Affected ecosystems take longer than expected to recover

2017/01/25 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia

According to a new study, ecological restoration does not recover all the biodiversity and functionality of degraded ecosystems. The team led by David Moreno-Mateo of Ikerbasque at BC3 has analyzed 3,035 plots. Researchers have found that in restored ecosystems there are half of plants and animals, and that, in addition, carbon and nitrogen cycles have not been damaged again.

In ecosystem restorations, in addition to the recovery of plant species, it is necessary to restore interactions between organisms and, in many cases, the recovery of certain species or interactions may require centuries. The study was published in the journal Nature Communications.