Monitoring Forest Restoration in Berenty Reserve, Southern Madagascar

Conservation of the gallery forest in Berenty Reserve is becoming increasingly urgent. Any deterioration threatens its increasingly rare lemur species. Following a trial planting programme started in 2016 on three plots, with measurement of seedling growth in 2017 and 2018, we returned in 2025 to measure the changes in height, canopy cover and stem diameter. Key insights were that growth had accelerated markedly after 2018. Trees in the forest can be divided into three main species groups—upper canopy, lower canopy and dryland species—but we found scant relationship between species growth and their eventual canopy height, which could have consequences for future planting schemes and management. The plots in the mid-forest showed the highest growth rates. Mortality of seedlings was highest on the riverside plot, but there was also wild recruitment from the forest. The plots by the river and in the mid-forest received the largest number of recruits. The chief problem for the study was that we were only in Berenty for short periods and could not oversee ongoing activities in the plant nursery and in the forest. Consequently, there were problems arising from nursery treatment, unrecorded replanting and difficulties tracking the growth of individuals across years. Future work, based on our results, will focus on identifying and planting species best suited for recovery on the varied sites. Overall, temporal depth is essential for making appropriate restoration decisions based on long-term ecological functioning.