New research published last month through a collaboration of American and Peruvian biologists might present an answer to one of conservation's biggest questions: can biodiversity be restored once it's been lost?
On a protected reserve in the northern Peruvian Amazon, the answer seems to be yes, according to a study summarized by the researchers at Phys.org.
The Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve lies 15 miles from the northern Peruvian city of Iquitos and is host to 143,500 acres of now-protected, previously logged tropical forest.Â
The Peruvian government declared it a protected reserve in 2004, stopping further logging or clearing at that time. Because it has been protected from further human activity over the last 20 years, the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve gave these scientists a rare opportunity to study the rate at which tropical birds returned to the area after deforestation.
"This Reserve is one of the most important places for birds in Peru," Dr. Daniel Lebbin, a conservation biologist with the American Bird Conservancy, said in an article from the group in 2010, after several conservation programs succeeded in purchasing private land to give to the Peruvian government for full incorporation within the reserve.
The scientists conducting this new research compared bird communities in areas that were never logged or cleared, selectively logged before the establishment of the reserve, and in forests growing on land that was clear cut to grow sugarcane back in the 1980s.
What they found is pretty remarkable. The bird communities in the sites that were selectively logged about 19 years ago were very similar to the bird communities found in the sites where the forest had never been disturbed by humans.
Within 26 years, they found the bird communities, as well as the vegetation structure, were similar to nearby undisturbed forest sites.
"We believe our findings offer reasons for hope in the conservation of tropical forests," the research study authors wrote in the article for Phys.org.
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Often 😇 These findings show biodiversity can return to deforested sites over time. Biodiversity is critical to protecting local food systems, including for humans. Animals, like birds, returning to a deforested area can also be an indicator of the overall health of an ecosystem. In the case of forests, we rely on a healthy Amazon to absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide, helping to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and slow global warming in the process.
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The Peruvian government designating the Allpahuayo-Mishana National Reserve as a protected area was critical to the successful return of a diversity of tropical birds. Similar success has been seen recently in Brazil due to their government intervention and collaboration with Indigenous experts.
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