A flap in the right direction

Next week we'll be talking about deforestation. This is naturally a somewhat depressing subject. But looking on the bright side, in some areas, and Costa Rica is a prime example, there has been some interest in reforestation. This can be tricky and expensive. A report this week by German scientists suggests that providing artificial bat roosts may be a much cheaper way of starting the reforestation process. The bats consume fruits from the forest, and will forage over quite an area, and then spread the seeds around their roosts in their droppings. There's a report here and apparently the paper will be published in an upcoming issue of Conservation Biology.