Resource Library Search

Type any text into the search box. Narrow your search using the dropdown boxes or the filters in the sidebar. If there are no results, try using fewer filters or broder dropdown options. 

Promoting Biodiversity: Advances in Evaluating Native Species for Reforestation

background

This article describes the design of a long-term species screening trial conducted at La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica.

Research Goals & Methods

Growth and survivability data is presented for 84 species (17 popular exotics used for timber and 67 little-known local species with timber potential) at 3 years of age.

Available with subscription or purchase

Growth, carbon sequestration, and management of native tree plantations in humid regions of Costa Rica

Background

Available with subscription or purchase

Screening trial of 14 tropical hardwoods with an emphasis on species native to Costa Rica: Fourth year results

Background

Commercial forestry plantations have consistently relied on a limitd number of species, often favoring exotic species over native ones. This is mainly due to a lack of information or understanding related to the silviculture of native species plantations. This article uses a long-term experiement site in Costa Rica's La Selva Biological Station to work towards filling this knowledge gap. 

Available with subscription or purchase

Between and Within-Site Comparisons of Structural and Physiological Characteristics and Foliar Nutrient Content of 14 Tree Species at a Wet, Fertile Site and a Dry, Infertile Site in Panama

background

Available with subscription or purchase

Initial Performance and Reforestation Potential of 24 Tropical Tree Species Planted Across a Precipitation Gradient in the Republic of Panama

background

The authors of this study  planted trees from 22 native species and two exotic species to use in selection trials testing the growth and survivability of trees in plantations in three different sites.

Available with subscription or purchase

Growth characteristics of some native tree species used in silvopastoral systems in the humid lowlands of Costa Rica

Background

Degraded pastures established throughout Central America in the latter 20th C are gradually transitioning to silvopasture or secondary forest. Understanding growth characteristics of trees on these lands is important for proper management.

Available with subscription or purchase

Woody Understory Plant Diversity in Pure and Mixed Native Tree Plantations at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica

Background

This study compares the species richness, abundance, and seed disperal method of individuals growing in the understory of native single-species plantations, native mixed-species plantations, and naturally regenerating (non-planted) areas of the La Selva biological station in Costa Rica.

Available with subscription or purchase

Local and Regional Environmental Variation Influences the Growth of Tropical Trees in Selection Trials in the Republic of Panama

background

This study evaluates the effect of varying site conditions on the basal area of 21 neotropical and 2 exotic tree species at three different sites in Panama. 

Available with subscription or purchase

Environmental Services of Native Tree Plantations and Agroforestry Systems in Central America

Background

Plantations and agroforestry systems supply wood and environmental services such as carbon sequestration and recovery of biodiversity. At the time of writing (2004), Central American countries were developing systems of payments for environmental services to encourage the development of these systems.

Available with subscription or purchase

Impacts of Native Trees on Tropical Soils: A Study in the Atlantic Lowlands of Costa Rica

background

This article describes the results of a study in Costa Rica that compared the soil fertility in a 2.5 year-old plantation of 6 native tree species, grass pasture, and 20 year-old secondary forest.

Available with subscription or purchase

A Review of the Agroforestry Systems of Costa Rica

Background

This literature review provides a historical overview of agroforestry systems in Costa Rica from the 1970s to the present.

Available with subscription or purchase

Screening Trial of 14 Tropical Hardwoods with an Emphasis on Species Native to Costa Rica: Fourth Year Results

Background

A lack of silvicultural information on native timber species in the tropics has contributed to the propogation of fast-growing exotic tree species in reforestation efforts. The plantations evaluated at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica were considered marginal lands with low input of forest maintenance, reflecting the conditions of many lands that farmers would use for reforestation.

Available with subscription or purchase