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Science Advances: Ecological restoration success is higher for natural regeneration than for active restoration in tropical forests

The article shows that restoration may not achieve the same biodiversity and vegetation structure values found in mature forests, but biodiversity and vegetation structure are between 34-56% and 19-56% higher in areas of natural regeneration than in active restoration areas, respectively. However, this is only clear when key biotic and abiotic factors are controlled. These results suggest that lower cost approaches may be more effective than active restoration to restore biodiversity and vegetation structure in tropical forests. The study does not affirm that natural regeneration is always the most cost-effective approach to forest landscapes restoration. When conditions are not appropriate for natural regeneration or where specific tree species are required, tree planting is recommended.