Scientists have completed a “dramatic” decades-long restoration of an ancient oak woodland in Illinois — a rare success story that researchers say holds key lessons for ecological restoration at a time when forests are increasingly seen as a critical tool for fighting climate change, according to a new study published in the journal PLOS ONE.
Most ecological restoration projects fail over the long term, scientists say, from a lack of sustained financial resources, scientific expertise, labor, and time. “Once we destroy a natural area, it has proved disturbingly difficult and expensive to bring it back,” Greg Spyreas, a research scientist at the Illinois Natural History Survey and co-author of the study, said in a statement. “This study shows you how to do it.”
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/researchers-build-a-roadmap-to-restore-an-ancient-woodland
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