Current policy is driving renewed impetus to restore forests to return ecological function, protect species, sequester carbon and secure livelihoods. Here we assess the contribution of tree planting to ecosystem restoration in tropical and sub-tropical Asia; we synthesize evidence on mortality and growth of planted trees at 176 sites and assess structural and biodiversity recovery of co-located actively restored and naturally regenerating forest plots. Mean mortality of planted trees was 18% 1 year after planting, increasing to 44% after 5 years. Mortality varied strongly by site and was typically ca 20% higher in open areas than degraded forest, with height at planting positively affecting survival. Size-standardized growth rates were negatively related to species-level wood density in degraded forest and plantations enrichment settings. Based on community-level data from 11 landscapes, active restoration resulted in faster accumulation of tree basal area and structural properties were closer to old-growth reference sites, relative to natural regeneration, but tree species richness did not differ. High variability in outcomes across sites indicates that planting for restoration is potentially rewarding but risky and context-dependent. Restoration projects must prepare for and manage commonly occurring challenges and align with efforts to protect and reconnect remaining forest areas. The abstract of this article is available in Bahasa Indonesia in the electronic supplementary material. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Understanding forest landscape restoration: reinforcing scientific foundations for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration’.

Studies related to reclamation on asphalt post-mining land are lacking. This study aimed to analyze the diversity of vegetation on asphalt post-mining sites in Buton, Southeast Sulawesi Province, Indonesia. The study focused on the composition, structure and diversity of plants on asphalt post-mining sites with varying ages (0-20 years) and overburden conditions. In total, this study recorded 105 plant species belonging to 37 families with richness index of 0.33-6.30 (low-high), diversity index of 0.31-2.96 (low-medium), and evenness index of 0.28-0.94 (low-high). The highest number of plant species was observed on the 7-year-old overburden site (46 species), suggesting that post-mining age is not necessarily the determinant factor of vegetation condition. There was arrested succession on the post-mining site with no overburden, implying that management of overburden is essential. Our study recommends that active planting using species from Rubiaceae family can be applied for reclamation of degraded land on asphalt post-mining areas.

Social forestry is increasingly promoted as a means to achieve equitable resource governance while contributing to biodiversity conservation. Yet, empirical evidence on how effectively community‐managed forests support biodiversity remains limited, particularly in tropical regions. We assessed mammal communities in two contrasting social forestry contexts in Sumatra, Indonesia: (1) a forest‐dominated landscape where management emphasised forest retention, and (2) an agroforestry‐mosaic characterised by mixed production systems and forest remnants. Using camera‐trap data and hierarchical multi‐species occupancy models, we compared species richness, community occupancy and the occurrence of forest specialists and globally threatened species between social forestry areas and adjacent watershed protection forests. We also assessed the influence of five environmental (structural connectivity, biomass, forest cover and terrain ruggedness) and anthropogenic (quantified using remoteness) factors in shaping species' occurrence patterns across these multiple‐use landscapes. Overall species richness and community occupancy in community‐managed forests were comparable to protection forests in both landscapes. However, community composition diverged depending on the landscape context. In the forest‐dominated landscape, occupancy of forest specialists and threatened taxa was maintained, while generalist species showed higher occupancy in social forestry areas. Conversely, in the agroforestry‐mosaic, forest specialists and threatened taxa had reduced occupancy within social forestry areas, largely driven by lower forest quality and diminished structural connectivity in some areas. Forest structural connectivity emerged as the strongest environmental driver of mammal occurrence. High connectivity buffered biodiversity losses in the forest‐dominated community forests, whereas reduced connectivity in the agroforestry‐mosaic landscape amplified declines among species with greater forest dependencies. Remoteness further influenced occurrence patterns, particularly favouring forest specialists in the forest‐dominated landscape. Synthesis and applications . Our findings suggest that community‐managed forests established within predominantly forested areas can make a meaningful contribution to area‐based conservation, including recognition as Other Effective Area‐based Conservation Measures (OECMs). In community‐managed forests established in more modified production landscapes, targeted restoration and actions that enhance habitat connectivity are likely required to sustain populations of priority species. Ensuring that social forestry policies explicitly incorporate biodiversity incentives and connectivity‐led management can help align community development objectives with global conservation goals. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the journal's blog .

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) support plant establishment and soil recovery in degraded lands, yet their long-term associations with vegetation in restored quarries remain poorly understood. This study quantified AMF spore density and genus-level occurrence in pioneer-plant rhizospheres at a cement quarry revegetated more than two decades earlier. AMF infective potential was assessed using Pueraria javanica trap cultures. Relationships among AMF attributes, vegetation strata, rhizosphere flavonoids, and soil chemical properties were evaluated using mixed-effects, correlation, and multivariate analyses. Trap-culture colonization was high across tree-, shrub-, and herb-associated inocula, with no significant difference among vegetation strata. Spore density differed significantly among strata and was highest in herbaceous rhizospheres, including Imperata cylindrica, Cymbopogon citratus, and Themeda gigantea; Eupatorium odoratum also supported high density among shrubs. Available phosphorus was the only soil property that remained significantly associated with spore density after accounting for vegetation stratum and plant species. Exchangeable potassium and soil organic carbon were positively correlated with spore density but did not remain significantly associated in the adjusted models. Total flavonoids differed strongly among vegetation strata but were not significantly associated with field AMF spore density after adjustment for vegetation stratum and plant species and were not correlated with trap-culture colonization or genus richness. Glomus sensu lato was the most frequently detected taxon. Trap-culture colonization of 70–90% and the positive association between available phosphorus and field spore density suggest that AMF propagule metrics may serve as candidate indicators of belowground condition in long-term tropical quarry restoration.