Secondary forests have short lifespans

Secondary forests, or forests that have regrown after agriculture use, only last an average of 20 years, according to a recently released scientific paper.

The finding presents a major problem for large-scale restoration policy, which often focuses on commitments to restore a certain number of hectares by a given year. But the benefits of restoration depend on those forests persisting. It takes much longer than 20 years for a secondary forest to absorb large amounts of carbon, or to provide habitat for many forest species, research shows.

The paper, The ephemerality of secondary forests in southern Costa Rica, is one of the first studies to look at how long secondary forests persist.

read more: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181002102900.htm

Posted by admin on Oct 24 2018. Filed under Forest & Land, News at Now, News From Roots. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry