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Responses of 20 Native Tree Species to Reforestation Strategies for Abandoned Farmland in Panama

Background

In the tropics, deforestation often leads to unproductive agriculture and results in degraded grasslands. This study seeks to understand why forests fail to regenerate naturally in these ecosystems. 

Open access copy available

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.

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Facilitating Regeneration of Secondary Forests with the Use of Mixed and Pure Plantations of Indigenous Tree Species

background

This research presents the abundance and diversity of woody species regenerating under tropical plantations (mixed and single-species) and a control of natural regeneration at La Selva Biological Station in the Atlantic humid lowlands of Costa Rica.

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Restoration of seasonal semideciduous forests in Brazil: influence of age and restoration design on forest structure

Background

With the high rates of deforestation in tropical regions, the restoration of degraded lands has become an important way for maintaining the diversity of plant communities and for creating wildlife habitats. Evaluating the success of restored areas is essential for improving restoration designs and for successfully restoring such complex ecosystems.

Open access copy available

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.

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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.

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The Structure and Composition of a Tropical Dry Forest Landscape After Land Clearance; Azuero Peninsula, Panama

background

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Growth and effects of thinning of mixed and pure plantations with native trees in humid tropical Costa Rica

Background

As reforestation with native tree species gains in popularity, more information about proper management is needed. This study examines the growth and responses to thinning of ten native species in mixed and pure-species plantations in the Caribbean Lowlands of Costa Rica.

Open access copy available

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

Silvicultural and economic aspects of pure and mixed native tree species plantations on degraded pasturelands in humid Costa Rica

Background

Reforestation of degraded land in tropical regions provides one means of restoring ecosystems and improving rural livelihoods. Most plantations in humid tropical regions are established in pure plots using few species of high commercial value, generally exotics. This study compares growth and economic viability of native trees in pure and mixed plantations on degraded land.

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The Savannization of Moist Forests in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia

Background

This study in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta seeks to determine if savannas are natural or caused by anthropogenic factors. The authors use climate data from the past and present, the location of vegetation, and land use history to test their hypothesis.

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Development of the Soil Macrofauna Community under Silvopastoral and Agrosilvicultural Systems in Amazonia

Background

This study seeks to analyze the effect that different agroforestry systems have on the recolonization of macrofauna in the soil of former pasture lands.

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Imitating Natural Ecosystems through Successional Agroforestry for the Regeneration of Degraded Lands - A Case Study of Smallholder Agriculture in Northeastern Brazil

Background

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Development of the soil macrofauna community under silvopastoral and agrosilvicultural systems in Amazonia

Background

The Brazilian Amazon has experienced extensive land conversion from forests to cattle pasture, many of which now lay abandoned. Agro-forestry serves as one potential solution to this problem and this study examines the re-establishment of a diversified soil macrofauna in order to inform this approach.

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Variability and Grouping of Leaf Traits in Multi-Species Reforestation (Leyte, Philippines)

background

Research on functional diversity is an important part in ongoing efforts to identify appropriate native tree species for reforestation projects. Increasing understanding of easy to measure physiological characteristics, such as specific leaf area, can help predict a variety of functional characteristics as well as growth perfromance.

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New Options for Land Rehabilitation and Landscape Ecology in Southeast Asia by "Rainforestation Farming"

background

The authors describe a methodology for reforestation called "Rainforestation Farming" developed in the Philippines in the 1990s to restore forest cover on degraded lands covered with Imperata cylindrica grass in the Visayas region

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Annual report of the director of forestry of the Philippine Islands for the period 1907-1913

background

This report contains a number of sections relevant to early reforestation activities in the Philippines, including research on succession pathways, restoration experiments on degraded lands, tree nursery operations, and native species.

Open access copy available

Habitat Distribution of Dipterocarp Species in the Leyte Cordillera: an Indicator for Species – Site Suitability in Local Reforestation Programs

Background

This article presents the results of a vegetation study in primary forest areas of Leyte, in vicinity of the case study site (near Mt. Pangasugan). It provides information on habitat distribution patterns and elevational ranges of dipterocarp species with the purpose of providing baseline data for ensuring species-site suitability for local reforestation programs.

Open access copy available

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

background

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.

Open access copy available

Habitat Distribution of Dipterocarp Species in the Leyte Cordillera: An Indicator for Species – Site Suitability in Local Reforestation Programs

Background

This article presents the results of a vegetation study in primary forest areas of the Leyte Cordillera in the Philippines, sampling populations of 18 species of Dipterocarp across topographic habitats and elevation classes. As a young volcanic cordillera, this tropical region is dominated by rugged topography, with slopes as steep as 30 to 60 degrees.

Open access copy available