First the good news: Asia Overtakes Europe For Forest Expansion According to the UN FAO's State of the World's Forests report, the rate of forest loss across the planet has slowed as more nations, particularly in Asia, have started planting more trees than they chop down. (treehugger.com)
Your observation that the spot was previously an orchard (and your earlier comment about temperate forest expansion) is a reminder that nothing is lost so long as we are able to change how we impact our environment. (dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com)
Contrary to widespread belief of northward boreal forest expansion due to recent warming, lack of post-fire recovery during the last centuries, in comparison with active tree regeneration more than 1000 years ago, indicates that the current climate does not favour such expansion. (rstb.royalsocietypublishing.org)