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Carbon sequestration in Africa: The land tenure problemBackgroundInconsistent land tenure practices across Africa are an obstacle to expanding tropical afforestation project with the goal of carbon sequestration. Few discussions of tropical afforestation in Africa address this obstacle. Open access copy available |
La participation communautaire au cœur du modèle de restauration de la Grande muraille verte africaine (Community participation at the heart of the model for restoration of the Great Green Wall)The authors describe the African initiative of the Great Green Wall for the Sahara and the Sahel, which is currently in process. Thay note that the initiative is gainaing visibility and includes 110 participating villages. The article concludes by calling for support for these types of initiaties.
Open access copy available |
A sustainability framework for assessing trade-offs in ecosystem servicesBackgroundThis report presents an analytical framework for achieving sustainability through the lens of ecosystem services. Open access copy available |
Consequences of broadscale timber plantations for biodiversity in cleared forest landscapes of tropical and subtropical AustraliaBackgroundOpen access copy available |
Rôle des perturbations actuelles et passées dans la dynamique et mosaique forestière (Role of current and past disturbances on dynamics and forest mosaics)The author broadly discusses community and population dynamics in tropical forests, including mortality and dispersal. He highlights the role of animal dispersal and disturbances in modifying stand heterogeneity.
Open access copy available |
Successions Post-Culturales en Foret Tropicale: Essai de Synthèse Bibliographique (Secondary succession in tropical forests: essay and bibliographic synthesis)This article discusses four models of secondary succession (facilitation, inhibition, tolerance, and random). The authors examine the differences between the fundamental niche and the realized niche and they note that very little has been studied about ecosystem function of tropical forests.
Open access copy available |
Changing gears during succession: shifting functional strategies in young tropical secondary forestsBackgroundAdaptations toresource availability strongly shape patterns of community composition along successional gradients in environmental conditions. This study examines the extent to which variation in functional composition explains shifts in trait-based functional strategies in young tropical secondary forests during the most dynamic stage of succession (0–20 years). Open access copy available |
Pattern and Process in Neotropical Secondary Rain Forests: The First 100 Years of SuccessionBackgroundAccording the author, there has been an increasing rate of deforested areas that are being left to natural regenerate into a secondary succession forest. There is great interest in whether these forest will offer similar characteristics to primary forests, information and data is currently restricted to the first few years to a potentially decade long process. The author spends the paper reviewing recent advances in neotropical secondary succession. Available with subscription or purchase |
Foresters' beliefs about farmers: a priority for social science research in social forestryBackgroundThe author states that social science research is largely lacking throughout forestry, not due to its inadequacy but a failure to select relevant topics to be explore through social science research. The paper attempts to show that conducting social science research about foresters' belief is valid and necessary. Open access copy available |
Drivers of Reforestation in Human-Dominated ForestsbackgroundThe country of Nepal is examined as a case study for forest cover change, as it has experienced a shift towards an increase in forest cover in recent years. This study examines forests across Nepal in order to provide a framework of social factors useful for understanding this trend. Open access copy available |
Forest transitions: An introductionBackgroundThe authors present an introduction to the idea of "forest transitions", which is theory coined by Alexander Mather to explain the changes that forest landscapes undergo as societies industrialize and urbanize. This special issue seeks to extend and deepend the theory. Open access copy available |
Globalization and Forest Resurgence: Changes in Forest Cover in El SalvadorBackgroundThe authors study certain globalization impacts in land-use change in El Salvador. The legacy of war, remittances and international migration are among other factors that have allowed tree resurgence even in highly urban populated areas. This study tracks the different trajectories of forest recovery by analysing remote-sensing satellite images from 1970's to the early 2000's. Open access copy available |
Du suivi à l’évaluation: à la recherche d’indicateurs opérationnels en écologie de la restauration (From monitoring to evaluation: in search of operational indicators in restoration ecology)The authors shed light on issues related to monitoring and evaluation of wetland restoration projects. They note that monitoring and evaluation oftentimes lack enough support to be effective. One suggestion the authors put forth is the notion that monitoring/evaluation should be a discipline in its own right if we are to have successful restoration projects in the future.
Open access copy available |
Restauration écologique: contexte, contraintes et indicateurs de suivi (Ecological restoration: context, constraints and indicators for monitoring)The authors provide a review of the literature on ecological restoration. Most imprtantly, the authors focus on the importance of indicators in ecological restoration projects.
Open access copy available |
Paying for RestorationBackgroundThe authors examine the payments for ecosystem services and review strategies for funding ecological restoration. They do so by conducting a literature review that is focused on two main questions: "how should ecological and economic considerations be balanced in determining expenditures on restoration projects? how is society going to pay for the substantial costs involved?" Available with subscription or purchase |
Le secteur des terres: solution au problème du dérèglement climatique? (The lands sector: solution to climate change?)The author discusses the merits of using agriculture as a way of sequestering carbon through the use of agroforestry. He presents various case studies of successful re-greening efforts in Africa and noted that investments in agroecology can increase food security and climate resilience. Finally, the author notes that rural areas need to be taken into account when considering climate negotiations because they hold the potential to drastically increase carbon sequestration.
Open access copy available |
Identité et écologie des espèces forestières commerciales d'Afrique Centrale: le cas de Milicia spp. (Identity and ecology of Central African timber tree species: the case of Milicia spp.)The authors explore the literature on two native tree species of commercial value in central Africa:Milicia excelsa and Milicia regia. Known locally as iroko, the authors note that exploitation of the trees have led to a decrease in its abundance. Finally, the authors argue that because the species are recognized as having economic importance, more research is needed on the species' ecologies in order to sustainably manage them.
Open access copy available |
Non-timber Forest Product Harvest does not Affect the Genetic Diversity of a Tropical Tree Despite Negative Effects on Population FitnessbackgroundThe authors investigated a relationship between exploitation of economically important mahogany in Benin and the species genetic diversity. The study is base on the theory that disturbances in forest habitats can lead to a decrease in diversity due to population fragmentation and increased inbreeding. Open access copy available |
Structure spatiale des arbres des savanes boisées et forêts claires soudaniennes : implication pour les enrichissements forestiers (Spatial structure of trees in forested savanna and Sudanian forests: implication for forest enrichment)This article is concerned with modeling ideal spacial distributions of tree species in Benin. The authors suggest 3 meters as the ideal distance between trees of the same species, or 4.5 meters between trees of different species.
Open access copy available |
L’agriculture de conservation à la croisée des chemins en Afrique et à Madagascar (Conservation agriculture at a crossroads in Africa and Madagascar)The authors describe conservation agriculture, which they describe as farming systems that use little mechanical soil disturbance, permanant organic cover, and diversified crops. The authors argue that conservation agriculture is important for maintaining soil health.
Open access copy available |