Reforestation Cost Calculator

Estimate per-acre costs for tree planting projects including seedlings, site preparation, labor, and maintenance.

About this calculator

This calculator builds a reforestation budget bottom-up from five cost components. Seedlings are priced per tree by species type, from $0.60 for fast-growing species up to $2.00 for tropical species, multiplied by total trees (acreage × planting density). Site preparation runs $200/acre for minimal work (mowing, herbicide) up to $900/acre for intensive prep (clearing, grading, soil amendment), and planting labor scales with density at roughly $100 plus $0.15 per tree per acre — both further adjusted by a regional labor multiplier that ranges from half-cost for international low-cost regions to 35% above baseline for the Northeast US. Annual maintenance (mowing, herbicide, monitoring) runs a flat $120/acre per labor-adjusted year for however many maintenance years you specify.

The model also bakes in expected mortality: it assumes 15% of seedlings die in year one and another 5% in year two, and prices replacement seedlings plus replanting labor at 1.5× the base seedling cost to cover that attrition — separately, it also reports an expected-survivors figure using a flat 82% five-year survival rate, which is a rougher, independent estimate rather than a number derived from the mortality figures above. Carbon sequestration is projected over a 20-year horizon at 0.02 tCO2/tree/year for conifers and 0.025 for all other species, giving a carbon cost per ton that helps benchmark the project against carbon credit markets. As with any reforestation estimate, real costs vary by contractor, terrain, and regional seedling availability.

Inputs

Area to Reforest

acres

Planting Density

trees/acre

Tree Species Type

Site Preparation Level

Maintenance Period

years

Labor Cost Region

Tab to move between fields

Results

Total Project Cost

$83,500.00

≈ 8 years of state college

Cost per Acre

$1,670.00

Total Trees to Plant20,000

All-In Cost per Tree$4.18

Seedling Cost$25,000.00

Site Preparation Cost$25,000.00

Planting Labor Cost$8,000.00

Maintenance Cost$18,000.00

20-Year Carbon Sequestration10,000 tCO2

Carbon Cost per Ton$8.35

Expected Survivors (5 yr)16,400

How to Use This Calculator

Enter the area to reforest in acres and target planting density (trees per acre).
Select tree species type (native hardwood, conifers, mixed, etc.).
Set site preparation level and maintenance period in years.
Select the labor cost region for your project area.
Review total project cost, cost per acre, and cost per tree for grant applications and budgeting.

How the result changes with Area to Reforest

Area to Reforest	Total Project Cost	Cost per Acre
25	$41,750.00	$1,670.00
38	$63,460.00	$1,670.00
75	$125,250.00	$1,670.00
125	$208,750.00	$1,670.00

What each input means

Area to Reforest: Total area to be planted in acres.
Planting Density: Number of trees per acre. Typical: 300-600 for timber, 100-200 for savanna restoration.
Tree Species Type: Species mix being planted, which sets per-seedling cost and carbon sequestration rate.
Site Preparation Level: 1 = Minimal (mow/herbicide), 2 = Moderate (mechanical + chemical), 3 = Intensive (clear, grade, amend).
Maintenance Period: Number of years of active maintenance (mowing, herbicide, replanting). Typically 2-5 years.
Labor Cost Region: Region-based labor cost multiplier applied to site prep, planting, and maintenance.

How this is calculated

Worked example, using the default values

Identify Input Parameters
4 parameters
Area to Reforest = 50, Planting Density = 400, Tree Species Type = 3, Site Preparation Level = 2 = 6 input(s) provided
Calculate Total Project Cost
Total Project Cost
83500 = $83,500
Calculate Cost per Acre
Cost per Acre
1670 = $1,670
Calculate Total Trees to Plant
Total Trees to Plant
20000 = 20000
Calculate All-In Cost per Tree
All-In Cost per Tree
4.18 = $4.18

Engine last updated September 1, 2026. Checked against 2 independently-derived tests — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the seedling cost depend on species type, but the carbon sequestration rate only distinguishes conifers from everything else?

These are two separate lookup tables in the model: seedling price varies across all five species options, from $0.60 for fast-growing species to $2.00 for tropical species, while the carbon rate only checks whether the species type is conifer (0.02 tCO2/tree/year) versus any other type (0.025). So a native hardwood and a mixed-native planting are priced differently per seedling but assumed to sequester carbon at the identical rate.

Are the mortality replacement cost and the 'expected survivors' figure based on the same assumption?

No, they're calculated independently. Replacement cost is built from explicit 15% year-one and 5% year-two mortality rates applied to your specific tree count, while expected survivors uses a flat 82% five-year survival rate regardless of species, site prep, or maintenance inputs — so the two numbers can imply somewhat different loss rates for the same project.

Does the regional labor multiplier affect seedling costs too?

No — the labor multiplier only scales site preparation, planting labor, and annual maintenance costs (for example, 1.35× baseline in the Northeast US versus 0.5× for lower-cost international regions). Seedling cost is set purely by species type and doesn't change with the region you select.

What does the 'carbon cost per ton' output actually measure?

It divides your total project cost by the projected 20-year carbon sequestration total, giving a cost-effectiveness figure in dollars per ton of CO2 captured. It's meant for benchmarking your reforestation project against carbon credit market prices, not as a price you'd actually pay or receive for a credit.

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