Insects and Plants Love “New” Forests Just as Much as Old Ones

Hope for bees and company: A study in China found little difference in biodiversity between replanted, naturally re-grown and undisturbed forests, showing an opportunity to effectively curb climate change through a global regrowth of trees.

China is home to the world’s largest secondary and plantation forests. And while many people think “artificial” forests are not the ideal habitat for many plants and animals, this study proves different.

Yi Zou, the 13-year study’s lead researcher from Suzhou city’s Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University, explains, “While nothing compares to primary forests, our findings show that biodiversity, which is vital to all aspects of life – from the air we breathe to our food sources – can be recovered through newly regenerated forests.”

Forests that are replanted or left to recover after logging, the scientists have discovered, preserve insect and plant life quite similarly to primary forests.

According to environmentalists, aside from protecting diversity, preserving existing forests and restoring damaged ones prevents flooding, and locks away carbon.