Puerto Rico - United States

Restoration of Degraded Tropical Forest Landscapes

BACKGROUND

Forest loss and degradation negatively affect rural communities whose livelihoods are dependent on forests for ecological goods and services. To address the challenge, three solutions have been proposed, expanding networks of protected areas, improving agricultural productivity on abandoned lands and reforestation. Of the three, new approaches to restoration have shown to have the potential to address forest degradation and rural poverty.

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Factors Affecting Mortality and Resistance to Damage Following Hurricanes in a Rehabilitated Subtropical Moist Forest

Background

This study was conducted in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF), which was previously abandoned pastureland reforested through mixed planting and natural regeneration.

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Shade-grown coffee in Puerto Rico: Opportunities to preserve biodiversity while reinvigorating a struggling agricultural commodity

Background

Coffee has been a traditional crop in Puerto Rico since the mid-1700s. As the global market became more competitive in the 20th century, the Puerto Rican government provided subsidies and policies to protect the sector as well as promoted the transition to shade grown coffee for higher yields in the 1980s. The researchers surveyed 100 farms and 5 agronomists to determine attitudes about this transition.

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Using artificial canopy gaps to restore Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata) habitat in tropical timber plantations

Background

This study tests whether or not man-made canopy gaps can restore native tree diversity as food sources for the endagered Puerto Rican Parrot (Amazona vittata). The site is located within a non-native blue mahoe (Hibiscus elatus) plantation in the Río Abajo forest in central Puerto Rico, where the researchers planted native species in assisted natural regeneration. The gaps were created in 20m x 20m plots by girdling and applying herbicide on non-native trees and by clearing leaf litter and vegetation, creating space for planted and naturally established advance regeneration seedlings.

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The role of species mixtures in plantation forestry

Background

Forest plantations are increasingly being established around the world, yet many are often monocultures. While the paper recognizes that all plantations are beneficial in terms of restoration, it specifically seeks to explore the advantages of mixed-species plantations. 

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Bird Perches Increase Forest Seeds on Puerto Rican Landslides

Background

Forest regeneration is typically difficult after landslides due to loss of above- and below-ground vegetative structure, the soil seed bank, soil nutrients, and soil structure. Landslides are a common occurrence in Puerto Rico due to its steep topography and heavy rainfall periods and often transform into grass- or fern-dominated terrain. Insufficient seed rain is thought to be one contributing factor.

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Neotropical Secondary Forest Succession: Changes in Structural and Functional Characteristics

Background

This paper reiviews the main biotic and abiotic factors that influence patterns of secondary forest succession in the Neotropics after complete forest clearance due to human activities.

Research Goals & Methods

The authors look at patterns of species replacement and various processes that occur during succession and suggest that the sequence of processes may be predictable even if species composition is not.

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Vegetation Structure, Species Diversity, and Ecosystem Processes as Measures of Restoration Success

Background

This article provides an example of how to evaluate forest restoration using integrative methods, including measures of vegetation structure, species diversity, and ecosystem processes. Specifically discussed are four measures of vegetation structure, four measures of species diversity, and six measures of ecosystem processes.

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Soil macrofauna and litter nutrients in three tropical tree plantations on a disturbed site in Puerto Rico

Background

Tree plantations are increasingly common in tropical landscapes due to their multiple uses. Plantations vary in structure and composition, and these variations may alter soil fauna communities. Recent studies have demonstrated the important role of soil fauna in the regulation of plant litter decomposition in the tropics. However, little is known about how plantation species affect soil fauna populations, which may in turn affect the biogeochemistry of the plantation system.

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Effects of forest clearing and succession on the carbon and nitrogen content of soils in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands

Background

Conversion of tropical forest lands to agriculture or pasture affects soil organic matter, moisture, and nutrients. This study examines the effects on soil carbon, nitrogen, and moisture at depths up to 100 cm of conversion from forest to agriculture and pasture.

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