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Mitigation Needs Adaptation: Tropical Forestry and Climate Change

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This paper examines how tropical forestry practices can contribute to maintaining and enhancing the ability of forests to adapt to global climate change. It considers challenges and opportunities for the integration of tropical forest management in broader methods of adaptation to climate change.

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Croissance et assimilation nette foliaire de jeunes plants de dix arbres de la forêt guyanaise, cultivés à cinq niveaux d'éclairement

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This study assesses the growth of ten species of tropical rainforest trees under 5 different light conditions.

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Effet de la lumière des trouées de la canopée sur le potentiel et la dissémination de Gnetum africanum dans les écosystèmes forestiers congolais

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Aspects de la régénération naturelle en forêt dense de Côte-d’Ivoire (Aspects of natural forest regeneration in Ivory Coast)

The author describes forest dynamics in the Ivory Coast. He discusses primarily forest regeneration as a process disturbed by perturbations that leave a gap in the canopy and notes that leading up to these disturbances, forested areas build up seed banks. The author concludes that characteristics of the disturbance determine future forest vegetation.

 

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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.

 

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L’abattage sélectif: une pratique agricole ancestrale au service de la régénération forestière (Selective clearing: Forest regeneration through an ancestral agricultural practice)

The author describes selective clearing of forests in crop fields. She notes the benefits of selective clearing such as increased speed of forest regeneration. Finally, the author contrasts the traditional agricultural practices of the Ntumu people to more destructive and widespread methods.

 

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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.

 

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Ecosystem Decay of Amazonian Forest Fragments: A 22-year Investigation

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Large-Scale Impoverishment of Amazonian Forests by Logging and Fire

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Amazonia typically uses deforestation rates to predict the effects on the carbon cycle and to measure the loss of forest in Brazil. The authors claim that these connections are limited. 

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Assessment of Drivers of Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Phnom Tbeng Forest Based on Socio-Economic Surveys

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Since the 1960s, Cambodia has lost over 20% of forest cover, with a decline from 13.2 million hectares to 10.4 million as a result of civil war, population growth, and migration patterns. This study seeks to understand the drivers of deforestation in Cambodia through the eyes of rural village residents in five different villages.

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Cartographier le carbone stocké dans la végétation: perspectives pour la spatialisation d’un service écosystémique (Mapping carbon stocks in vegetation)

The authors discuss a project to map ecosystem functioning in the Brazilian Amazon. They point out the limitations of ecosystem-service mapping and the importance of methodological decisionmaking while mapping functional processes.

 

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Carbon Sequestration Potential of Indian Forests

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While deforestation in the tropics is a common subject of concern, India has retained a net positive afforestation rate from 1951-2000, with greatest gains after 1980. These efforts have afforested 35 MHa.

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

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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.

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Genetic Consequences of Tropical Second-Growth Forest Regeneration

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This article is an examination of the genetic impacts of old-growth deforestation among 24 year-old second-growth Iriartea deltoidea, a canopy palm, in a lowland Costa Rican forest. Iriartea is widely distributed throughout neotropical rainforests and displays a diverse range of size classes in mature forests. This species recolonizes second-growth forests with newly generated seeds, which are dispersed by birds and mammals.

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The Potential for Species Conservation in Tropical Secondary Forests

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The importance of tropical secondary forests for conserving biodiversity increases with the degradation of old-growth forests, yet little is known about the role that these forests play in promoting biodiversity. Geospatial and temporal factors influence the role of secondary forests in species conservation, and this synthesis of case studies evaluates the significance of these factors on regional and landscape scales.

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Growing biodiverse carbon-rich forests

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Carbon storage and biodiversity has long been viewed as completely separate restoration objectives, resulting in parceling tracts of restoration land for one objective or the other. This study shows that the relationship between plant functional diversity and carbon sequestration rate depends on climate and habitat factors. Knowing this relationship, a restoration site can be managed for both objectives.

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Infuence of tree cover on diversity, carbon sequestration and productivity of cocoa systems in the Ecuadorian Amazon

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Contributions of agroforestry to ecosystem services in the miombo eco-region of eastern and southern Africa

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The article discusses the functional benefits of agroforestry to the miombo region of eastern and southern Africa, which includes the following countries: Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Tanzania, and Mozambique.

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Agro-Successional Restoration as a Strategy to Facilitate Tropical Forest Recovery

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In the review article, it compares the forestry restoration model with the agroforestry restoration model. Even though they both incorporate the same techniques for controlling weeds and preparing the site for restoration, they differ in other aspects. One of the two agroforestry methods for restoration is the taungya method, which is when mixed crops and trees are all planted together, while the other is the agro-successional restoration method. 

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

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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.

Open access copy available