A farmer outside Weyburn has donated 40 acres of his land for a long-term research project that could help the federal government fulfill its international obligations under the Kyoto Accord.

Don Olah, who farms east of the city along Highway 13, has agreed to let the government plant 25,000 tree seedlings on the property over the next few days, and allow them to grow for at least 10 years.

"It's an experiment," said Olah on Monday. "I've always been interested in trees to reduce wind erosion and to attract wildlife."

Olah has already donated tracts of land on his farm to another tree project, set up by HELP International. The organization planted another 10 rows this year.

"It's kind of funny. Years ago, I bulldozed trees out and now I'm replanting them," he said.

Olah said one stretch of trees 10 and 15 feet tall already are attracting wildlife.

"You should see all the birds we had there this spring," he said. "You could say I'm losing (the production from) 40 acres but look what I'm gaining. In the long run, we will have much more benefit from it than we would from continuous cropping."

A representative of the Canadian Forest Service said Monday the project, called Plantation Demonstration Initiative, sponsored by Natural Resources Canada, will help determine more precise figures on the amount of carbon dioxide that specific varieties of trees will lock up in a particular climate and soil.

Mike Newman said one of the ways of reducing carbon dioxide is to use fast-growing trees, so the government is setting up the demonstration sites to measure the CO2 contained in the soil by the trees. All figures in use now are generalized but Canada wants to know the specifics, he said.

The project will also determine if the trees take up the same amount of carbon when they're planted in blocks, as opposed to rows like shelterbelts, and if the CO2 capture changes under the circumstances.

Canada is required to report on its movement to implement the Kyoto Accord in 2008, so that gives the trees four years to grow before their carbon uptake is first measured, said Newman.

Scotch pine, red pine, Siberian Larch, and a hybrid poplar are all being planted on a gently rolling portion of Olah's farm, all eight feet apart from one another.

Five tree planters from the Saskatchewan Forest Centre were busy planting Monday.

Foreman David Krajewski said the entire planting would be finished in two days. "To plant in a farmer's field is a dream for tree planters," he laughed. "Usually we're planting in clear-cuts where the ground is hard and we have to climb over the trees and debris."