South Asia
Effect of Adult Density on Regeneration Success of Woody Plants in Natural and Restored Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest Fragments in Puducherry Region, IndiaBackgroundThis study tested variables contributing to successful regeneration of Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) species in southern India, a forest type that is highly biodiverse but fragmented and commonly designated as “sacred groves”. Conclusions & TakeawaysThe researchers found that whether in longstanding “groves” or in reforested areas, adult tree density more strongly enhances the regeneration of any given species than do other factors such as the species’ dispersal mode or life form (e.g. tree, shrub, or liana). Open access copy available |
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) Projects: Lessons for Future Policy Design and ImplementationBackgroundThis study reviews six representative Reducing Emissions through Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) initiatives, two each from Africa, Asia and Latin America, by presenting their strengths, weakensses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT). Open access copy available |
Forest Transition Pathways in Asia – Studies from Nepal, India, Thailand, and CambodiabackgroundThis study draws on data from Nepal, India, Thailand, and Cambodia to examine trajectories of forest-cover change along gradients of deforestation and reforestation. Open access copy available |
Social and Ecological Synergy: Local Rulemaking, Forest Livelihoods, and Biodiversity ConservationBackgroundDecentralized forest management with local community involvement is often viewed as a way to incentivize sustainable forest use through enhanced local knowledge, shared accountability, and perceived legitimacy. However, the effectiveness of decentralized management towards these goals is unclear both theoretically and in practice. There are few systematic multicountry empirical analyses that identify important factors and their complex relationships with social and ecological outcomes. Open access copy available |
Forest Conservation, Afforestation and Reforestation in India: Implications for Forest Carbon StocksbackgroundThis article presents an assessment of the implications of past and current forest conservation and regeneration policies and programmes for forest carbon sinks in India. Open access copy available |
Explaining Success on the Commons: Community Forest Governance in the Indian HimalayabackgroundThis study describes how a range of causal influences shape forest conditions in diverse ecological and institutional settings in the Indian Himalaya. Open access copy available |
Tree density, basal area and species diversity in a disturbed dry tropicalforest of northern India: implications for conservationBackgroundDry tropical forest communities are among the world’s most threatened systems. Rapid measures are required to protect and restore them in degraded landscapes. For planning conservation strategies, there is a need to determine the essential measurable properties, such as number of species and basal area, that best describe the dry forest vegetation and its environment, and to document quantitative relationships among them. Open access copy available |
The Ecophysiology of Pioneer Tree Species in Relation to their Disturbance Ecology in a Wet Lowland Rainforest, Sri LankaBackgroundThis dissertation evaluates pioneers species and their response to light availability and disturbance characteristics in the Shorea-Mesua vegetation type (an aseasonal, mixed dipterocarp forest) around the Sinharaja World Heritage Forest Reserve in southwest Sri Lanka. Open access copy available |
Ecological Significance of Crown Functional Traits Across Size Classes and Disturbance Environments in Eight Pioneer Species in a Sri Lankan Rain ForestbackgroundThis article evaluates the tree crown characteristics of eight pioneer tree species in the Shorea-Mesua vegetation type (an aseasonal, mixed dipterocarp forest) around the Sinharaja World Heritage Forest Reserve in southwest Sri Lanka. Research Goals & MethodsThe crown surface area, crown volume, and live crown ratio were measured as well as evaluated for their correlation with tree size classes and disturbance causes. Available with subscription or purchase |
Restoration of a Sri-Lankan rainforest: Using Caribbean Pine Pinus caribaea as a nurse for establishing late-successional tree speciesBackgroundIn the moist tropics, studies have demonstrated poor seedling establishment of late-successional trees on lands cleared of forest. This study examines the potential for establishing late-successional tree species that dominate the canopy of rainforest by planting within and adjacent to experimental openings that were created within a Pinus caribaea plantation. Available with subscription or purchase |
