Animals are key to restoring the world's forests, long-term data set reveals
Forest restoration is seen as a solution to the twin issues roiling our planet, The forests absorb carbon dioxide and create habitat. Efforts to help forests bounce back from deforestation have focused on increasing trees.
A new report from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) shows that the presence of animals in forests can have a positive influence on their recovery.
They found that tree communities that experience rapid recovery are dominated by species , and show lower genetic diversity and higher dominance than communities with slower recovery rates
animals, by carrying a wide variety of seeds into deforested areas, are key to the recovery of tree species richness and abundance to old-growth levels after only 40-70 years of regrowth
Our greatest allies in reforestation are animals. Replanting efforts should be about more than just establishing plant communities
it’s not just in the interest of species restoration that forests need to be restored and protected, but also for the benefit of human communities
The dispersal of seeds by animals is a key part of forest expansion. In the tropics, over 80% of tree species can be dispersed by animals
large-bodied mammals disperse more plants . However, this is the first time researchers have documented the importance of different-sized birds, particularly small birds.
They also found that bat dispersers had the lowest proportion of plant species dispersed relative to their number of individual plants dispersed
Their results offer the most detailed data of animal seed dispersal recovery over the longest timeframe of natural restoration
they provide a unique glimpse of the late phase of succession in these restored areas. They also provide valuable insight into the long-term success of the restoration
young forests have mostly been dispersed by small birds.
Older forests were replaced by younger ones as birds increased the number of species present
many land plants were dispersed by terrestrial mammals across all ages of forests — from 20 years old to old-growth forests
This is quite unusual for post-agricultural regenerating forests, which is usually covered by thick vegetation that makes them inhospitable to humans and livestock
It is likely that the presence of large tracts of preserved forest near our secondary stands, coupled with low hunting, has allowed mammal populations to thrive and to bring an influx of seeds