General
The Role of Trees in Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture in the TropicsBAckgroundAvailable with subscription or purchase |
Agro-Successional Restoration as a Strategy to Facilitate Tropical Forest RecoverybackgroundTropical forest restoration to address resource degradation and climate change is a growing trend in tropical regions. However, a lack of funding and provision for human livelihoods often hinders forest restoration projects. Traditional agroforestry systems are often seen as a way to connect farmers to forest restoration, and the article outlines existing agroforestry models. Open access copy available |
Creating Woodland Islets to Reconcile Ecological Restoration, Conservation, and Agricultural Land UseBAckgroundThe paper recognizes that there exists an agriculture and conservation paradox - agriculture is frequently in conflict with the other environmental services that forests provide. Thus, the authors review existing approaches to woodland restoration and consider the use of the woodland islets approach. Open access copy available |
In Equal Measure: A User Guide to Gender Analysis in AgroforestrybackgroundThis guide provides tools for practioners working with rural communities in tropical countries. It describes how gender roles and responsibiities play a significant role in adoption and development of agroforestry systems. Open access copy available |
Succession and Management of Tropical Dry Forests in the Americas: Review and New PerspectivesBackgroundThis article emphasizes the importance of understanding of successional processes in tropical dry forests. It provides an overview of the current knowledge of the ecology of tropical dry forest ecosystems and discusses management implications . The authors describe rapidly increasing degradation and destruction of these ecosystems and identify gaps in knowledge to be addressed by future research. Available with subscription or purchase |
Effects of Invasive Alien Plants on Fire RegimesBackgroundThis article considers how invasive plant species affect native ecosystems by altering fuel properties, fire behavior and fire regime characteristics. These may impact the ability of a site to restore to its previous state. Open access copy available |
Four Opportunities for Studies of Ecological SuccessionBackgroundThe authors introduce two approaches to the study of forest succession: 1) Standardized experimental manipulation - removal or addition of abiotic and biotic factors - across ecological gradients can help elucidate the drivers of succession and 2) the use of meta-analyses of successional data improve the ability to observe temporal changes across broader geographical scales. Available with subscription or purchase |
A Place for Alien Species in Ecosystem RestorationBackgroundThis article makes the case that non-native, or "alien," species may be useful in some restoration efforts, and should not be overlooked or completely condemned because they are non-native. Such species can provide ecological and socioeconomic services and in some cases speed up successional processes. Available with subscription or purchase |
The Role of Seed Banks in Vegetation Dynamics and Restoration of Dry Tropical EcosystemsBackgroundThis paper reviews studies on seed banks in tropical dry forests, comparing them with wet tropical and subtropical vegetation. Research Goals & MethodsSeed banks in dry tropical forests tend to be low and they are density dependant on moisture levels of the area in question. Subtropical seed banks had similar values to dry tropical forests. Majority of the seeds are from pioneer forests. Available with subscription or purchase |
Seeding ecological restoration of tropical forests: Priority setting under REDD+BackgroundTropical deforestation continues to be the major driver of biodiversity loss and a considerable contributor to climate change. Increasing numbers of forest-dependent rural poor rely on degraded forest for their livelihoods. Ecological restoration of tropical forests has the potential to not only contribute to biodiversity conservation and climate mitigation, but also poverty alleviation. REDD+ provides a potentially powerful mechanism for supporting ecological restoration of tropical forests in developing countries. Available with subscription or purchase |
