# The ecologist who proved forests heal themselves

> Daisy Dent's two decades of research show that tropical rainforests can regenerate naturally and capture far more carbon than planted monocultures, challenging the global reforestation industry.
- Title: The ecologist who proved forests heal themselves | Shortify
- Summary: Daisy Dent's two decades of research show that tropical rainforests can regenerate naturally and capture far more carbon than planted monocultures…
- Keywords: daisy dent, barro colorado, tropical forests, forest regeneration, carbon sequestration, eth zurich, panama, natural recovery, monoculture plantations, climate solutions, technology, science
- Source: MIT Technology Review — https://technologyreview.com/2026/10/12/1145745/daisy-dent-ecologist-revealing-invisible-networks-revive-rainforests
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: daisy dent, barro colorado, tropical forests, forest regeneration, carbon sequestration, eth zurich, panama, natural recovery, monoculture plantations, climate solutions, technology, science
## A century of forest time
Forest ecologist Daisy Dent, a senior scientist at ETH Zurich, oversees research plots at Barro Colorado Nature Monument in central Panama, some dating to the nineteenth century.
## Tropical forests store vast carbon
Tropical forests like these account for around forty percent of carbon stored on land, making them the planet's biggest terrestrial carbon sink.
## Monocultures may be expensive mistakes
Dent's research challenges typical carbon-crediting schemes that plant huge areas with a single tree species.
## Barro Colorado's unique history
Barro Colorado is a reserve covering forested peninsulas and islands that formed when construction of the Panama Canal flooded the area in nineteen fourteen.
## Animals plant most tropical trees
Fruit-eating animals including spider monkeys, bats, and parrots are responsible for planting more than seventy percent of trees in tropical forests.
## Diverse forests versus single species
A seventy-year-old patch with diverse trees shows the work of many animals creating a canopy approaching ancient jungle structure.
## Vast areas could regenerate naturally
A two thousand twenty-four estimate in Nature found that some two hundred fifteen million hectares of forest worldwide, an area larger than Mexico, could regenerate naturally.

> Tropical forests are underpinned by this massive network of interactions.
## The trillion-tree moment
In two thousand fifteen, as the Paris Agreement was codified, forest recovery seized global attention.
## From despair to restoration
As a PhD student around two thousand, Dent researched old-growth forests in northern Borneo but felt hopeless watching landscapes felled for palm oil plantations.
## Secondary forests now dominate tropics
Secondary forests, ones that grow naturally after the original forest was lost, had been a niche research area.
## Young forests capture carbon fastest
A two thousand sixteen Nature paper showed that a hectare of naturally regenerated secondary forest can capture eleven times as much carbon each year as an old-growth one.
## Regeneration without planting seeds
A two thousand twenty-two study published by the Royal Society showed that locations like Barro Colorado are among the best-case scenarios for forest recovery without planting a single seed.
## Degraded sites need intervention
In Panama, Dent works with nonprofits and carbon-crediting schemes to fast-track recovery through mapped corridors reconnecting forest fragments and plans to reintroduce animals in silent forests.
## High-quality credits command premiums
Dent works with the London-based carbon-crediting startup Ponterra to develop solutions for southern Panama. While credits can be bought for as little as five dollars per metric ton, corporate giants such as Microsoft have paid…
## Droughts force a reckoning
As droughts hit Latin America, policymakers may face shortcomings of cookie-cutter plantations.Dent says monocultures have much reduced resilience when facing extreme events like droughts, floods, heat, or pathogens.

> I think there's an increasing recognition that we can't just plant trees. We have to rebuild a system.
## Key takeaway

Forest ecologist Daisy Dent's research at Barro Colorado in Panama demonstrates that naturally regenerating tropical forests capture eleven times more carbon annually than old-growth forests and can recover without human planting.