Key Tree Species Drive Amazon Restoration, Study Finds

Researchers examined 102 plots of natural regeneration across four Pará municipalities and found that 15 to 25 tree species—such as embaúba, tatapiririca, ingá-vermelho, and araticum-bravo—make up almost half of the trees and half of the carbon stored in these secondary forests. The study highlights that a short list of hyperdominant species can guide assisted restoration and enrichment strategies. Brazil’s Amazon contains over 140,000 square kilometers of regrowing forest, much of which can recover without planting. Monitoring remains essential to control fires and cattle ranching. The results provide a concrete path toward meeting the 12‑million‑hectare restoration goal by 2030.