All is not lost - GM

 Would some of the Atlantic Rainforests 80's restoration efforts be doomed to failure in the long run!?  

It seems that this may not be the case for a tree that is/was widely used in restoration programs in the Atlantic Rainforest.  We compared araribá's (Centrolobium tomentosum) neutral genetic diversity from two high-diversity restoration plantations (28 and 60 years old), one disturbed fragment, and one large and well conserved protected area. Our team, led by Patrícia S. Sujii (currently an assistant prof. at Centro Univ. do Distrito Federal, Brasília, Brazil) and Maria I. Zucchi, was interested in genetic diversity because it is critical to the maintenance of the populations ability to evolve and recover from disturbances. We observed that restoration plantations and old-growth forests have similar levels of genetic diversity and inbreeding. But wait... there is more! Studying juveniles and adults from these areas, we noticed each restoration site that some alleles detected in juveniles were absent in the adults, an evidence of connection (gene flow) between restored and neighboring natural populations. In the end, all is not lost! (Check GM's ResearchGate profile for PDFs)