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Species

Growth of native forest species planted on abandoned pasture land in Costa Rica

Background

Reforestation programs in Costa Rica have largely utilized only four tree species. This study tests growth rates and form of eleven additional tree species native to the humid tropics, including five N-fixing species and six non-N-fixing species.

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

Amelioration of degraded rain forest soils by plantations of native trees

background

While much has been studied about the ability of tree growth to improve degraded soils in temperate zones, less is known about the impacts of tree growth on degraded soils in tropical zones.

Available with subscription or purchase

Tree species effects on soil properties in experimental plantations in tropical moist forest

Background

Forest soil properties are influenced by the complex interactions of vegetation, soil type, geology, management, and climactic patterns. Tree species can differ in their long-term effects on soils. This study resamples one of the earliest replicated experimental sites at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica, used to examine the effects of native tropical tree species on soil properties, to examine longer term effects on soil properties.

Open access copy available

Resilencia en Bosques Tropicales Húmedos: Reensamblaje de las Comunidades en Bosques Secundarios (Resilience in tropical humid forests: Reassemblies of the communities in secondary forests)

Open access copy available

Nitrogen-fixing trees inhibit growth of regenerating Costa Rican rainforests

BACKGROUND

Nitrogen fixing plants are the primary source of nitrogen in forests, and it is expected that more nitrogen fixers will bring in faster growth. Hence this study conducted, in a humid tropical rainforest North- East Costa Rica, challenged this notion. The area of study had similar dominant species, with P. macroloba being the most dominant Nitrogen fixer.

Open access copy available

A Financial Analysis of Small-Scale Tropical Reforestation with Native Species in Costa Rica

Background

This article describes the financial expenses and revenues incurred by the 15th year of a small native species plantation in Costa Rica.

research goals & methods

Forecasting models incorporate growth patterns, production costs, and wood prices to determine the net present value and internal rate of return for the project.

Open access copy available

Attempting Restoration of Wet Tropical Forests in Costa Rica

Background

This article describes a reforestation effort of the Tropical Forestry Initiative using mixed stands of native species to recover abandoned pastureland in the tropical wet forest of Costa Rica.

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Pure and Mixed Forest Plantations with Native Species of the Dry Tropics of Costa Rica: A Comparison of Growth and Productivity

background

This research monitored the growth and survival of 13 natives species in pure and mixed-species plantations, and compared the results to measurements of T. grandis, an exotic species commonly planted in the area.

Open access copy available

Cloudbridge Reforestation Project

background

The mission of the Cloudbridge Reforestation Project is to rebuild a deforested part of tropical cloud forest using native trees to bridge a gap between two mountainside forests.  Local people as well as tree consultants are hired to plant the native species.  

Open access copy available

Forestry Project for the Basin of the Chinchiná River, an Environmental and Productive Alternative for the City and the Region

Background

Open access copy available

Reforestation of Abandoned Pastures: Silvicultural Means to Accelerate Forest Recovery and Biodiversity

Background

Despite the 2736 native tree species in Ecuador, the majority of forestation activities in the country are based on exotic pines and eucalypts. In this book chapter, the authors describe the reason for this neglect being the lack of knowledge on the ecology and silvicultural treatment and the lack of nurseries growing these species.

Available with subscription or purchase

Evaluation of Andean Alder as a Catalyst for the Recovery of Tropical Cloud Forests in Colombia

background

This study compares the species composition and structural diversity of 30-year-old alder plantations with adjacent, naturally regenerated forests of the same age. The study seeks to determine if alder plantations are an appropriate catalyst for forest regeneration for conserving biological diversity and to determine if the differences between the two forest types are maintained over time.

Available with subscription or purchase

The Agroforestree Database

About

The Agroforestree (AFT) Database was created in 2009 by the World Forestry Centre and provides specifics and selection guides on both native and exotic agroforestry trees. 

Open access copy available

Sobrevivencia del duraznillo (Prunus annularis) en plantación forestal y en sistemas agroforestales (Survival of Prunus annularis in agroforestry systems)

Open access copy available

Enriquecimiento de plantaciones forestales como herramienta para la rehabilitación de ambientes degradados en la region sur Ecuatoriana (Enrichment and rehabilitation of degraded environments in southern Ecuador)

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Antecedentes

El estudio analiza el potencial de adaptación de especies nativas a las condiciones de plantaciones de Pinus patula, en una plantación cerca de la Estación Científica San Francisco en la región sur del Ecuador.

Open access copy available

Establecimiento de un sistema silvopastoril mediante las especies Alnus acuminata H.B.K. y Acacia decurrens Willd y respuesta al empleo de organismos rizosféricos en San Pedro (Antioquia)

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Antecedentes

EL monocultivo y uso excesivo de  fertilizantes  en pasturas del trópico alto, han desencadenado problemas ambientales así como un inadecuado manejo sanitario y nutricional del ganado.

Open access copy available

Efecto de la zona de vida y la altitud en la mortalidad y adaptabilidad al primer año de especies forestales en la Cordillera Volcánica Central de Costa Rica

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Antecedentes

El entendimiento comprensivo de la restauración de bosques requiere de la comprensión del fenómeno de la mortalidad incluyendo su magnitud y ubicación espacial. En Costa Rica, no existe suficiente información capturando los efectos de climas pluviales sobre la mortalidad de especies forestales, especialmente en zonas altas.

Open access copy available

Reserva Encenillo, Fundacion Natura, Colombia

This reserve is located in high montane forest of the Colombia Andes, designed to protect the locally important forest tree Weinmanniatomentosa (Encenillo in Spanish). The total size of the reserve is 135 ha of forest, and serves as a forest corridor in a matrix of pasture, potato, and remnant forest landscape.

Open access copy available

Rio Bogota - Fundacion al verde vivo

This project attempts to restore riparian forest along the headwaters of the Rio Bogota, upstream of the city of Bogota.

Since 2003, the Fundacion al verde vivo has worked with volunteers to plant trees along the riparian corridor. Many areas along the riverbanks were previously used for cattle pasture, leather tanneries, or other small constructions. Local laws require that certain distances of riparian buffer are maintained as forest, but these regulations are rarely enforced.

Full resource not available online