Monocultures and soil degradation. (n.d.) Retrieved in October 2025, from https://noticiasdeaqui.co/

A Green Desert of Trees: 

Environmental Consequences of Monoculture Plantations

By Daniel Santander Urrutia

Forests around the world are under major threats. Large-scale conversion of forest lands to agriculture and tree plantations is continuously reducing global biodiversity. Genetic manipulation of plants has enabled these exotic species to spread aggressively, outcompeting native species through adaptations and by altering soil structure, an explosive combination amid increasing wildfires and climate change.

Introduction

When, in the 1970s, NASA consultant on extraterrestrial life research James Lovelock, together with evolutionary biologist Lynn Margulis, introduced the Gaia hypothesis, it ignited a profound shift in environmental and ecological thinking. Challenging the traditional notion that life merely adapts to the planet’s physical conditions, Lovelock and Margulis argued that life actively shapes and maintains the environmental balance necessary for its own persistence.

As economic systems evolved to maximize profitability, technological advances in resource extraction and production also intensified. Exotic tree species adapted to harsh climatic conditions and began to compete with native vegetation, often displacing it and transforming local ecosystems. Evidence suggests that genetically engineered tree varieties, when combined with industrial crop systems, generate serious risks to ecological stability.