Tropical Wet Forest
Monitoring Forest Degradation in Tropical Regions by Remote Sensing: Some Methodological IssuesBackgroundThis review examines different remote sensing techniques to monitor vegetation cover at a regional scale. The objective was to discuss implications related to monitoring of open forest degradation. Research Goals & MethodsTechniques include methods to track both spatial and temporal changes in structure and function associated with land use change. Open access copy available |
Edge-Effects Drive Tropical Forest Fragments Towards an Early-Successional SystemBackgroundThis paper argues that edge effects trigger a rapid and inevitable successional process that drives most remaining neotropical forest fragments towards a persistent early-successional system. Open access copy available |
Multiple-Use Forest Management in the Humid Tropics: Opportunities and Challenges for Sustainable Forest ManagementbackgroundThis report documents three regional assessments that were carried out between 2009 and 2012 to identify and draw lessons from on-the-ground initiatives in multiple-use forest management (MFM) in the Amazon Basin, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia. Open access copy available |
Finding the money for tropical forest restorationBackgroundForest in tropical countries have experienced significant changes due to human activity, shifting primarily to agricultural or urban lands. This change not only leads to loss of biodiversity but it also affects the supply of valubale forest products and ecosystem services. This study calls for a shift in rhetoric in forest restoration to go beyond a conservation agenda and to include economic benefits. The article discusses the economic dimensions of forest restoration to justify their claim, drawing heavily on experience in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. Open access copy available |
Rehabilitation of Nickel Mining Sites in New CaledoniabackgroundNew Caledonia has the fourth largest Nickle deposits in the world, and major mining companies have frequently used open-pit nickle extraction. New Caledonia boasts around 1,137 endemic species, and distrubance from mining threatened many of them. The government came under pressure to regulate the mining sector and rehabilitate mined areas damaged from mining pollution. Both the waterways and New Caledonia's tourism sector suffered from the pollution. Open access copy available |
Biodiversity Persistence in Highly Human-modified Tropical Landscapes Depends on Ecological RestorationbackgroundThis paper shows how forest restoration can enhance biodiversity using case studies from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Open access copy available |
Tropical rain forest fragmentation and its ecological and species diversity changes in Southern YunnanBackgroundAnimal species richness is understood to decline with fragmentation of tropical forests. While the same is assumed of plant species richness, fewer studies have been undertaken on this subject. This study on sacred groves in southern Yunnan, southwestern China, evaluates the plant species richness of these tropical rainforest fragments. Open access copy available |
Ecological Restoration of Xingu Basin Headwaters: Motivations, Engagement, Challenges and PerspectivesBackgroundThis paper focuses on the Brazilian Amazon, specifically on the Xingu River Basin. It identifites deforestation as a threat to the Xingu River and a driver of environmental degradation. Open access copy available |
Effects of Fragmentation of the Atlantic Forest on Mammal Communities in South-Eastern BrazilBackgroundThe author presents a detailed analysis of the community of large and medium-sized mammals present in six remnants of the low Atlantic forest in Brazil. The six remnants had varying sizes: small (200 ha), medium (2,000 ha) and large (20,000 ha). The study seeks to (1) identify the mammal species richness and the relative abundance of individuals surviving in each reserve, and (2) analyze changes in the structure of the mammal community contrasting the relative abundances of orders and dietary categories between reserves of differing sizes. Available with subscription or purchase |
Restoring working forests in human dominated landscapes of tropical South Asia: An introductionBackgroundThe resource issues around restoring human dominated landscapes in tropical South Asia are complex and can be divided into topics concerning forest fragmentation and restoration. This review article discusses key subjects in forest fragmentation and restoration in South Asia. Available with subscription or purchase |
