Colombia

Nitrogen Fixing Trees for Animal Production on Acid Soils

Background 

Nitrogen-fixing trees play a crucial role in improving pasture and livestock systems on acid soils, which are prevalent in tropical regions. Acid soils often challenge agricultural productivity due to low fertility and high aluminum toxicity. Nitrogen-fixing trees, such as Erythrina poeppigiana, Cratylia argentea, and Alnus acuminata, enhance soil chemistry and fertility by adding nitrogen through organic matter and improving physical soil properties like porosity and bulk density. They are integrated into silvopastoral systems, where trees and shrubs coexist with pastures, offering multiple benefits such as soil stabilization, increased forage quality, and diversified farm outputs. 

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Characterizing a tropical deforestation wave: a dynamic spatial analysis of a deforestation hotspot in the Colombian Amazon

BACKGROUND:

Tropical forests, which harbor most of the Earth’s biodiversity, are rapidly diminishing due to land cover changes driven by human activities. This deforestation is particularly severe in concentrated areas, such as the Amazon Basin and Southeast Asia, where human population and resource use increase the likelihood of land clearing. The study focuses on understanding the spatial dynamics of land cover change in a deforestation hotspot in the Colombian Amazon.

GOALS AND METHODS:

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Restoring soil carbon and chemical properties through silvopastoral adoption in the Colombian Amazon region

Background:

The traditional livestock production in this region causes the loss of forest areas each year, leading to soil degradation and loss of biodiversity. Silvopastoral systems have become an attractive alternative with positive effects for the environment, society, and the regional economy. The study was conducted in two counties in the northwestern Colombian Amazon, which are representative of the hilly landscape typical for Silvopastoral systems implementation. 

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The Embedded Agroecology of Coffee Agroforestry: A Contextualized Review of Smallholder Farmers’ Adoption and Resistance

Background

Agroforestry crops are known to provide many benefits to both people and nature. Implementing agroforestry practices can be complex and requires improvement in certain regions and practices. Coffee agroforestry is not widely adopted and there is a lack of knowledge about the implementation of agroforestry techniques for coffee production.

Goals and Methods

The authors conduct a literature review including coffee production in Colombia, Malawi, and Uganda to understand their perceptions of coffee agroforestry, decisions on implementation, local policies, and capacity to adopt new practices.

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Disrupted montane forest recovery hinders biodiversity conservation in the tropical Andes

Background

In the U.N. Decade on Restoration, recovering degraded forests is a high priority. Andean montane forests are a biodiversity hotspot, storing large quantities of carbon, and providing many sources for human livelihood. Many parts of the Andean forests are recovering after agriculture abandonment, but it is not yet known how the dynamics of these recovery processes progress over time. Knowledge of forest regeneration trajectory is crucial for further restoration planning.

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Human Persecution is An Important Threat to the Conservation of the Endangered Black-and-Chestnut Eagle in Northern Andes

Background

Human-wildlife conflicts are widespread and put threatened species at an even higher risk of extinction. Human persecution of threatened wild animals with the aim to protect domesticated animals contributes to the decline of threatened wild animals. The black-and-chestnut eagle is under threat in the northern Andes of Ecuador and Colombia due to efforts to protect domestic poultry.

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Trade-offs at applying tree nucleation to restore degraded high Andean forests in Colombia

Background

This article recognizes applied nucleation as a forest restoration strategy in many low to mid altitude forests and aims to compare applied nucleation to passive regeneration at high altitude forests. Applied nucleation is successful at accelerating the speed of forest regeneration, improving soil conditions, and shading out invasive species in many low-mid altitude forests of the neotropics. There are gaps in the literature about the performance of applied nucleation in other tropical regions as well as high attitude tropical forests.

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Could 2021–2030 be the decade to couple new human values with ecological restoration? Valuable insights and actions are emerging from the Colombian Amazon

BACKGROUND

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Árboles Nativos para Predios Ganaderos

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Antecedentes

Como parte del Proyecto Ganadería Colombiana Sostenible, cerca de 1.5 millones de árboles nativos de alto valor ecológico fueron entregados a ganaderos de cinco regiones colombianas para integrar en sus fincas y sistemas pastoriles. Quince de esas especies de árbol nativo fueron seleccionadas para discutir en detalle en este libro, permitiendo así la divulgación del conocimiento sobre la importancia de los árboles nativos en la ganadería sostenible.

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Manejo integrado de insectos herbívoros en sistemas ganaderos sostenibles

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Antecedentes

Open access copy available
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