Evaluating the Ecological Functions of Plantation-Based Forest Restoration: Impacts on Biodiversity Recovery, Ecosystem Services, and Carbon Sequestration

Abstract

Forests help maintain the diversity of life and regulate the environment in other ways. Due to continuous deforestation and habitat loss around the world, plantation-based forest restoration has gradually been employed to increase forest coverage and restore damaged environments. At present, it is unknown whether plantation forests can restore biodiversity and provide ecological services to the same extent. Assess the ecological functions of plantation-based forest restoration by evaluating their contributions to biodiversity recovery, ecosystem services and carbon sequestration in this paper. Other reasons for the failure of the restoration effort include single-crop forests, broken habitats, poor soil conditions and human activities. In addition, the above strategies for restoration include expanding the diversity of native species, building mixed-species forests, fostering natural regeneration, and conducting long-term biodiversity monitoring. Research has shown that while plantation forests can increase the proportion of vegetation and raise carbon sinks at an earlier stage, their low species diversity compared with natural forests is also a problem. Based on the results of the restoration work, native species can be used to increase structural diversity and carry out continuous management. In short, in the future, the plans for biodiversity protection and forest restoration should be combined to create resilient and stable forest ecosystems.