Research Article

Tree Communities in Three-Year-Old Post-Mining Sites Under Different Forest Restoration Techniques in the Brazilian Amazon

Background:

Mining has been identified as a major contributor to forest loss, leading to the need for effective restoration techniques in post-mining sites. In this context, the knowledge of floristic composition is crucial for managing natural regeneration, selecting species for restoration plantings, and aiding conservation programs of threatened plant species. One well-known example of mining impacts on the Amazon rainforest vegetation is located in the Paragominas municipality, Pará, Brazil.

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Tropical Rainforest Restoration Plantations Are Slow to Restore the Soil Biological and Organic Carbon Characteristics of Old Growth Rainforest

Background:

With widespread deforestation and land conversion posing significant threats to biodiversity and carbon sequestration, there is an urgent need to comprehend the intricate relationship between land use change, soil microbial communities, and soil organic carbon dynamics in tropical rainforest ecosystems.

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Global restoration opportunities in tropical rainforest landscape

Background:

The identification of restoration opportunities, focusing on areas with both high potential for socioenvironmental benefits and feasibility for restoration, emerges as a crucial tool in meeting the ambitious restoration commitments set for the near future. Recognizing these opportunities can be integrated with other decision-making factors to establish priorities for the implementation and financing of the global restoration agenda.

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Primates Can Be a Rallying Symbol to Promote Tropical Forest Restoration

Background:

In the face of increasing threats such as deforestation, habitat loss, and climate change, the authors aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the potential of primates as a rallying symbol for promoting tropical forest restoration, taking into account the interactions between primates, their habitats, and human communities.

Goals:

The authors aim to:

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Forest Health and Global Change

Background:

In addition to facing natural disruptions such as drought, windthrow, insect infestations, diseases, and fires, forests are increasingly grappling with intensified stressors of anthropogenic origin. These stressors arise directly through activities like logging and clearing or indirectly through climate change, air pollution, and invasive species. The pace of these human-induced disturbances surpasses the adaptability of evolutionary processes, thus shaping the future of global forests through intricate responses to multiple stressors spanning local to global scales.

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Mapping carbon accumulation potential from global natural forest regrowth

Background:

The authors note that previous studies have estimated the potential for carbon sequestration through afforestation and reforestation, but there has been less focus on the potential for natural forest regrowth. They also highlight the need for more accurate estimates of carbon accumulation rates in regrowing natural forests, as well as a better understanding of the factors that influence these rates.

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Mapping tree species vulnerability to multiple threats as a guide to restoration and conservation of tropical dry forests

Background:

The global biodiversity crisis is exacerbated by anthropogenic threats such as climate change, habitat conversion, and overexploitation. Evaluating the susceptibility of ecosystems and species to these threats is imperative for strategic and cost-effective planning of restoration and conservation efforts.

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Exotic Eucalypts: From Demonized Trees to Allies of Tropical Forest Restoration?

Background:

Timber, being a product in high demand globally, presents a lucrative market opportunity, and restoration efforts could potentially generate income through the targeted extraction of this material. While the incorporation of commercially valuable exotic trees might incentivize farmers to participate in restoration projects, it raises significant ecological concerns among experts.

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Survival and Early Growth of 51 Tropical Tree Species in Areas Degraded by Artisanal Gold Mining in the Peruvian Amazon

Background:

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining has dramatically changed the landscape of tropical ecosystems, completely removing the soil and vegetation and polluting it with mercury disposals. In order to recover these degraded spaces, reforestation projects need to enhance their knowledge of restoration species growth and survival rates under different site conditions, as well as their fertilization needs.

Goals:

The authors of this study aim to (1) test 51 species with potential for ecological restoration and/or forest rehabilitation; (2) assess the potential for biochar amendments for use in reforestation efforts; and (3) explore species performance regarding their contrasting wood density traits.

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Biochar Effects on Two Tropical Tree Species and Its Potential as a Tool for Reforestation

Background:

Although biochar is starting to be recognized as a potential soil fertilizer, most of the current studies are focused on the growth response of herbaceous crops and not on the impacts of biochar on tree development.

Goals:

The authors measure the survival rate, growth, and biomass accumulation of the seedlings of two tropical tree species Terminalia amazonia (“terminalia”) and Guazuma crinita (“bolaina”) under abandoned gold mine conditions: nutrient-poor and sandy soil. The seedlings were tested under six different treatments (three doses of biochar, with and without fertilizer) for six months.

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