How long does it take for a tropical rainforest ecosystem to recover on its own from deforestation? The answer to this apparently simple question required a huge effort achieved by our entire Research Unit and a complex analysis across over 10’000 plant and animal species and over 23’000 bacteria sequences – and was now published in Nature.
The paper was a joint effort of all researchers in the entire Research Unit. Timo Metz, previously during his PhD thesis in Reassembly, was leading the quantitative analysis and is the first author of this very intensive and detailed study of the resistance and resilience of a highly biodiverse tropical forest and many of its components. The results can stimulate restoration activities, and shows the huge potential of secondary forests undergoing natural regeneration to stop or even reverse regional biodiversity declines – including ecosystem services such as carbon fixation and climate regulation. You can read Nico’s thoughts on these findings in more detail here: Speaker’s Column.
The paper was accompanied in Nature by an insightful “News & Views” written by Lourens Poorter and Tomonari Matsuo: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-00811-6
MEDIA – Here’s our informative press release by the TU Darmstadt:
Die erstaunliche Resilienz eines tropischen Regenwalds (in German)
The astonishing resilience of a tropical rainforest (in English)
Some of the reflections of our study in the media:
MONGABAY How quickly do tropical forests recover?
FUNDACIÓN JOCOTOCO: Rainforests can recover quickly
SPEKTRUM Wie schnell erholt sich ein gerodeter Regenwald? (in German)
DEUTSCHLANDFUNK Renaturierung von Regenwald (in German, Interview with Nico)
DEUTSCHLANDFUNK Regenwald erholt sich in 30 Jahren fast vollständig
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