Dead planet, living planet

not well understood. Also inadequately studied is the influence of various restoration approaches on restoring ecosystem servic- es, even though the links between biodiversity, functional traits, and ecosystem services are well acknowledged (Chazdon 2008). Even with an understanding of the dynamics of the forest eco- system, restoration will not succeed without consideration and awareness of interacting socioeconomic and political systems (ITTO 2002). Opportunities

mated as 350–850 million ha, depending on the level of degra- dation (ITTO 2002). Indeed, The Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR) estimates that over 1 billion hectares of previously forested lands are currently suitable for broad scale or mosaic restoration, approximately 6% of the earth’s total land area (GPFLR 2009). Incentives for increasing carbon stocks in vegetation has lead to increased motivation for a wide range of forest restoration activities, but the choice of species in reforestation projects have not always complemented long-term carbon sequestra- tion. It is important to recognize that forest regeneration and restoration are long-term processes, requiring 100 years or more (Chazdon 2008).

The opportunities for forest restoration is considerable, since the extent of forest degradation in the tropics has been esti-

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