If I asked you to imagine a “winter escape,” you’d probably picture a sun-kissed island filled with palm trees and tropical, ...

The invasive species overran the island’s ecosystem, eroding the topsoil that helps hold palm trees in place. By 1994, only two trees were left; one fell during a cyclone later that year.

Researchers cleared 40% of the existing oil palm trees for each of their 52 experimental plots. They then planted between zero and six native tree species on each of their tree islands.