kg to US $0.12 kg from the start and end of the season. | Neem trees become productive in bearing fruit within 3-5 years, and become fully mature at 10 years old, from which they can produce 50kg of fruit per year. | Seeing as the neem trees grow quickly and are of a low price, the profit in production is very high. | https://tinyurl.com/3kueyymf https://tinyurl.com/dx4zw5m9 |
| Mountain mahogany trees | Mahogany trees take 25 years to fully mature. | https://tinyurl.com/58vrkzch | ||
| Eucalyptus trees | Eucalyptus trees can grow 2m in one year, or at least 0.5m in a year. This makes them very fast-growing. | https://tinyurl.com/errs6n4f | ||
| Baobab trees | Baobab trees is a slower-growing tree – they can take 15-20 years to produce fruit. However, using the method of grafting can be more successful, and can produce fruit in 5 years. | https://tinyurl.com/4h262ehp | ||
| Desert oak trees | The desert oak is a slower-growing tree, but can live for hundreds of years, which makes its production very worthwhile. | https://tinyurl.com/xue7e8a9 | ||
| Emory oak trees | Oak seedlings can cost from $450 to $1,400, which is relatively expensive. | Oak trees generally take a long time to grow to maturity and start producing acorns. Most will not produce a lot of acorns until they are 50 years old. However, they can live until they are 1000, and so are a good investment for the Carbon Dioxide battle. | Oaks live for a long time, so the relatively high price is more reasonable when you consider the length that the tree will be around. Per year, an oak tree can absorb around 21 kg of Carbon Dioxide, and can absorb up to a tonne in their lifetime. In the scheme of this project, therefore, oak trees can be worthy investments. | https://tinyurl.com/pbyuxp7u |
| Cork oak trees | Oak seedlings can cost from $450 to $1,400, which is relatively expensive. | Oak trees generally take a long time to grow to maturity and start producing acorns. Most will not produce a lot of acorns until they are 50 years old. However, they can live until they are 1000, and so are a good investment for the Carbon Dioxide battle. | Oaks live for a long time, so the relatively high price is more reasonable when you consider the length that the tree will be around. Per year, an oak tree can absorb around 21 kg of Carbon Dioxide, and can absorb up to a tonne in their lifetime. In the scheme of this project, therefore, oak trees can be worthy investments. | https://tinyurl.com/pbyuxp7u |
| Holm oak trees | Oak seedlings can cost from $450 to $1,400, which is relatively expensive. | Oak trees generally take a long time to grow to maturity and start producing acorns. Most will not produce a lot of acorns until they are 50 years old. However, they can live until they are 1000, and so are a good investment for the Carbon Dioxide battle. | Oaks live for a long time, so the relatively high price is more reasonable when you consider the length that the tree will be around. Per year, an oak tree can absorb around 21 kg of Carbon Dioxide, and can absorb up to a tonne in their lifetime. In the scheme of this project, therefore, oak trees can be worthy investments. | https://tinyurl.com/pbyuxp7u |
Conclusion:
Although this research gives a good estimate on which trees will be a better investment for our forest, it is important to note that circumstances will ultimately be different in the massive project I am designing in the Sahara. However, whether these trees give back impressive revenue of take a while to be productive, a successful project in combatting climate change will make the investment worthwhile.