Multi-functional plantations using fast-growing tree species can potentially be used to
accelerate the restoration of forest habitat on abandoned farmland. However, few studies
have directly compared the ecological effects of active afforestation using plantations to
natural afforestation. The present study compares the effects of the establishment and the
first 10 years of growth of two different hybrid poplar clones to adjacent abandoned fields
and natural second-growth forests, in terms of abiotic attributes and understory vegetation …