The potential of secondary forests: drivers, mechanisms, and implications for restoration

Tropical forests disappear rapidly because of deforestation, yet they have the potential to regrow naturally on abandoned lands. Here I present results of the 2ndFOR research network on secondary succession. We analyze how 12 forest attributes recover during secondary succession, and assess the underlying biophysical using 77 chronosequence sites across the Neotropics and West Africa. Tropical forests are highly resilient to low-intensity land use; after 20 years, forest attributes attain 78% (33-100%) of their old-growth values. Recovery to 90% of old-growth values is fastest for soil and plant functioning, intermediate for structure and species diversity, and slowest for biomass and species composition. Successional pathways differ markedly for dry and wet tropical forests. I show how biophysical drivers and landscape forest cover affect forest recovery. I also present my ERC PANTROP project on landscape effects on forest recovery.