Mixed-species forests grow faster and support far more wildlife than single-species plantations. In a long experiment near Chesapeake Bay, planted since 2013 with 16 native species, trees in mixed plots were up to 80% larger than the same species grown alone. Mixed plots had fewer leaf pathogens and more caterpillars, and their diverse leaf chemistry seems to deter deer, which reduces browsing damage. Their fuller canopies create cooler, shadier understories, supporting up to 50% more insects, spiders and birds. Monocultures, by contrast, can fail all at once from drought, pests or fire, as happened when nearly 90% of 11 million saplings planted in Turkey died.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.