Small species are missing from restored forests and wetlands

When big animals and plants come back to restored places, tiny things like algae, mosses, and lichens might not.

A restored forest can look big and green. Restored wetlands can have many insects and birds. But scientists are finding that some small inhabitants are still missing.

Restoring habitats can help animals and plants that are in danger. But some small things can stay rare or absent for a long time.

Ellen Macdonald studies tiny flowers, mosses, and lichens in forests. She doesn't focus on the big trees.

There are many more small species than big tree species, Macdonald said.

To most people, a restored forest looks like a normal forest with big trees, birds, and insects.

Macdonald walked through a restored forest and felt like something was missing, but she didn't know what.

You need to collect data to really notice what's missing, she said.

Macdonald combined her research with data from around the world to see how long it takes for plants and animals to return to restored forests.

The study found that some forests recover in 25 years, but others take much longer. Some plants took 85 years or more to return.

This pattern is not just in forests. Other restored habitats also have missing small species.

A botanist named Michael Melkonian studied wetlands near his home in Germany. The wetlands had been restored, but some species were still missing.

The restored wetlands looked nice, but Melkonian found that some algae were missing.

There were not many species of algae, Melkonian said.

The diversity of algae was not there, he said.

Viktoria Wagner calls this kind of decline 'a silent form of loss.' Species don't always become extinct, but they can disappear from many places.

Wagner found evidence of this 'dark diversity' in plants around the world. Algae are related to plants.

When species disappear from a place, they might not come back easily, Melkonian said.

Restoring landscapes can be possible, but it's not easy, Wagner said.

These losses can have consequences that are not immediately visible.

Algae have a big effect on the planet, Melkonian said.

Algae are responsible for half of global photosynthesis, he said.

When diversity declines, it can negatively affect other species, Wagner said.

If your windshield is cleaner after road trips, it might be a bad sign for bugs.

Scientists want to know what lives in rivers near you.

In boreal forests, many mosses and lichens take decades to recover after a clearcut, Macdonald said.

These plants depend on shade and old growth trees for habitat, she said.

Knowing these patterns can help people manage landscapes in a way that preserves more species, Macdonald said.

Melkonian said habitats for algae are also under threat around the world.

Many algae look like little more than a smudge of color on snow or a spot of slime on a rock, Melkonian said.

Melkonian collects these algae from different habitats to preserve them.

He and his colleagues have collected over 5,000 strains of algae, like an 'algal zoo.'

For Wagner, preserving biodiversity requires more than protecting isolated pockets of habitat.

Loss happens all the time and needs active interventions, Wagner said.

This is part of a series about scientists studying disappearing groups of species and how they impact our lives.

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