Can the return of rainforest be accelerated without tree - planting ?

Recent decades have seen a big shift in the public perception of rainforests – from being overwhelmingly viewed as an obstacle to be cleared for agriculture or felled as a source of timber, to being valued by many and mostly protected from further clearing. It is now also several decades since TREAT members and other dedicated restoration pioneers started to develop tree-planting methods aimed at returning a cover of rainforest to former agricultural land in areas of ecological importance. During that time there have been many successes. These include the development of effective revegetation techniques and the creation of continuous ribbons of restored rainforest stretching across the agricultural landscape, and protecting now-flowing streams that were once degraded bogs.