Learn how soil nitrogen can double the speed of tropical forest recovery. New research reveals the vital role of soil health in reforestation and fighting climate change.
Scientists have found that the key to helping forests recover more quickly is the soil. Recent research shows that tropical forests can regrow up to twice as fast after being cleared if the soil has enough nitrogen. This means that what happens beneath the ground is just as important as what grows above it when forests are trying to recover.
The study was led by researchers from the University of Leeds and was the biggest and longest experiment ever done to understand how soil nutrients influence forest regrowth. The work focused on tropical land that had been previously cleared for farming, logging, and other human activities.
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How Was the Research Done?
To conduct the research, scientists looked at 76 forest sites across Central America. These areas were monitored for up to 20 years. Each site was different in size and age, helping the team find long-term patterns in regrowth.
The researchers tested the role of nutrients by treating different plots in different ways. Some areas received nitrogen, some received phosphorus, some got both, and others were left untouched. This allowed them to compare how forests responded to different soil conditions.
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What Were the Findings?
Nitrogen played a major role in how fast forests recovered, especially in the first ten years. Forests with enough nitrogen regrew about twice as quickly as those without it. Phosphorus alone did not have the same effect, showing that nitrogen is the key nutrient for early forest recovery.
Although fertiliser was used in the experiment, the scientists do not recommend using fertilisers in real-life forests. Large-scale fertiliser use can harm ecosystems and release harmful gases that worsen climate change. Instead, they suggest safer, natural solutions. One option is planting trees from the bean family, which naturally add nitrogen to the soil. Another is restoring forests in areas where nitrogen levels are already higher due to air pollution.
This discovery is important because tropical forests play a big role in fighting climate change. They remove carbon dioxide from the air and store it in trees, helping to slow global warming. The researchers estimate that nitrogen shortages may be preventing young tropical forests around the world from storing nearly 0.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year. That is about the same as two years of the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
The study shows that protecting existing forests should always be a priority. However, it also suggests that smarter forest restoration, based on soil health and natural nutrients, could make reforestation much more effective in helping the planet recover.
