Natural regeneration in tree islands drives long-term recovery of native forest-associated woody species in oil palm landscapes

Tree islands in a monoculture oil palm landscape in Sumatra, Indonesia, supported continued accumulation of native recruiting woody species, with richness and abundance not saturating after 8 years.

• Why it matters: Biodiversity loss from rainforest-to-oil-palm conversion threatens native forest-associated plants, and it remains unclear whether tree islands sustain natural regeneration and long-term recovery.
• What they did: In a biodiversity enrichment experiment with 52 tree islands (25–1600 m²) planted with 0, 1, 2, 3, or 6 tree species, the authors censused naturally recruiting woody plants across four surveys from 2 to 8 years after regeneration began.
• The result: At the landscape scale, species richness and abundance increased by ~42% and ~69% from 2018 to 2024, with 90% of recruiting species and individuals native and native forest-associated species (N = 35) increasing steadily.

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