New research suggests tropical forests can recover far faster from deforestation when their soils contain enough nitrogen, with regrowth rates doubling in the first decade after land is cleared. The findings come from the largest and longest experiment ever conducted on how nutrients shape forest recovery, led by the University of Leeds and published in Nature Communications.
The team tracked 76 forest plots across Central America for up to 20 years, monitoring how trees grew, died and returned as the land regenerated after logging and agriculture. Each plot received different nutrient treatments, including nitrogen, phosphorus, both, or none, which allowed researchers to isolate how soil chemistry influences forest rebound.
The results were striking. Forests with sufficient nitrogen recovered at roughly twice the pace of nitrogen-poor sites, while phosphorus alone had little effect. Lead author Wenguang Tang, who conducted the work during his PhD at Leeds, said the findings point to a powerful but often overlooked driver of forest resilience. “Our study is exciting because it suggests there are ways we can boost the capture and storage of greenhouse gases through reforestation by managing the nutrients available to trees,” he said.
The researchers stress that fertilising forests is not the answer, warning that widespread nitrogen application could trigger harmful side effects, including emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas. Instead, they point to practical alternatives, such as planting nitrogen-fixing legume species or restoring forests in areas where nitrogen levels are already elevated by air pollution.
The implications for climate policy are significant. Tropical forests are among the world’s most important carbon sinks, and slow regrowth can limit their ability to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The team estimates that nitrogen shortages in young tropical forests could prevent the storage of about 0.69 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, roughly equal to two years of the United Kingdom’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
The study arrives only weeks after the close of COP 30 in Brazil, where governments backed the new Tropical Forest Forever Facility, a fund designed to help countries protect and restore tropical forests.
Principal investigator Dr Sarah Batterman said the findings should inform how restoration projects are designed and prioritised. “Avoiding deforestation of mature tropical forests should always be prioritised,” she said. “But understanding how nutrients affect carbon sequestration is crucial as policymakers evaluate where and how to restore forests to maximise climate benefits.”
For more information: Wenguang Tang, Jefferson S. Hall, Oliver L. Phillips, Roel J. W. Brienen, S. Joseph Wright, Michelle Y. Wong, Lars O. Hedin, Michiel van Breugel, Joseph B. Yavitt, Phillip M. Hannam, Sarah A. Batterman. Tropical forest carbon sequestration accelerated by nitrogen. Nature Communications, 2026; 17 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-66825-2.
