Tropical Wet Forest

Tree species effects on soil properties in experimental plantations in tropical moist forest

Background

Forest soil properties are influenced by the complex interactions of vegetation, soil type, geology, management, and climactic patterns. Tree species can differ in their long-term effects on soils. This study resamples one of the earliest replicated experimental sites at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, used to examine the effects of native tropical tree species on soil properties, to examine longer term effects on soil properties.

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Amelioration of degraded rain forest soils by plantations of native trees

background

While much has been studied about the ability of tree growth to improve degraded soils in temperate zones, less is known about the impacts of tree growth on degraded soils in tropical zones.

research goals & methods

This study looks at the effects of trees planted in abandoned pasture land in northeastern Costa Rica, 25 years after that land had been cleared of rainforest. The soil was sampled before tree planting and 4 years after the trees became established. 

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Payments for Environmental Services through the Local Lens: Preliminary evidences from the “Bolsa Floresta” Program in the Brazilian Amazon

Background

This master's thesis evaluates the differences in perceptions between the local beneficiaries and the proponents of a payment for exosystem services (PES) project in the Brazilian Amazon region. The document discusses the debate about whether Payment for Environmental Services (PES) schemes improve the livelihood of the poor rural population — a debate which is also critical to current discussions on REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation).

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Indigenous Community-Based Forestry in the Bolivian Lowlands: Some Basic Challenges for Certification

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Reforestation and Farmers

Background

This chapter provides an overview of reforestation programs involving smallholder farmers, highlighting factors that influence the attractiveness of reforestation to different types of farmers.

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Smallholder timber plantation development in Indonesia: what is preventing progress?

Background

In the context of a supply-demand problem in Indonesia’s forestry sector in 2006 causing an increase in illegal logging, the government of Indonesia undertook measures to stem illegal logging and incentivize plantations. This paper evaluates a community timber plantation program in Indonesia called HTR (Hutan Tanaman Rakyat, community timber plantation).

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Patterns of Seed Longevity and Germination in the Tropical Rainforest

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This article reviews the factors that affect seed longevity and germination in tropical trees by providing an introduction to literature on the subject.

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Manual para restauração florestal: florestas de transição (Manual of forest restoration: transition forests)

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Rattan: Ecological Balance in a Borneo Rainforest Swidden

background

This study provides an overview of the cultivation of rattan vines (Calamus trachycoleus) utilized in traditional swidden cultivation in Borneo, Indonesia.

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Fruit Production of the Ungurahua Palm (Oenocarpus bataua subsp. bataua, Arecaceae) in an Indigenous Managed Reserve

background

This article reviews the biology and use of the Amazonian palm Oenocarpus batua, known in Ecuador as ungurahua. It is a mid-story palm that grows throughout the terra firme sites in the Amazon Basin and wet coastal areas of Ecuador, Trinidad, and Panama.

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