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Biodiversity Persistence in Highly Human-modified Tropical Landscapes Depends on Ecological Restoration

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This paper shows how forest restoration can enhance biodiversity using case studies from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. 

Open access copy available

Tropical rain forest fragmentation and its ecological and species diversity changes in Southern Yunnan

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Animal species richness is understood to decline with fragmentation of tropical forests. While the same is assumed of plant species richness, fewer studies have been undertaken on this subject. This study on sacred groves in southern Yunnan, southwestern China, evaluates the plant species richness of these tropical rainforest fragments.

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Edge-Effects Drive Tropical Forest Fragments Towards an Early-Successional System

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This paper argues that edge effects trigger a rapid and inevitable successional process that drives most remaining neotropical forest fragments towards a persistent early-successional system.

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Ecological Implications of Harvesting Non-Timber Forest Products

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This article examines 70 case studies on the ecological effects of harvesting plant-species NTFPs in an attempt to draw broader conclusions for both forest resource management and future research.

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Degraded Lands Worth Protecting: the Biological Importance of Southeast Asia's Repeatedly Logged Forests.

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The study examines the impacts of second logging cycles on biodiversity by comparing species richness, species composition and population-level responses of birds and dung beetle species across unlogged forest, first rotation forest, and second rotation forest in Sabah, Malaysia.

Open access copy available

Drought, Fire, and Tree Survival in a Borneo Rainforest, East Kalimantan, Indonesia

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While draughts and fires are seen as important components of tropical forests, large-scale assessments of the effects of these events are scarce. This paper compares the forest stand level impact between severe drought and a subsequent extensive fires on forest stand in a lowland rainforest in East Kalimantan.

Open access copy available

Interactions among Amazon Land Use, Forests and Climate: Prospects for a Near-Term Forest Tipping Point

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This study concerns the interaction of anthropogenic and natural threats on the Amazon forest and considers the possibility of a tipping point in the near future. The authors argue that the interaction of various factors may lead to a large-scale forest dieback, for example a deforestation of about 31% of the Amazon closed-canopy forest formation.

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Monitoring Forest Degradation in Tropical Regions by Remote Sensing: Some Methodological Issues

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This review examines different remote sensing techniques to monitor vegetation cover at a regional scale. The objective was to discuss implications related to monitoring of open forest degradation.

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Tropical rainforest regeneration in an area degraded by mining in Mato Grosso State, Brazil

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Gold mining has been a major cause of environmental degradation in the rainforests in the north of Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Regulations on mining activity are beginning to be developed, including standards for forest recovery methodologies. This study characterizes natural tropical rainforest regeneration in Matupa County, Mato Grosso State, Brazil.

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Biodiversity–Productivity Relationships in Small-Scale Mixed-Species Plantations Using Native Species in Leyte Province, Philippines

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ANCON, ANARAP, CCIAP: Panama

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Antecedentes

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Nature Conservation Foundation, GEF: Southern Western Ghats, India

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This project, funded by the GEF small grants program, utilized restoration and conservation efforts in order to improve the degraded rainforests of western Ghats, India. The project occurred over a four-year span from 2004 to 2008.

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Identifying Hotspots of Deforestation and Reforestation in Colombia (2001–2010): Implications for Protected Areas

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This article uses satellite imagery, MODIS MOD13Q1 Vegetation Indices 250 , the Virtual Interpretation of EarthWeb-Interface Tool (VIEW-IT) to conduct a land-use analysis of Colombia, mapping trends and "hotspot" areas of deforestation and of reforestation from 2001 to 2010.

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Designing Mixed Species Tree Plantations for the Tropics: Balancing Ecological Attributes of Species with Landholder Preferences in the Philippines

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This paper reports on the assessment of forest stands planted as part of the Rainforestation Farming Program and the management of plantations by local landowners regarding the original intent of planting.

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Land Cover Change in Colombia: Surprising Forest Recovery Trends between 2001 and 2010

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This study mapped annual land-use and land-cover from 2001 to 2010 in Colombia using MODIS (250 m) products coupled with reference data from high spatial resolution imagery (QuickBird) in Google Earth.

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Does Tree Planting Change Minds? Assessing the Use of Community Participation in Reforestation to Address Illegal Logging in West Kalimantan

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Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia has experienced illegal logging and fires that led to degradation and conversion of forests to grasslands in a state of arrested succession. A local NGO named Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) began a restoration effort to restore degraded forest areas and provide jobs to local community members that might otherwise participate in illegal logging.

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Cultural Drivers of Reforestation in Tropical Forest Groves of the Western Ghats of India

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Mapping Priority Areas for Forest Landscape Restoration and Improvement of Rural Community Livelihoods in Guatemala's San Marcos Highlands

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This study maps priority areas for forest landscape restoration in three watershades of south-western Guatemala. This rural region has received attention from local government and international socio-economic development projects.

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Growth in pure and mixed plantations of tree species used in reforesting rural areas of the humid region of Costa Rica, Central America

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Despite government incentives in Costa Rica for establishing and maintaining native tree plantations since the 1990s, farmers and small landowners often lack adequate knowledge about plantation management. Yield and rotation periods for each of the ten most common species grown in monoculture have previously been published. This paper compares productivity in monoculture and mixtures at La Selva Biological Station in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica.

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Combining ecological, social and technical criteria to select species for forest restoration

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This study explores the role of ecological, social and technical criteria in selecting species for restoration in highly diverse ecosystems such as tropical riparian forests. A criteria-based index can help identify target species for restoration.

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