A sprinkle of crushed basalt rock has turned out to be the fairy dust that newly planted forests need to develop faster and absorb more carbon. In Wales, the Glandwr Forest Carbon Study is being carried out in partnership with the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, the Carbon Community, Imperial College London, and the University of Sheffield. 25 acres of reforested woodland has seen 26,000 trees planted and monitored across 72 different plots. The researchers studying Glandwr forests have found that this technique significantly improves aboveground carbon storage potential of the soil and tree roots—by 27% according to early results. “Our findings show that relatively simple, nature-based interventions can improve tree establishment and increase the carbon uptake of new woodlands during their earliest years.”