Garden Plans Restoration After Fire Burns 35 Acres of Precious Forest in Madagascar

Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, home to thousands of species of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. Ankafobe Forest is one of the last remaining fragments of original forest within Madagascar’s highly human-modified highland landscape. It provides critical habitat for many species of rare plants, including at least three species that exist nowhere else in the world like the critically-endangered tree Schizolaena tampoketsana, and endangered animals, such as two threatened lemur species and a critically-endangered frog.

Early October 2022 a fire devastated the forest burning 35 acres. Immediately, before the last traces of smoke cleared the air, the staff met to decide how best to restore the forest. Already, staff gathered the ashes to use as fertilizer to regenerate the forest as they collect and sow seeds of native woody plants. Over the next 14 months, the team will control smothering invasive species and plant a sheltering canopy of pioneer species. Later, they will add 50,000 young trees now being propagated in local nurseries that include especially rare trees and key lemur food plants.

“Protecting biodiversity is never easy and we know that we face setbacks that must be tackled with determination, ingenuity and urgency, learning from these experiences to build new resilience and a more secure future for the Reserve.” Missouri Botanic Garden President Peter Wyse Jackson

You can support the Garden’s staff at the Ankafobe Forest in this essential effort with a special gift today.