Regenerating the Rainforest: Biodiversity Recovers Remarkably Quickly

Tropical rainforests are home to almost two-thirds of all vertebrate species and three-quarters of all tree species: they are the most species-rich terrestrial ecosystem on Earth. However, these diverse rainforests are currently being drastically decimated. Can tropical rainforests regenerate, and will the unique diversity of thousands of animal species return after they have been cleared? This question was investigated by the Reassembly research group, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), with the involvement of researchers from the University of Bayreuth. The findings have now been published in the journal Nature.