Much of the lowland tropical forests in the Solomon Islands have been heavily logged. However, little is known about the recovery status of these forests. We examined factors that influenced the recovery of forest structural attributes within 50 years after selective logging on Kolombangara Island in the western Solomon Islands. Twelve study sites—six logged and six unlogged—were identified across the Island, with two logged sites in each of three recovery-time classes: 10, 30, and 50 years after logging. Within each study site, 12 0.1-ha plots were randomly established, and a series of forest attributes measured in each plot. Our results revealed that local logging intensity and soil attributes have stronger influence on forest-structural recovery than do site attributes such as local topography or tree architecture. Furthermore, half a century of regeneration following logging is insufficient to permit full recovery of forest structure. We conclude that logged forests on Kolombangara and possibly across the Solomon Islands may not fully recover structurally before the next logging cycle, in the absence of a policy on re-entry harvesting. The development of such a policy coupled with robust forest-management measures is pivotal to facilitating sustainable logging while supporting biodiversity conservation in the Solomon Islands. This may be the last best hope for saving lowland forests and their biodiversity on this unique tropical archipelago.

所罗门群岛的大部分低地热带森林都被大量砍伐。然而，人们对这些森林的恢复状况知之甚少。我们研究了在所罗门群岛西部的科隆班加拉岛选择性采伐后 50 年内影响森林结构属性恢复的因素。全岛确定了 12 个研究地点——六个已记录的和六个未记录的——在三个恢复时间类别中的每一个中都有两个已记录的地点：伐木后 10、30 和 50 年。在每个研究点内，随机建立 12 个 0.1 公顷的地块，并在每个地块中测量一系列森林属性。我们的结果表明，局部采伐强度和土壤属性对森林结构恢复的影响比局部地形或树木结构等场地属性的影响更大。此外，伐木后半个世纪的再生不足以使森林结构完全恢复。我们得出的结论是，在没有重新进入采伐政策的情况下，科隆班加拉和可能跨越所罗门群岛的砍伐森林在下一个伐木周期之前可能无法完全恢复结构。此类政策的制定与强有力的森林管理措施相结合，对于促进可持续采伐同时支持所罗门群岛的生物多样性保护至关重要。这可能是在这个独特的热带群岛上拯救低地森林及其生物多样性的最后希望。我们得出的结论是，在没有重新进入采伐政策的情况下，科隆班加拉和可能跨越所罗门群岛的砍伐森林在下一个伐木周期之前可能无法完全恢复结构。此类政策的制定与强有力的森林管理措施相结合，对于促进可持续采伐同时支持所罗门群岛的生物多样性保护至关重要。这可能是在这个独特的热带群岛上拯救低地森林及其生物多样性的最后希望。我们得出的结论是，在没有重新进入采伐政策的情况下，科隆班加拉和可能跨越所罗门群岛的砍伐森林在下一个伐木周期之前可能无法完全恢复结构。此类政策的制定与强有力的森林管理措施相结合，对于促进可持续采伐同时支持所罗门群岛的生物多样性保护至关重要。这可能是在这个独特的热带群岛上拯救低地森林及其生物多样性的最后希望。