I have a preset idea about how quickly a rainforest could develop. I would naively imagine that it would take millions of years for a rainforest to develop from a wasteland.
Let us say that we destroy our rainforests and are only left with a "handful" of species to redevelop a rainforest. What are the time estimates for a return to previous levels of biodiversity among flora? I understand that th evolutionary process can take place over a very short period or a very long period. What time scale could we expect from an artificially planted forest becoming relevatively indistinguishible from a natural forest? Would tropical climates develop towards a "norm" more quickly or simply appear to due to relative differences in biodiversity between tropic and temperate climates? (Am I being naive in assuming the "tropics" always possess more diversity?)