Question
Can the deforested areas of the rainforest somehow be regrown, and how long do you estimate it would take?

Answer
Hi Korin,
Thanx for your question.  I am by no means an expert in ecology, botany or biology but,I have been trying to live a life that is as respectful of the Earth as I can.  I know this may sound preachy to you and yes, I am preaching as you have given me a soap-box.  I thank you for this opportunity and I hope you will deliver my message to as many people as you can.  One of the reasons I love gardening is, I get a chance to reconnect with my ancestors and the love they had for the land and the respect they had for the land.  

I was a teenager in the 1970s when the most polluted situations were constantly shown to us on TV.  I remember when the Cuyahoga River caught fire in Cleveland.  I remember looking down from the Sears Building in Chicago at a rust-colored Chicago River in 1976.  Much of that has changed and I was on the Chicago River in 1997 and it was clean and there were even fish in it.

With all of this said, can the deforested areas of the rainforest be regrown?  ABSOLUTELY!  Mother Earth is so forgiving of the pillage and plunder we commit upon her.  Korin, all one has to do is look at a lot where a building has been torn down.  How long does it take the weeds and saplings to grow up and envelope what was once a bare area?  The Rain Forest responds even faster.  Ask a farmer in Brazil or Ghana.  You can clear an acre of land but if you don't stay on top of it, Nature will come back in full force.  That's a good thing.  But remember, if we keep killing off the Rain Forest, some varieties of vegetation (the weaker varieties) may not come back.  Who knows what important part of our flora we have lost.  There have been cancer drugs like vincristine that were discovered from Rain Forest plants.  Another drug that was discovered came from the cooler rain forests in western Washington from the Pacific Yew Tree.  This is taxol.  This drug has incredible success with ovarian cancer.  We have only begun to understand the true riches the rain forest offers us.  Unfortunately, much of the rain forests are in parts of the world where people are desperately trying to survive.  Their governments cannot support them and so are not so supportive of keeping the Rain Forests intact.  It's easy for us in the Western world to be politically correct and point fingers at the parts of the world that are mowing down the Rain Forest.  

This planet will not survive without clean oceans and its Rain Forests.  But, the population continues to increase and we still want our SUVs and hydrocarbons (gasoline, plastics, etc.).  

So, what do we do?  We live in a superficial society.  We need to figure out a way to be technologically innovative but also environmentally conscious and really care and feel about what is happening around us.

Watch the movie Soylent Green.  This movie was made back in 1972 or 1973 and was a response to how incredibly polluted our world was back then and to overpopulation.  The world is still dirty ecologically but it is in a bit better shape.

Korin, thank you so much for your question.  It made me stop and think again too.  We need to protect the rain forests and we also need to protect our back yards whether it be Kansas, New York, California, Texas or South Dakota.

I'm glad you're concerned about the Rain Forest.  Do a search on Google.com and you'll find others who share your concern.  I hope my answer helped.
thx,
Tom