India, Nov. 3 -- In Kerala's Western Ghats, Pampadum Shola National Park is undergoing a remarkable transformation.

Once dominated by invasive Australian wattles, the park's grasslands are being restored, reviving streams and native species.

This ecological redemption highlights the importance of understanding ecosystems, as removing trees can sometimes be more beneficial than planting them.

On a mist-wrapped morning, high in the chilly reaches of Kerala's Western Ghats, the slopes of Pampadum Shola National Park shimmer with a rare kind of green. Where, until a few years ago, walls of alien trees stood in dense ranks, there now stretch open meadows - low, wind-swept grasslands glinting with dew.

These are the newly liberated slopes o...