Large areas under oil palm cultivation are approaching replanting age, meaning they will cut the old palms and start a new cycle. A second wave of biodiversity loss is therefore expected, highlighting the urgent need for effective restoration efforts.

These effects remained consistent after accounting for local properties (e.g., soil fertility and vegetation structure) and the landscape context (scattered trees and distance to forest patches).

Planting large tree islands with greater initial planting diversity can enhance the recovery of taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional diversity in oil palm landscapes. They accelerate the natural regeneration of native species, increasing diversity at local and landscape scales

As many native species only occurred on large tree islands (e.g., > 400m2), they are crucial for conserving locally rare, endemic, and forest-associated species that struggle to find suitable habitats within conventional oil palm plantations.

Only six years after planting, the tree islands had a high diversity of recruiting trees, represented by 58 woody species from 28 plant families and different ecological strategies, including endemic and forest-associated species.

We used the large-scale restoration experiment #EFForTSBEE to test how the size of tree islands and the diversity of trees planted affect the recovery of functional and phylogenetic diversity through natural regeneration of native wood species. #Restoration #Ecology

Tree islands are strategically planted patches of native vegetation in agricultural landscapes that promote forest regeneration.

Due to intensive management, such as the use of herbicides and fertilizers, natural regeneration in industrial-scale oil palm plantations is very limited.

Motivation: Large-scale conversion of tropical forests into #monocultures is a major threat to the conservation of tropical #biodiversity. While restoring native biodiversity in these ecosystems is a priority, effective #restoration strategies have yet to be identified