Science & Tech · Science & Environment · 9 hrs ago
Daisy Dent studies how animal networks help tropical forests regrow
Ecologist Daisy Dent studies forest recovery at Barro Colorado Nature Monument in central Panama.
The reserve has plots of forest at different stages of growth, and records there stretch back more than a century.
Dent tracks trees and the animals that spread their seeds, including monkeys, bats, parrots and agoutis.
Fruit-eating animals plant more than 70% of trees in tropical forests, but different animals can help create forests with different mixes of species.
This matters because tropical forests store large amounts of carbon and support wildlife and local communities.
Dent’s research could help show where forests can recover on their own and where they need help, rather than relying on large plantations of a single tree species.
A 2024 estimate found that about 215 million hectares of forest worldwide could regenerate naturally.
Daisy Dent is studying how animal and plant interactions help tropical forests regenerate naturally.
At Barro Colorado Nature Monument in Panama, she uses long-term records to compare forests recovering after land clearance.
Fruit-eating animals plant more than 70% of trees in tropical forests, according to the article.
Dent’s research could help identify where forests can regrow without planting and where they need assistance.
The approach is presented as an alternative to carbon-crediting schemes that plant large areas with a single tree species.
- Who
- Daisy Dent, a senior scientist at ETH Zurich, and an international network of researchers.
- What
- They are studying how animal and plant interactions help tropical forests recover.
- When
- Dent has studied forest regeneration for over a decade, and her research spans two decades.
- Where
- Barro Colorado Nature Monument in central Panama.
- Why
- To understand how forests can regenerate and capture carbon, and when they may need help.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Tropical forests are underpinned by this massive network of interactions
Construction of the Panama Canal flooded the area, forming the forested peninsulas and islands that make up the reserve.
Dent studied old-growth forests in northern Borneo as a PhD student.
Forest recovery drew global attention as the Paris Agreement was being codified.
A Nature estimate found that about 215 million hectares of forest worldwide could regenerate naturally.
- Research site
- Barro Colorado Nature Monument, central Panama
- Researcher
- Daisy Dent, senior scientist at ETH Zurich
- Animal role
- Fruit-eating animals plant more than 70% of trees in tropical forests
- Potential natural recovery
- About 215 million hectares, according to a 2024 Nature estimate
- Reserve history
- The Panama Canal flooded the area in 1914
Sources
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