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posted by Fnord666 on Friday September 22 2017, @12:36PM   Printer-friendly
from the heard-good-things-about-oxygen dept.

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?


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by HiThere on Friday September 22 2017, @04:35PM (1 child)

    by HiThere (866) Subscriber Badge on Friday September 22 2017, @04:35PM (#571696) Journal

    Perhaps you couldn't tell, but you weren't an animal that had to live there. There are big differences between a young regrown forest and an old forest.

    That said, a regrown forest is a big improvement, and would, in time, become and old forest. I'm just saying that your impressions don't reflect actuality. In old forests there are lots of habitats that don't exist in new forests. E.g., many animals depend on flaws that develop in aging trees. And it's actually a lot more complex that I'm saying, or even know. E.g., if only drought tolerant trees survive, there are likely to be quite restricted food sources that may well be seasonal. It's a bit hard to live if you only have food 6 months out of the year. Even a three month dearth requires special adaptations, so, e.g., bears hibernate and primates developed an especially slow metabolism. (I don't think that there's a 3 month absence of food for an orangutan, but there are months of very short rations.)

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 22 2017, @10:19PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday September 22 2017, @10:19PM (#571856)

    In old forests there are lots of habitats that don't exist in new forests

    ...and places that get clear-cut tend to then be replanted in a way that maximizes profits for the Capitalists.
    Genetic diversity be damned.
    Below, bob_super picks it up from there.

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