Conservation & Restoration

This body of research advances understanding of how conservation and restoration strategies can safeguard biodiversity and enhance ecosystem resilience in a rapidly changing world. Contributions include new perspectives on fire dynamics in subtropical forests, computational tools to monitor forest recovery, and approaches to increase the ecological value of agricultural landscapes such as oil palm. Several papers highlight the importance of microclimatic refugia, riparian buffers, and restoration prioritisation for protecting species, while others propose methods to maximize both ecological and socioeconomic outcomes. Collectively, this cluster emphasizes evidence-based strategies to balance conservation goals with human land use, and it underscores the central role of tropical and subtropical forests in global restoration and climate agendas.

Featured Publications

Fire traps in the wet subtropics: New perspectives on tropical forest–savanna transitions
Aland H. Y. Chan, David A. Coomes – Journal of Applied Ecology (2024)
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14513
Shows how fire acts as a trap preventing forest regeneration in wet subtropical regions, offering new insights into forest–savanna dynamics and restoration potential.

Computational tools for assessing forest recovery using satellite time series
Amelia Holcomb, Simon V. Mathis, David A. Coomes, et al. – Science of Remote Sensing (2023)
DOI: 10.1016/j.srs.2023.100083
Introduces scalable computational methods to quantify forest recovery trajectories from satellite data, enhancing monitoring for conservation and restoration projects.

Enhancing the ecological value of oil palm agriculture through strategic restoration
Jake E. Bicknell, Jesse R. O’Hanley, David A. Coomes, et al. – Nature Sustainability (2022)
DOI: 10.1038/s41893-022-00911-0
Demonstrates how targeted restoration within oil palm landscapes can substantially improve biodiversity outcomes without major losses in production.

Riparian buffers act as microclimatic refugia in oil palm landscapes
Joseph Williamson, Eleanor M. Slade, David A. Coomes, et al. – Journal of Applied Ecology (2021)
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13842
Finds that riparian buffer zones mitigate temperature extremes, providing refugia for biodiversity in otherwise intensively farmed oil palm landscapes.

Maximizing the value of forest restoration for tropical mammals through landscape prioritization
Nicolas J. Deere, Gurutzeta Guillera-Arroita, David A. Coomes, et al. – Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) (2020)
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001823117
Proposes prioritization strategies for forest restoration to maximize benefits for tropical mammal conservation, integrating biodiversity, connectivity, and cost-effectiveness.apes.