Considering the relatively small size of Easter Island, could it not be reforested with species native to the climate or with other trees that might thrive in the area? If so, has anyone ever done any research into what kinds of flora would be suitable and the cost involved?
A. Since Easter Island once had possibly as many as 16 million palm trees (Paschalococos disperta a species similar but not identical to the huge Chilean wine palm Jubaea chilensis), one would think that reforestation would be possible because the island at least at one time provided the requisite climate (actually, it did so for a period dating back some 37,000 years). In addition to the large palm, Sophora toromiro (the Toromiro tree) also grew in abundance; it was described by early explorers as a mimosa-like shrub reaching up to nine feet [~ 3 meters] in height, with stems described as the “thickness of a man s thigh”. This plant, like the original Easter Island palm, is extinct in the wild. The last surviving wild Toromiro tree was discovered in 1917 within the Rano Kau crater; it survived until 1962 (when it was chopped down for firewood). All other native Toromiro trees were lost due to habitat destruction through slash-and-burn farming methods and the introduction of domestic l
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