The Western Ghats in India is one of the important hotspots in the world and it supports large number of endemic plants and animals. Forest restoration is an important way to conserve native species. Recently tree plantations have been suggested to act as catalysts in restoring degraded forest lands with native vegetation. Plantations encourage native plant colonisation to varying degrees.

This project attempts to understand how different types of plantations encourage native plant colonization, what is the effect of plantation age on native plant colonization and how well native plants regenerate in plantations. It will do this by studying a rainforest site with a mosaic of plantations of varying age and species. The outcome will help India’s Forest Department to restore degraded forests in Western Ghats, India.