Tropical Wet Forest

Direct seeded and colonizing species guarantee successful early restoration of South Amazon forests

Background

South Amazon forests have been highly deforested, including the legally protected riparian forests. Direct seeding is a low cost method, easy-to-implement at large scale. The authors emphasize the imperative to reduce the costs and enhance the outcomes of restoration efforts, which have become mainstream solutions in countering biodiversity loss and climate change around the world.

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An overview of forest loss and restoration in the Brazilian Amazon

Background:

The accelerated process of forest loss and degradation in the Brazilian Amazon began in the 1970s due to government-promoted economic development initiatives. This led to significant deforestation, with approximately 20% (780,967 km2) of the region being affected . Nevertheless, the region still lacks scientific studies that reinforce the choice of best practices for forest restoration, and the information currently available is not enough to quantify what has already been recovered or the potential area to be restored.

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Evaluating the success of direct seeding for tropical forest restoration over ten years

Background

The main causes of deforestation in the Amazon are large-scale agriculture and cattle ranching, which have led to the loss of millions of hectares of forest. To address this issue, different mechanisms have been implemented since 2005 to reduce deforestation and increase forest restoration.  However, highly modified, degraded areas with a long history of use may take a long time to regenerate naturally or may not recover into a secondary forest. Therefore, active restoration methods are needed to accomplish this massive obligation.

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Restauración ecológica de bosques tropicales en Costa Rica: efecto de varios modelos en la producción, acumulación y descomposición de hojarasca

Background:

La deforestación altera los ciclos de nutrientes y aumenta la fuga de nutrientes del ecosistema con altos costos ambientales y sociales. No obstante, la deforestación sigue siendo intensa en la mayoría de los países tropicales, especialmente en América Latina, donde los bosques son talados y rápidamente convertidos para la agricultura. Así, las estrategias de restauración en los trópicos son indispensables considerando la gran escala de degradación y la necesidad de mantener procesos ecológicos vitales. 

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El aumento de la deforestación en la cuenca del río Madre de Dios, Amazonía peruana, incrementaría la escorrentía superficial y la concentración de sedimento

Background

En la Amazonía sudeste del Perú, se encuentra la cuenca del río Madre de Dios, uno de los focos de biodiversidad mundial. Sin embargo, la alta tasa de deforestación en la cuenca del río Madre de Dios genera una gran preocupación pues la cobertura vegetal es de vital importancia en la conservación de los ríos y suelos. En ausencia de la cobertura vegetal, la precipitación impacta directamente en el suelo y la cantidad de agua que no puede ser infiltrada discurre a través de arroyos definidos por la topografía de la cuenca.

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Influencia de la minería aurífera aluvial en la geodinámica fluvial del río Madre de Dios, Amazonía peruana, en el periodo 1984-2020

Background:

La dinamica de la rios es escencial en mantener la extraordinaria biodiversidad de los bosques tropicales. Sin embargo en la Amazonia de Madre de Dios (Peru) estos rios estan siendo fuertemente impactados por la mineria artesanal de oro, que hasta la fecha ha deforestado mas de 100 000 ha de bosque amazonico. La mineria aluvial es de especial preocupacion pues puede alterar la dinámica fluvial natural de los ríos al modificar el ancho, la profundidad, la sinuosidad y la estabilidad del canal.

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Tree Communities in Three-Year-Old Post-Mining Sites Under Different Forest Restoration Techniques in the Brazilian Amazon

Background:

Mining has been identified as a major contributor to forest loss, leading to the need for effective restoration techniques in post-mining sites. In this context, the knowledge of floristic composition is crucial for managing natural regeneration, selecting species for restoration plantings, and aiding conservation programs of threatened plant species. One well-known example of mining impacts on the Amazon rainforest vegetation is located in the Paragominas municipality, Pará, Brazil.

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Mining in the Amazon: Importance, impacts, and challenges to restore degraded ecosystems. Are we on the right way?

Background:

With mining playing a significant role in the economies of Amazonian countries, there is a growing urgency to understand, mitigate, and restore the degraded ecosystems that result from these mining operations. These tasks present a complex set of challenges, including technological limitations, legal inconsistencies, and a shortage of qualified professionals.

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Tropical Rainforest Restoration Plantations Are Slow to Restore the Soil Biological and Organic Carbon Characteristics of Old Growth Rainforest

Background:

With widespread deforestation and land conversion posing significant threats to biodiversity and carbon sequestration, there is an urgent need to comprehend the intricate relationship between land use change, soil microbial communities, and soil organic carbon dynamics in tropical rainforest ecosystems.

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Metodología de reforestación y restauración de paisajes amazónicos degradados por minería: análisis de costos

Background:

La actividad minera aurifera artisanal conlleva la deforestación, degradación del suelo, pérdida de biodiversidad y contaminación por mercurio. A medida que esta actividad crece, surge la necesidad imperante de desarrollar metodologías que permitan la reforestación y restauración de las zonas degradadas en los países amazónicos.

Artisanal gold mining activity leads to deforestation, soil degradation, loss of biodiversity and mercury contamination. As this activity grows, there is an urgent need to develop methodologies that allow reforestation and restoration of degraded areas in Amazonian countries.

Open access copy available
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