Young tropical forests help to reverse biodiversity losses

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Email Bluesky Facebook LinkedIn Reddit Whatsapp X Access through your institution Buy or subscribe Tropical forests are global biodiversity hotspots. Related Articles Read the paper: Biodiversity resilience in a tropical rainforest Predicting the fate of tropical forests under intensifying heat Forest-degradation thresholds shape tropical biodiversity See all News & Views Subjects Ecology Conservation biology Latest on: Ecology Real-life Pokémon professors wanted: why the media franchise is hiring academics Career News 08 APR 26 Biodiversity resilience in a tropical rainforest Article 08 APR 26 The importance of competition and facilitation for global tree diversity Article 08 APR 26 Jobs Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Nature Locations: Shanghai or Madrid – hybrid working model Closing Date: 21st April 2026 About Springer Natur... Shanghai (CN), Madrid Springer Nature Ltd Associate or Senior Editor, Scientific Reviews Job Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Scientific Reviews Locations: Shanghai or Beijing (hybrid) Application deadline: April 23rd, 2026 About Sp... Shanghai (CN) /Beijing Springer Nature Ltd Associate or Senior Editor, Communications Sustainability Title: Associate or Senior Editor, Communications Sustainability Location: Shanghai, Beijing, Nanjing, Pune or New Delhi Application Deadline: Marc...

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Tropical forests are global biodiversity hotspots. They are rapidly lost owing to deforestation but have the ability to regrow naturally once agricultural lands are abandoned.
Writing in
Nature
, Metz
et al
.
1
show that tropical forest ecosystems can recover surprisingly fast. The authors report that after 30 years of recovery from deforestation, a wide range of wildlife reaches 90% of the abundance and biodiversity levels present in neighbouring old-growth forests, and 75% of the species composition (the kinds and relative abundances of species present) of those forests. Mobile animals and insects are better able to resist land-use change and recover faster than trees, so can aid tree recovery through pollination and seed dispersal. Regrowing secondary tropical forest therefore has enormous potential to reverse biodiversity losses and scale up forest-restoration work.
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doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00811-6
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Competing Interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Related Articles
Read the paper: Biodiversity resilience in a tropical rainforest
Predicting the fate of tropical forests under intensifying heat
Forest-degradation thresholds shape tropical biodiversity
See all News & Views
Subjects
Ecology
Conservation biology
Latest on:
Ecology
Real-life Pokémon professors wanted: why the media franchise is hiring academics
Career News
08 APR 26
Biodiversity resilience in a tropical rainforest
Article
08 APR 26
The importance of competition and facilitation for global tree diversity
Article
08 APR 26
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## Expert Analysis

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### Implications
- Mobile animals and insects are better able to resist land-use change and recover faster than trees, so can aid tree recovery through pollination and seed dispersal.
- Go to natureasia.com Rent or buy this article Prices vary by article type from $1.95 to $39.95 Learn more Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-00811-6 References Metz, T. et al.
- Land Use Policy 153 , 107545 (2025).

### Expert Commentary
This article covers article, nature, google topics. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 624.