They planted a forest at the edge of the desert

[ergophobe]

From there it got complicated.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/weather/topstories/they-planted-a-forest-at-the-edge-of-the-desert-from-there-it-got-complicated/ar-AA18ZYsz

Thought-provoking article. I thought the "carbon isn't everything" section would have to do with displacement of native species, but...

As Rotenberg and Yakir showed in a 2010 Science paper, the darker Yatir Forest absorbs more energy, converts it into heat, and releases it back to the atmosphere. Initially the heat released by Yatir outweighs the cooling effect of its carbon dioxide absorption. Rotenberg estimates it willl take more than 200 years for the forest to have a net cooling effect—if it survives that long.

But the article does get to the implications for native species

The Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel (SPNI), for example, adamantly opposes further planting of trees in naturally unforested open spaces such as grasslands and shrublands. Planting forests in such places excludes native species that are adapted to shrubland, he says, including endangered ground-nesting birds like the spectacled warbler, or raptors such as the lesser kestrel and long-legged buzzard, which need open landscapes to dive on prey. The heavy machinery and herbicide used in tree-planting can also damage fragile dryland soils, crushing the thin crust. It consists of minute plants, lichens, and fungi that provide food for insects, reptiles, and birds.

The article has the comment "Figuring out what "nature" even means in this ancient land, heavily exploited by humans for millennia, isn't easy." The only thing wrong with that assertion is that it actually applies to all land area on the planet outside of a few polar regions and some very high-altitude regions.