Zachary Chu @zchu01.bsky.social · 07/08/2026More species are retained with introduction of a) all adults into b) older forests However, faster-growing, lightweight epiphytes such as small ferns (left) can be introduced earlier and slow-growing heavy epiphytes such as large orchids (right) can be introduced later 4/4 010
Zachary Chu @zchu01.bsky.social · 07/08/2026We simulated the introduction of communities of vascular epiphytes growing across three dimensions of virtual tropical forests at different years after restoration, population sizes, and proportion of adults 3/4 100
Zachary Chu @zchu01.bsky.social · 07/08/2026Epiphytes, or plants growing on other plants, can make up over a third of vascular plants in tropical forests, intercepting rainfall during storms, sequestering carbon, and sustaining pollinators. Despite their huge diversity and value to people, they are rarely restored 2/4 100
Zachary Chu @zchu01.bsky.social · 07/08/2026First PhD chapter out! How can we restore the epiphytic plants in our tropical forest canopies? With Thomas Kappas, Mohammad Afraz Ahmed, @laurajanegraham.bsky.social , Alexandre Antonelli, and @jsarmentocabral.bsky.social besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/13… 1/4 150