Montane Forest
Mapping Priority Areas for Forest Landscape Restoration and Improvement of Rural Community Livelihoods in Guatemala's San Marcos HighlandsbackgroundThis study maps priority areas for forest landscape restoration in three watershades of south-western Guatemala. This rural region has received attention from local government and international socio-economic development projects. Research Goals & MethodsThis study used GIS and Multi-criteria decision analysis to generate maps. These tools enabled the integration of a wide variety of complex information to evaluate different contexts and dynamics of the landscape. Open access copy available |
Trade-offs in nature tourism: contrasting parcel-level decisions withlandscape conservation planningBackgroundA landscape approach to conservation has increasingly taken prominence as scientists and policymakers consider the role of landscape patches and connectivities. However, understanding trade-offs in policy decisions and land management strategies in a landscape dominated by privately held patches presents a challenge. This study discusses trade-offs with the nature tourism industry in Monteverde, Costa Rica, considering effects across parcel-level decisions. Open access copy available |
The Political, Social, and Ecological Transformation of a LandscapeBackgroundIn 1951 the Chinese Government issued the Decision on Cultivating Rubber Trees, which resulted in the establishment of large-scale rubber plantations in the tropical regions of China, including Xishuangbanna in southern Yunnan. These rubber plantations, worked by relocated Han Chinese, were a manifestation of state power on the landscape. Open access copy available |
Understanding Forest Transition in the Philippines: Main Farm-Level Factors Influencing Smallholder’s Capacity and Intention to Plant Native Timber TreesBackgroundSmall-scale farmers' decisions on when, where, and how to plant trees in their use of natural, human, and capital resources is critical to understand as part of any forest transition trajectory. This paper studies these questions in the Philippines. Available with subscription or purchase |
Land Cover Change in Colombia: Surprising Forest Recovery Trends between 2001 and 2010backgroundThis study mapped annual land-use and land-cover from 2001 to 2010 in Colombia using MODIS (250 m) products coupled with reference data from high spatial resolution imagery (QuickBird) in Google Earth. Research Goals & MethodsThe authors evaluated land cover change at four spatial scales: country, biome, ecoregion, and municipality. Open access copy available |
Identifying Hotspots of Deforestation and Reforestation in Colombia (2001–2010): Implications for Protected AreasbackgroundThis article uses satellite imagery, MODIS MOD13Q1 Vegetation Indices 250 , the Virtual Interpretation of EarthWeb-Interface Tool (VIEW-IT) to conduct a land-use analysis of Colombia, mapping trends and "hotspot" areas of deforestation and of reforestation from 2001 to 2010. Research Goals & MethodsThe authors identify four hotspots of deforestation (clustered particularly in lowlands in the north of the country) and four of reforestation, mainly in the Andes highlands. Open access copy available |
Eden Project and the Forest Restoration Unit, ThailandBackgroundThe Doi Suthep-Pui National Park in north-west Thailand attracts millions of visitors annual but has also been degraded by slash-and-burn agriculture and tourism use. The Forest Restoration Research Unit has collaborated with scientists and the national park to attempt to restore the degraded land and return it to a rich tropical forest. Open access copy available |
The Mountain Pine Ridge Reforestation ProjectBackgroundBy 2000, the pine trees in the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Preserve in Belize were heavily attacked by the Southern Pine Bark Beetle (Dendroctomus frontalis). The beetle did so much damage that the natural restoration of the pine forest was practically unattainable due to a lack of seed resources and continuing fires. The alternative is to abandon management and allow a pine savannah to develop. This paper compares the carbon sequestion potentional for a pine forest and a pine savannah in this region. Open access copy available |
Face the Future: EcuadorBackgroundDue to high population levels and a constant reliance on natural resources for livelihoods, the Andes region in Ecuador has lost an estimated +90% of its primary forest. Since 1993, Face the Future and the Ecuadorian Ministry of the Environment have worked together to reforest this region. Goals & MethodThe objective of the project was to work towards reforesting the region through plantings. Farmers preferred species that grew well and had economic value, such as plant pines and eucalyptus. Native species were also planted, particularly within reserve areas. Open access copy available |
Multiple-Purposes Reforestation on Degraded Lands in Longyang, ChinBackgroundThe following is a project design document submitted to the UNFCCC in 2008 for a project to restore and preserve degraded forests in Longyang, Yunnan, P.R. China. The project will be headed by the Longyang Forestry Farm in cooperation with local farmers. Open access copy available |
