To find out what works best for reestablishing tropical dry forests, the researchers planted seedlings of 32 native tree species in degraded soil or degraded soil amended with sand, rice hulls, rice hull ash or hydrogel (an artificial water-holding material). After two years, they found that tree species known for traits that make them drought tolerant, such as enhanced ability to use water and capture sunlight, survived better than other species. Some of the soil amendments helped get seedlings off to a good start, but by the end of the experiment there was no difference in survival with respect to soil condition.
"This study is important for a number of reasons," Powers said. "First, it demonstrates that it is possible to grow trees on extremely degraded soils, which provides hope that we can indeed restore tropical dry forests. Second, it provides a general approach to screen native tree species for restoration trails based on their functional traits, which can be applied widely across the tropics.
Is 'ecosystem restoration' the job growth area of the future?
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Friday September 22 2017, @03:44PM (1 child)
Chernobyl seemed to help the forest - not in and of itself, but by actually creating a no-go zone for humans that they respected.
🌻🌻 [google.com]
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 22 2017, @11:33PM
I do wish people would stop spewing this nonsense.
The Chernobyl event absolutely poisoned the surrounding ecosystem.
Tim Mousseau PhD (biosciences) and Anders Moller MD have done extensive studies of the area.
Wildlife Around Chernobyl Is Still Affected 30 Years After The Catastrophe [googleusercontent.com] (orig) [theregister.co.uk]
birds and rodents show elevated frequencies and degree of cataracts
birds showed diminished brain size, increased incidence of tumor formation, reduced fertility, and more malformed offspring
barn swallows nearly died out
Wild populations would be locally extinct if it were not for constant immigration
dead vegetation was not being eaten by insects in the usual way
beetles and other wood eaters are less prevalent
Vegetation is not rotting and nutrients are not being returned to the soil.
The ecosystem around Chernobyl is a mess.
20MB [tucradio.org] 25 minute[1] audio presentation by Tim Mousseau.
[1] Perhaps even less if your media player has a speedup capability--especially if it has an anti-chipmunk feature.
Wildlife Around Chernobyl Is -NOT- Plentiful -nor- Are The Remaining Animals Healthy (Birds, Bees, Butterflies) [washingtonsblog.com]
Chernobyl & Fukushima Studies Show That Radiation Reduces Animal & Plant Numbers, Fertility, Brain Size, & Biological Diversity And Increases Deformities & Abnormalities [dissidentvoice.org]
-- OriginalOwner_ [soylentnews.org]