Journal Articles
Paying for RestorationBackgroundThe authors examine the payments for ecosystem services and review strategies for funding ecological restoration. They do so by conducting a literature review that is focused on two main questions: "how should ecological and economic considerations be balanced in determining expenditures on restoration projects? how is society going to pay for the substantial costs involved?" Available with subscription or purchase |
Croissance et assimilation nette foliaire de jeunes plants de dix arbres de la forêt guyanaise, cultivés à cinq niveaux d'éclairementbackgroundThis study assesses the growth of ten species of tropical rainforest trees under 5 different light conditions. Conclusions & TakeawaysThe authors find that juveniles of most species did best in 25-45% sun light conditions and that the lowest light levels severely decrease growth across species.
Open access copy available |
Effet de la lumière des trouées de la canopée sur le potentiel et la dissémination de Gnetum africanum dans les écosystèmes forestiers congolaisThis article examines Gnetum africanum, a species of commercial interest in Central African forests. The authors Iinvestigated the importance of light in Gnetum africanum dispersal and regeneration by analysing the effect of canopy gaps on Gnetum africanum in different forest types. Ther determined that Gnetum africanum is a shade tolerant species that needs shade to germinate and prefers low light levels as juveniles.
Open access copy available |
Rôle des perturbations actuelles et passées dans la dynamique et mosaique forestière (Role of current and past disturbances on dynamics and forest mosaics)The author broadly discusses community and population dynamics in tropical forests, including mortality and dispersal. He highlights the role of animal dispersal and disturbances in modifying stand heterogeneity.
Open access copy available |
Aspects de la régénération naturelle en forêt dense de Côte-d’Ivoire (Aspects of natural forest regeneration in Ivory Coast)The author describes forest dynamics in the Ivory Coast. He discusses primarily forest regeneration as a process disturbed by perturbations that leave a gap in the canopy and notes that leading up to these disturbances, forested areas build up seed banks. The author concludes that characteristics of the disturbance determine future forest vegetation.
Open access copy available |
Successions Post-Culturales en Foret Tropicale: Essai de Synthèse Bibliographique (Secondary succession in tropical forests: essay and bibliographic synthesis)This article discusses four models of secondary succession (facilitation, inhibition, tolerance, and random). The authors examine the differences between the fundamental niche and the realized niche and they note that very little has been studied about ecosystem function of tropical forests.
Open access copy available |
Changing gears during succession: shifting functional strategies in young tropical secondary forestsBackgroundAdaptations toresource availability strongly shape patterns of community composition along successional gradients in environmental conditions. This study examines the extent to which variation in functional composition explains shifts in trait-based functional strategies in young tropical secondary forests during the most dynamic stage of succession (0–20 years). Open access copy available |
Pattern and Process in Neotropical Secondary Rain Forests: The First 100 Years of SuccessionBackgroundAccording the author, there has been an increasing rate of deforested areas that are being left to natural regenerate into a secondary succession forest. There is great interest in whether these forest will offer similar characteristics to primary forests, information and data is currently restricted to the first few years to a potentially decade long process. The author spends the paper reviewing recent advances in neotropical secondary succession. Available with subscription or purchase |
Crise de l’économie de plantation et modification du paysage agraire dans l’ancienne boucle du cacao: l’exemple de Daoukro (Economic Crisis of Plantation and Landscape Modification in the Former Cocoa Belt: The Example of Daoukro)backgroundThis article explores the history of agrarian transition in the Ivory Coast's former cacao belt. Conclusions & TakeawaysThe shift away from cacao production to commodities like rubber, rice, cashews and oil palm results in changes in labor conditions and social relations.
Open access copy available |
Preliminary assessment of post-Haiyan mangrove damage andshort-term recovery in Eastern Samar, central PhilippinesBackgroundIn this study, authors examined the natural ability of mangrove trees to recover after major storms and supertyphoons in the Philippines. Coastal mangroves are important for reducing the damage from these storms. Available with subscription or purchase |
