Mixed species natural forest regeneration trajectory in clear-felled monoculture plantation sites in Kenya: A step towards developing a natural forests restoration framework This trend is grounded by the co-occurrence of 12 species in both forest types and the fact that the shared species represents over 40% of all the species found in the regenerating forest as well as similar Shannon-Weiner species diversity index in both forest types. The fewer number of species found in the regenerating forest can be partially relegated to fewer plots sampled as species number normally increases with sample plots prior to flattening of species-plots/area curve. Restoration of natural forests in areas previously used for monoculture plantations enhances ecological stability, biodiversity conservation, carbon sequestration and other ecosystem services (Kremer & Bauhus, [17]; Meli et al., [20]). [Extracted from the article]