Liana cutting accelerates the structural recovery of once-logged tropical forests at a fraction of the cost of tree planting

A study at the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment in Borneo used repeated airborne LiDAR (2013 and 2020) to compare carbon recovery in logged forest plots under liana cutting, enrichment planting, and untreated controls. Liana cutting accelerated canopy recovery roughly three times faster than enrichment planting, adding 3.7 metres of canopy height over 9 years compared to 1.6 metres over 18 years for enrichment planting, and reduced tree mortality by around 50%. About half the additional carbon came from faster canopy growth and the other half from avoided mortality. Because liana cutting is approximately ten times cheaper to implement, the cost per tonne of CO₂ sequestered was roughly US$2 for liana cutting versus US$58 for enrichment planting. The interventions tested are named use cases in Verra's draft methodology M0274 for enhanced forest sequestration with dynamic baselines using randomised control trials.

A study at the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment in Borneo found that the positive effect of liana cutting on seedling performance was reduced during the 2015-2016 El Niño-induced drought (O'Brien et al. 2019, Journal of Applied Ecology). While liana cutting accelerates canopy recovery roughly three times faster than enrichment planting and reduces tree mortality by around 50% under typical conditions, climate stress can erode part of that benefit in dry years. This strengthens the case for monitoring restoration effects across multiple climate years and against designed control plots, rather than relying on before-and-after observation alone.