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Prioritizing Climate Change Adaptation Needs for Food Security in 2030

BACKGROUND

Adaptation has shown to be one of the solutions to coping with the severe effects of climate change. Investments are being made to improve agricultural production in food insecure regions, in the face of climate change. Adaptation mechanisms to be used include the use of more costly measures and identifying climate risk hotspots.

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Site Relationships for Some Wood Properties of Pine Species in Plantation Forests of Southern Africa

BACKGROUND

There are three main pine species that are planted in Southern African plantations. Genetic variation and its relationship with wood properties of pine wood has been extensively studied, however little is known about the influence of site on wood properties.

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Can short-term payments for ecosystem services deliver long-term tree cover change?

Background

While payment for ecosystem services (PES) has been lauded has been an effective strategy, particularly to increase tree cover in agricultural areas. Yet, there has been limited evaluation of long-term success, such as that after the payment period.

Goals & Methods

To determine the the long-term effectiveness of PES, the author compares tree cover before and after 13 years of a PES project that promoted silvopastoral systems in Colombia, which was quantified via satellite images.

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Nursery and Establishment Techniques as Factors in Productivity of Man-made Forests in Southern Africa

BACKGROUND

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A tree-based approach to biomass estimation from remote sensing data in a tropical agricultural landscape

Introduction

Due to increasing agricultural landcover throughout the world, it is critical to develop methods that estimate above ground biomass and carbon in order to accurately monitor terrestrial carbon stocks and predicting carbo dynamics. This paper claims that while active remote sensing data may be a means to achieve these estimates, the plot-based methods may not be suitable for these agricultural areas. Thus, the authors seek an alternative.

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Environment and landscape rather than planting design are the drivers of success in long‐term restoration of riparian Atlantic forest

Introduction

While identifying factors that contribute to restoration is difficult, it is ultimately critical in order to ensure the long-term sustainability and resilience of the restored landscape.

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Restoration of plant species and genetic diversity depends on landscape‐scale dispersal

Introduction

The article cites the importance of restoration efforts that leads to resilient, self-sustaining ecosystems in order to combat immense global change. Though biological and species diversity are key to this venture, they are rarely considered a factor. Thus, this review article highlights the connection between seed dispersal and species richness and diversity to landscape restoration.

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Multiple successional pathways in human-modified tropical landscapes: new insights from forest succession, forest fragmentation and landscape ecology research

Introduction

With the rise of deforestation, secondary forests and human-modified tropical landscapes (HMTL) have become an important source of ecosystem services yet there is limited knowledge concerning the successional process of these ecosystems.

Goals & Methods

The goal of this study is to identify the main drivers of successional pathways In HTML and secondary forests at multiple scales. The authors draw on tropical forest succesion, forest fragmentation, and landscape ecology research to achieve this.

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Traditional agroforestry practices in Zimbabwe

BACKGROUND

There has been little attention being given to the significance of trees in household economies of Zimbabwe. Most focus has been on crops, livestock, softwood species of trees in commercial plantations and indigenous species that under state management. Extension officers used to encourage people to remove trees from arable land. However, after the country’s independence a Rural Afforestation Program was established resulting in agroforestry engagements.

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Co-management options for reserved forests in Zimbabwe and beyond: Policy implications of forest management strategies

BACKGROUND

After the year 2000 land reform program in Zimbabwe, some peasants began to take advantage of the land reform impetus to squat on forests even though the State had attempted to preserve all conservation areas from land resettlement. Ever since, there have been conflicts between the state and the people living around forests. Co management or joint management initiatives were introduced to try to solve these People- State Relations.

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