title: A global meta-analysis on the ecological drivers of forest restoration success.
abstract: Two billion ha have been identified globally for forest restoration. Our meta-analysis encompassing 221 study landscapes worldwide reveals forest restoration enhances biodiversity by 15-84% and vegetation structure by 36-77%, compared with degraded ecosystems. For the first time, we identify the main ecological drivers of forest restoration success (defined as a return to a reference condition, that is, old-growth forest) at both the local and landscape scale. These are as follows: the time elapsed since restoration began, disturbance type and landscape context. The time elapsed since restoration began strongly drives restoration success in secondary forests, but not in selectively logged forests (which are more ecologically similar to reference systems). Landscape restoration will be most successful when previous disturbance is less intensive and habitat is less fragmented in the landscape. Restoration does not result in full recovery of biodiversity and vegetation structure, but can complement old-growth forests if there is sufficient time for ecological succession.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Vertebrates, Department of Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 68020, Brazil.|International Institute for Sustainability, Rio de Janeiro 22460320, Brazil.|Rio Conservation and Sustainability Science Centre, Department of Geography and the Environment, Pontifícia Universidade Católica, Rio de Janeiro 22453900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renato
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Crouzeilles
authors.affiliation: Group of Ecological Systems Design, Institute of Environmental Engineering, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich, Zürich 8093, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Vertebrates, Department of Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 68020, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mariana S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.affiliation: Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia.
authors.forename: David B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: Lindenmayer
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Vertebrates, Department of Ecology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 68020, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos E V
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Grelle
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Alcala University, Alcalá de Henares E-28005, Spain.
authors.forename: José M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rey Benayas
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D052918:Environmental Restoration and Remediation; D065928:Forests