Tropical Wet Forest
Development of the Soil Macrofauna Community under Silvopastoral and Agrosilvicultural Systems in AmazoniaBackgroundThis study seeks to analyze the effect that different agroforestry systems have on the recolonization of macrofauna in the soil of former pasture lands. Available with subscription or purchase |
Growth in pure and mixed plantations of tree species used in reforesting rural areas of the humid region of Costa Rica, Central AmericaBackgroundDespite government incentives in Costa Rica for establishing and maintaining native tree plantations since the 1990s, farmers and small landowners often lack adequate knowledge about plantation management. Yield and rotation periods for each of the ten most common species grown in monoculture have previously been published. This paper compares productivity in monoculture and mixtures at La Selva Biological Station in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica. Open access copy available |
Cultural Drivers of Reforestation in Tropical Forest Groves of the Western Ghats of IndiabackgroundThis paper looks at sacred forest groves in the Western Ghats of India, examining their socio-ecological origins. The study asks whether the groves are remnants of former continuous forest or patches of regenerated vegetation. The study also asks about the impact of surrounding vegetation on the composition of the sacred groves. Finally, the study focuses on the social and cultural drivers of forest recovery in the groves, including land tenure and religious beliefs. Open access copy available |
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 |
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 |
Does Tree Planting Change Minds? Assessing the Use of Community Participation in Reforestation to Address Illegal Logging in West KalimantanbackgroundGunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia has experienced illegal logging and fires that led to degradation and conversion of forests to grasslands in a state of arrested succession. A local NGO named Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) began a restoration effort to restore degraded forest areas and provide jobs to local community members that might otherwise participate in illegal logging. Open access copy available |
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 |
Designing Mixed Species Tree Plantations for the Tropics: Balancing Ecological Attributes of Species with Landholder Preferences in the PhilippinesbackgroundThis paper reports on the assessment of forest stands planted as part of the Rainforestation Farming Program and the management of plantations by local landowners regarding the original intent of planting. Research Goals & MethodsData was collected beginning 6-11 years after initial plot planting. Forest stands were evaluated for structure and floristic composition. Subsequent measurements were taken in 2008 and 2012. Open access copy available |
Seed Dispersal by Birds and Bats in Lowland Philippine Forest Successional AreaBackgroundWhile seed dispersal by birds and bats can be an important driver of succession, few studies have studied this dynamic in the tropical forests of SE Asia. This study compares the role of bird and bat dispersal in the lowland dipterocarp forest of the Subic Watershed Forest Reserve (SWFR) in Luzon Island, Philippines. Available with subscription or purchase |
