Liana cutting accelerates the structural recovery of once-logged tropical forests at a fraction of the cost of tree planting
Toby Jackson et al.
Current Biology, 2026
Repeated airborne LiDAR at the Sabah Biodiversity Experiment in Borneo showed that liana cutting sequestered carbon at roughly US$2 per tonne of CO₂ versus US$58 for enrichment planting. The treatment accelerated canopy recovery three times faster than enrichment planting and reduced tree mortality by around 50%.
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Active restoration accelerates the carbon recovery of human-modified tropical forests
Christopher Philipson et al.
Science, 2020
Two decades of permanent-plot data combined with airborne LiDAR biomass maps in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo showed that active restoration accelerated carbon recovery by around 50% compared with natural regeneration. The study provides a rigorous empirical benchmark for quantifying the additional carbon gains delivered by restoration interventions in logged tropical forests.
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The road to recovery: a synthesis of outcomes from ecosystem restoration in tropical and sub-tropical Asian forests
Lindsay Banin et al.
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 2023
Synthesis of ecosystem restoration outcomes across tropical and sub-tropical Asia, evaluating tree mortality and growth at 176 sites and assessing structural and biodiversity recovery in actively restored versus naturally regenerating forest plots. Provides a rigorous empirical foundation for setting realistic expectations of restoration-based carbon and biodiversity outcomes in the Asian tropics.
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Positive effects of liana cutting on seedlings are reduced during El Niño-induced drought
Michael O'Brien et al.
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2019
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A trait-based trade-off between growth and mortality: evidence from 15 tropical tree species using size-specific relative growth rates
Christopher Philipson et al.
Ecology and Evolution, 2014
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Three decades of post-logging tree community recovery in naturally regenerating and actively restored dipterocarp forest in Borneo
Robin Hayward et al.
Forest Ecology and Management, 2021
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