🌳 Rainforest wildlife returns to abandoned farmland within 30 years

• A study from Ecuador shows that biodiversity in tropical rainforest recovers to more than 90 percent of its original level within three decades.
• Three-quarters of the animal and plant species typical of untouched primary forest return to abandoned agricultural land during the same period.
• Birds, bats, monkeys, and dung beetles drive the regrowth by spreading and burying tree seeds.

62 sites compared

Researchers from more than 30 universities and institutions have, for the first time, mapped how tropical rainforest recovers after agricultural use ceases. The study is published in the journal Nature and was conducted in the Chocó region of northwestern Ecuador.

The researchers examined 16 different groups of organisms, ranging from animals and plants to bacteria, across 62 sites within a nature reserve managed by the conservation organization Jocotoco. The sites included actively used pastures and cocoa plantations, secondary forests of varying ages that had previously been used for agriculture, and untouched primary forest. In total, more than 8,500 species were analyzed.

The results show that trees grow back quickly as soon as the land is left alone. Within a single human generation, 75 percent of species composition and 90 percent of species diversity return on their own.

Animals drive the regrowth

Bats, monkeys, birds, and other mammals transport tree seeds back into the cleared areas. Dung beetles bury the seeds in the soil, and hundreds of other animal species handle pollination. The animals are therefore not only beneficiaries of the returning forest — they are also a precondition for it.

The study reveals clear differences between species groups. Mobile animals such as birds and mammals recovered within a few years, while invertebrates in the leaf litter and bacteria in the soil take longer than the tree species themselves. Cocoa plantations regenerated faster than pastures, because plantation trees leave shade and foliage in place from an early stage.

Primary forest serves as seed source

Earlier studies in Central and South America have shown that the original diversity and biomass of trees need more than 100 years to fully recover. How quickly wildlife returned, on the other hand, was largely unknown until now.

The research team used acoustic methods, camera traps, artificial intelligence, and genetic species scans to map biodiversity among birds, mammals, frogs, and insects. Dung beetles were collected using dung and scent traps.

The recovery works as long as enough intact forest remains in the landscape to serve as a seed source for the returning species. Each year, 4–6 million hectares of tropical forest are lost globally, which is nearly equal to the combined area of all long-term restoration projects.

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