Restoration of tropical forests is faster than expected
Côte d'Ivoire has lost more than 10 million hectares of forest since the 1960s. Getty Images - Les Pickett
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In the face of the degradation of forest resources around the world, scientists are promoting forest restoration.
With this in mind, a Franco-Ivorian team of researchers is publishing this Thursday, December 9 in the prestigious journal
Science
a study which demonstrates the extraordinary potential for regeneration of nature.
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The seeds of the trees, still present in the soil even after several years of farming and the climate, hot and humid.
This is the combination that allows tropical forests to regenerate so quickly, without human intervention.
A capacity that surprised Bruno Hérault, a specialist in tropical forest landscapes at CIRAD, the French Agricultural Research Center for Development in Côte d'Ivoire: “
In barely twenty years, we have managed to recover 80% of fertility. soil, forest structure and tree diversity.
And that is a little unexpected because we know that tropical forests are extremely complex ecosystems and we thought that the reconstruction was slower than that.
"
► To read also: Researchers point out the vulnerability of Central African forests
"Passive restoration"
We do not find a virgin forest.
Some species take much longer to reappear, sometimes over a century.
However, the results of the study are encouraging for the restoration projects.
"
The advantage of natural succession and passive restoration, as they say, is that it will cost much less than active restoration, that is to say the fact of planting trees
", welcomes Bruno Hérault.
Diversity of plants and animal shelters, ability to trap CO2 from the air and fight against global warming, rich and fertile soil, ability to purify water ... The role of forests is essential.
Scientists around the world are encouraging them to be preserved.
► Read the article in
Science
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