ALEX CHEPSTOW-LUSTY, Associate Researcher, Quaternary Palaeoenvironments Group, University of Cambridge MOST people probably think that the rainforest of central and west Africa, the second largest in the world, has been around for millions of years. However recent research suggests that it is mostly just 2,000 or so years old. The forest reached roughly its modern state following five centuries of regeneration after it was massively fragmented when the dry season suddenly became longer some 2,500 years ago. This process was not linked to humans. The forest recovery was instead made possible by seed dispersers including chimpanzees, which helped spread the…