Tropical Dry Forest
Dominant species' resprout biomass dynamics after cutting in the Sudanian savanna-woodlands of West Africa: long term effects of annual early fire and grazingBackgroundGiven widespread anthropogenic disturbance and land degradation across the Sudanian savanna-woodlands of West Africa, these researchers examined the impacts of early annual fire and grazing on 6 dominant plant species in terms of: shoot mortality, height and girth. Though rather unoriginally, they hypothesized that forest biomass reconstitution is affected by disturbances such as fire and grazing. Open access copy available |
Growing biodiverse carbon-rich forestsBackgroundCarbon storage and biodiversity has long been viewed as completely separate restoration objectives, resulting in parceling tracts of restoration land for one objective or the other. This study shows that the relationship between plant functional diversity and carbon sequestration rate depends on climate and habitat factors. Knowing this relationship, a restoration site can be managed for both objectives. Open access copy available |
Charaterization and Impact Assessment of Water Harvesting Techniques: A Case Study of Abreha Atsbeha Watershed, Tigray, EthiopiaBackgroundThis report gives a comprehensive overview of water harvesting techniques in a community called Abreha we Atsbeha in Tigray, Ethiopia. This community was awarded the UN Equator Prize for their restoration work in 2012. In addition to providing a detailed historical, demographic, ecological, and hydrological description of the site, the authors also detail the major water harvesting techniques employed, including: bench terracing, stone bunds, stine bunds with trenches, soil bunds with trenches, semi-circular stone bunds, percolation ponds check dams, shallow wells, diversion heads, and hand dug wells. Open access copy available |
Imitating Natural Ecosystems through Successional Agroforestry for the Regeneration of Degraded Lands - A Case Study of Smallholder Agriculture in Northeastern BrazilBackgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Gender Inequality in Malidino Biodiversity Community-based Reserve, Senegal: Political Parties and the 'Village Approach'BackgroundThis research examines some of the less visible, and ongoing social dynamics in a World Bank-funded conservation site in central Senegal. The goal of the World Bank project was to create a decentralized and community-based participatory forest management program that would re-structure the political economy of the charcoal industry, give more rights and autonomy to the local community, emphasize improved gender equity, and provide technical assistance to NGOs and community-based organizations. Open access copy available |
Local ecological knowledge of trees on farms, constraints and opportunities for further integratino in Tigray Region, northern Ethiopia: A Case Study of smallholder farmers in Abreha Wa Atsbeha and Adi GudomBackgroundThe paper compared two Ethiopian sites with differing levels of on-farm tree adoption: Abreha we Atsbeha (high adoption) and Adi Gudom (low adoption). The author used a knowledge-based systems approach involving participatory rural appraisal, focus group discussions, and semi-structured interviews. In both sites, farmers planted trees on their holdings for income generation, user rights, and direct benefits, and they planted trees on communal lands to comply with government policies, improve soil fertility and water harvesting, improve land for redistribution, and improve aesthetics. Open access copy available |
Bridging the great divide: State, civil society, and ‘participatory’ conservation mapping in a resource extraction zoneBackgroundThe author evaluates the outcomes of a participatory and inclusive mapping technique in a mineral extraction zone—the Cordillera Huayhuash—in the Andes of Central Peru. Knowing that land titling is often a source of mistrust and conflict between communities and the government, this technique offers a way to build counter-narratives to the unused territory story often told by state resource management agencies in charge of granting concessions to outside interests. Available with subscription or purchase |
300,000 Hectares Restored in Shinyanga, Tanzania — but what did it really take to achieve this restoration?BackgroundOpen access copy available |
The Communal Management of Forests in the Semi‐arid and Sub‐humid Regions of Africa: Past Practice and Prospects for the FutureBackgroundThis article is based on an extensive literature search to analyze indigenous forestry practices in the dryland regions of anglophone and francophone regions of Africa. The authors drew on biology, forestry, and ethnographic material and was written with the aim of encouraging practitioners to involve peoples living near forests into the land management strategies. Available with subscription or purchase |
A Multicountry Assessment of Tropical Resource Monitoring by Local CommunitiesBackgroundThe study compared data collected on status and trends collected independently by local community members and trained scientists for 63 taxa and five types of resource use in 34 tropical forest sites over 2.5 years so examine the assumption that local people are less objective than external scientists when monitoring natural resources. Open access copy available |
