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The Bigger Picture: Tropical Forest Change in Context, Concept and Practice

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This article discusses differing concepts of reforestation between the fields of forest science and land change science. Most data from the field of forest science is small in scale and evaluates growth and production from the perspective of use of wood products.

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Soil Responses to restoration of a tropical pasture in Veracruz, South-Eastern Mexico.

Background

Changes in land use and land cover may affect soil properties and processes. Conversion of forest to pasture is assumed to result in a decrease in soil nutrients. Restoration to healthy grassland or forest may lead to an increase in soil nutrients. This paper reports on a study on soil responses to restoration of a tropical pasture in Veracruz, Mexico.

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The Role of Rustic Coffee Plantations in the Conservation of Wild Tree Diversity in the Chinantec Region of Mexico

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This study examines the potential of shade coffee systems to promote native tree diversity across the landscape of southern Mexico.

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Woody Plant Diversity and Structure of Shade-Grown-Coffee Plantations in Northern Chiapas, Mexico

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This article presents research on coffee stand structure and diversity, with data collected from 61 coffee plots in Chiapas, Mexico.

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Tree species diversity and vegetation structure in shade coffee farms in Veracruz, Mexico

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While some studies have argued that shade coffee enables similar biodiversity to remnant forest fragments, others contest that the ecological functions of shade coffee can be assumed to be the same or that policies promoting shade coffee will also benefit remnant forest fragments. Not all taxa have been thoroughly studied in shade coffee. This study reports on tree species diversity and vegetation structure in shade coffee farms in Veracruz, Mexico.

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Modelos espaciales aplicados al manejo de los recursos naturales: una propuesta en la sub-cuenca del Río Pilón, Nuevo León, México (Spacial modeling applied to natural resources management)

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The Cultural Context of Forest Degradation in Adjacent Purépechan Communities, Michoacán, Mexico

Background

This study aims to understand the relationship between cultural and ecological drivers contributing to change in forest land use patterns by comparing two adjacent indigenous communities in the volcanic plateau region of Michoacán, Mexico. The study suggests that both cultural and ecological processes must be studied together to best understand the cultural causes of forest change and accurately assess ecological consequences.

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Neotropical Secondary Forest Succession: Changes in Structural and Functional Characteristics

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This paper reiviews the main biotic and abiotic factors that influence patterns of secondary forest succession in the Neotropics after complete forest clearance due to human activities.

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Native trees and shrubs for the productive rehabilitation of tropical cattle ranching lands

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Silvopastoral Systems and their Contribution to Improved Resource Use and Sustainable Development Goals: Evidence from Latin America

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Conserving Tropical Tree Diversity and Forest Structure: The Value of Small Rainforest Patches in Moderately-Managed Landscapes

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Due to deforestation and degradation in rainforests, there has been an increase in small forest patches yet there is limited understanding of this structures contribution to biodiversity and ecosystem services. The authors of this study attempt to answer this question through studying a a moderately managed landscape in the tropics of Mexic

Open access copy available

Functional divesity changes during tropical forest succession

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Pest management through tropical tree conservation

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Vulnerability of smallholder farmers to climate change in Central America and Mexico: current knowledge and research gaps

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This article recognizes that smallholder farmers are both critical to the global agricultural sector yet are one of the most vulnerable populations to climate change. Specifically, farmers in Central America and Mexico are experiences particularly high threats, thus the authors focus on this subgroup.

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Oil palm expansion without enclosure: smallholders and environmental narratives

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Lightly-harvested rustic cocoa is a valuable land cover for amphibian and reptile conservation in human-modified rainforest landscapes

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Tropical biodiversity is impacted by anthropogenic land covers such as agriculture. Land use has the ability to both negatively and positively impact tropical biodiversity. In the tropics, important crops are grown in tropical forested landscapes such as coffee and cocoa. These forest understories are also important habitats for highly sensitive and ecologically vulnerable amphibian species. Amphibians and reptiles are an understudied taxa in conservation ecology and targeted in this study.

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Soil Biological Activity, Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Modified Coffee Agroforestry Systems in Mexico

Background

Coffee agroforestry systems bring a plethora of economic, social, and ecological benefits. Specifically, they aid soil biological activity. In Mexico, due to cost and production challenges, coffee is being replaced by avocado plantations. The impact of coffee agroforestry systems on specific soil biological characteristics and processes is not fully understood. Nor are the impacts of avocado plantations on soil biological activity.

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Herbaceous plant diversity in forest ecosystems: patterns, mechanisms, and threats

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