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Optimal restoration for pollination services increases forest cover while doubling agricultural profits

Background

In the midst of a global biodiversity crisis and a rapidly expanding food demand, improving agricultural techniques is a high priority. Pollinators are at the forefront of this restoration goal partially due to their rapid decline in population, and also their crucial role in food production. 75% of globally common food depends on pollinators. Though improving agriculture is important, it is also expensive and risky for land owners. A framework is needed to determine best arrangements and practices for sustainable agriculture.

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Aboveground carbon responses to experimental and natural hurricane impacts in a subtropical wet forest in Puerto Rico

Background

Carbon sequestration is a major climate mitigating process. Tropical forests in particular sequester high amounts of carbon, however disturbance events such as storms can alter the ability of forests to sequester more carbon. Hurricanes create forest gaps and increase ground debris which both provide resources that may promote plant recruitment and growth.

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Patterns and controls on island-wide aboveground biomass accumulation in second-growth forests of Puerto Rico

Background

Secondary or second-growth forests after land abandonment are a valuable contribution to global carbon sinks. Approximately 70% of the world’s tropical forests are secondary growth, so understanding the carbon sequestration rates on a large scale is important. Sequestration rates are controlled by both abiotic and biotic factors in each region.

Open access copy available

Restoration of plant-animal interactions in terrestrial ecosystems

Background

Plant-animal interactions are understudied within ecosystem restoration contexts. They are crucial to restoration success, with valuable processes like pollination, seed dispersal, and herbivory. The potential of animal reintroductions in restoration practices is understudied as well. Understanding these interactions is an important piece for future restoration efforts.

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Calibrating Nepal’s scientific forest management practices in the measure of forest restoration

Background

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Assessing the Carbon Capture Potential of a Reforestation Project

Background:

Reforestation projects are receiving more and more attention due to their potential to sequester carbon and limit the increase of the global average temperature above 2 Celsius degrees. Consequently, is important to evaluate the accuracy of the GHG capture results made by the increasingly funded reforestation platforms.

Open access copy available

Lowland Tapirs Facilitate Seed Dispersal in Degraded Amazonian Forests

Background:

During their first decades of growth, secondary tropical forests have the potential to accumulate significative more carbon than old-growth stands. Nevertheless, recovering degraded forests' habitats could be an expensive task to achieve. In this context, natural regeneration processes, such as seed dispersal by herbivorous animals, offer a cost-effective tool to recover degraded forests, although this role remains largely unexplored.

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Higher Fire Frequency Impaired Woody Species Regeneration in a South-Eastern Amazonian Forest

Background:

The more and more common forest fires in the Amazon rainforest, caused after fire escape from pasture or deforested lands, cause unpredictable changes to the forest structure. Therefore, it is essential to assess the resilience of these ecosystems after being impacted by fire events and the likelihood of maintaining forest tree species and not being replaced by savanna species.

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Deforestation-Induced Climate Change Reduces Carbon Storage in Remaining Tropical Forests

Background:

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Plant Respiration in a Warmer World

Background:

It has been estimated that, globally, plants release 60 gigatons of CO2 during the respiration process. Many studies have shown that an increase in global temperature will increase leaves respiration rates, which in turn will decrease carbon uptake and increase atmospheric CO2 concentration (contributing even more to higher global temperature).

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Biochar Effects on Two Tropical Tree Species and Its Potential as a Tool for Reforestation

Background:

Although biochar is starting to be recognized as a potential soil fertilizer, most of the current studies are focused on the growth response of herbaceous crops and not on the impacts of biochar on tree development.

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Survival and Early Growth of 51 Tropical Tree Species in Areas Degraded by Artisanal Gold Mining in the Peruvian Amazon

Background:

Artisanal and small-scale gold mining has dramatically changed the landscape of tropical ecosystems, completely removing the soil and vegetation and polluting it with mercury disposals. In order to recover these degraded spaces, reforestation projects need to enhance their knowledge of restoration species growth and survival rates under different site conditions, as well as their fertilization needs.

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Exotic Eucalypts: From Demonized Trees to Allies of Tropical Forest Restoration?

Background:

Timber, being a product in high demand globally, presents a lucrative market opportunity, and restoration efforts could potentially generate income through the targeted extraction of this material. While the incorporation of commercially valuable exotic trees might incentivize farmers to participate in restoration projects, it raises significant ecological concerns among experts.

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Mapping tree species vulnerability to multiple threats as a guide to restoration and conservation of tropical dry forests

Background:

The global biodiversity crisis is exacerbated by anthropogenic threats such as climate change, habitat conversion, and overexploitation. Evaluating the susceptibility of ecosystems and species to these threats is imperative for strategic and cost-effective planning of restoration and conservation efforts.

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Slowing Amazon Deforestation through Public Policy and Interventions in Beef and Soy Supply Chains

Background:

The process of deforestation, involving the extensive removal of mature forest, witnessed a notable decline, plummeting from a 10-year average of 19,500 km2 up to 2005 to 5843 in 2013—a remarkable 70% reduction. This reduction is believed to have initiated a chain reaction of positive consequences, including a diminished risk of regional rainfall inhibition, fewer alterations in river discharge and sedimentation, and an upswing in biodiversity conservation.

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Mapping carbon accumulation potential from global natural forest regrowth

Background:

The authors note that previous studies have estimated the potential for carbon sequestration through afforestation and reforestation, but there has been less focus on the potential for natural forest regrowth. They also highlight the need for more accurate estimates of carbon accumulation rates in regrowing natural forests, as well as a better understanding of the factors that influence these rates.

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Forest Health and Global Change

Background:

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Primates Can Be a Rallying Symbol to Promote Tropical Forest Restoration

Background:

In the face of increasing threats such as deforestation, habitat loss, and climate change, the authors aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the potential of primates as a rallying symbol for promoting tropical forest restoration, taking into account the interactions between primates, their habitats, and human communities.

Goals:

The authors aim to:

Open access copy available

Global restoration opportunities in tropical rainforest landscape

Background:

The identification of restoration opportunities, focusing on areas with both high potential for socioenvironmental benefits and feasibility for restoration, emerges as a crucial tool in meeting the ambitious restoration commitments set for the near future. Recognizing these opportunities can be integrated with other decision-making factors to establish priorities for the implementation and financing of the global restoration agenda.

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Tropical Rainforest Restoration Plantations Are Slow to Restore the Soil Biological and Organic Carbon Characteristics of Old Growth Rainforest

Background:

With widespread deforestation and land conversion posing significant threats to biodiversity and carbon sequestration, there is an urgent need to comprehend the intricate relationship between land use change, soil microbial communities, and soil organic carbon dynamics in tropical rainforest ecosystems.

Open access copy available