China gained 447,500 sq km of planted forest but lost vast natural cover

China's ambitious tree-planting campaigns have helped increase the country's overall forest cover over the past three decades. But a new study says the growth in planted forests tells only part of the story.While millions of hectares of trees were added to the country's forest cover, natural forests continued to shrink and became increasingly fragmented.The study, published in Communications Earth & Environment, reported Nature Portfolio, found that China gained 447,500 square kilometres of planted forest between 1990 and 2020, but lost 219,100 square kilometres of natural forest during the same period.By 2020, only 9.6% of the country's natural forests remained fully intact.More trees, fewer forestsThe researchers analysed forest changes across China from 1990 to 2020 using maps that separated natural forests from planted forests.Their findings showed that fragmentation of natural forests increased across 60% to 64% of China's provinces and counties.