AUTHOR=Xu Changbin , Zhang Hui , Yang Huai , Chen Cui , Wang Chen TITLE=A quick and effective trait-based protocol for selecting appropriate native plant species for the reforestation of degraded tropical mines JOURNAL=Frontiers in Plant Science VOLUME=Volume 15 - 2024 YEAR=2024 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/plant-science/articles/10.3389/fpls.2024.1456740 DOI=10.3389/fpls.2024.1456740 ISSN=1664-462X ABSTRACT=A critical issue in tropical forests is that anthropogenic deforestation (i.e., mining) degrades the integrity of its ecosystem. Reforestation with appropriate native plant species helps to alleviate these detrimental impacts. A protocol to select appropriate plant species for this purpose currently lacks efficacy and timeliness. We provided a trait-based protocol to quickly and effectively select native plant species for mining reforestation. A 0.2 km 2 of Baopoling (BPL) at Hainan Island, China, was used as a during reforestation of tropical mining areas.