A long road to resilience: Large-scale forest recovery but limited persistence in the Atlantic Forest

• 1.67 million hectares of native forest were recovered in the Atlantic Forest between 2011 and 2021 and persisted until 2023. • 568 thousand hectares of recovered forests in the study period did not persist until 2023. • Strengthening secondary forest protection is urgent to ensure their long-term persistence. Spatially explicit identification of forest recovery at large scales plays a key role in revealing spatial patterns of forest regrowth and assisting the achievement of ambitious restoration targets. We assessed forest recovery across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest domain using annual high-resolution (∼30 m) land cover maps. From 2011 to 2021, 1.67 million hectares were recovered and persisted until 2023. Nevertheless, 568 thousand hectares of recovered forest were subsequently lost and did not persist until 2023, underscoring the vulnerability of young forests and the need for effective protection. Strengthening legislation and incentive mechanisms, such as Payment for Ecosystem Services, are critical to protect recovering forests. As most recovered forests likely result from natural regeneration, our findings highlight its strategic role in enabling large-scale, cost-effective restoration in Brazil.