Tropical Rainforest Restoration Plantations Are Slow to Restore the Soil Biological and Organic Carbon Characteristics of Old Growth Rainforest.

Widespread and continuing losses of tropical old-growth forests imperil global biodiversity and alter global carbon (C) cycling. Soil organic carbon (SOC) typically declines with land use change from old-growth forest, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Ecological restoration plantations offer an established means of restoring aboveground biomass, structure and diversity of forests, but their capacity to recover the soil microbial community and SOC is unknown due to limited empirical data and consensus on the mechanisms of SOC formation.

The endangered northern bettong, Bettongia tropica, performs a unique and potentially irreplaceable dispersal function for ectomycorrhizal truffle fungi.

Organisms that are highly connected in food webs often perform unique and vital functions within ecosystems. Understanding the unique ecological roles played by highly connected organisms and the consequences of their loss requires a comprehensive understanding of the functional redundancy amongst organisms. One important, yet poorly understood, food web is that between truffle-forming ectomycorrhizal fungi and their mammalian consumers and dispersers.