In India, sacred groves serve as vital nurseries for future forests

A study of 82 giant old-growth trees across 20 species in India's Western Ghats found that sacred groves—small community-protected forest patches—held nearly twice the giant-tree species of nearby village areas, with 12 species growing exclusively in groves, functioning as critical 'reference forests' and ecological stepping stones for large seed-dispersing birds and endangered wildlife including Royal Bengal tigers and black leopards.