Natural forest regeneration through fire protection is a less imminent threat for truly stable savannas than afforestation

A large share of the global forest restoration potential is situated in artificial 'unstable' mesic African savannas, which could be restored to higher carbon and biodiversity states if protected from human-induced burning.However, uncertainty on recovery rates in protected unstable savannas impedes science-informed forest restoration initiatives.Here, we quantify the forest restoration success of anthropogenic fire exclusion within an 88-ha mesic artificial savanna