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Promoting Biodiversity: Advances in Evaluating Native Species for Reforestation

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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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Leaf Litter Decomposition and Mulch Performance from Mixed and Monospecific Plantations of Native Tree Species in Costa Rica

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Tree Management in the Northwestern Andean Cordillera of Peru

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Peasant communities in the northwestern Andean Cordillera of Peru utilize many indigenous and introduced trees and shrubs to satisfy a variety of material needs. However, forest resources are over-harvested and over-grazed, contributing to soil erosion. This study aims to identify the major tree and shrub species in the region and understand their ecologies and usages, and to recommend priorities for reforestation in the region taking human usage into account.

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Analysis of the Carbon Sequestration Costs of Afforestation and Reforestation Agroforestry Practices and the Use of Cost Curves to Evaluate their Potential for Implementation of Climate Change Mitigation

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This article analyzes the carbon sequestration costs of agroforestry afforestation/reforestation projects (ARPs) as part of the UN's Clean Development Mechanism by evaluating both economies of scale and opportunity costs that affect total sequestration costs. The study uses an agroforestry project called Scolel Té in Chiapas, Mexico to calculate the average net present value (ANPV) of the project in terms of carbon price and project area.

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Geographic Variation in Tree Growth and Wood Density of Guazuma crinita Mart. in the Peruvian Amazon

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This research addresses intra-specific variation in the native Peruvian tree species Guazuma crinita, a fast-growing pioneer species and priority timber tree used in reforestation and agroforestry systems. It also evaluates the tree growth and wood density of G. crinita varieties from 11 provenances in the Peruvian Amazon.

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Evaluation of 15 Indigenous and Introduced Species for Reforestation and Agroforestry in Northeastern Mexico

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This article presents the results of a reforestation study in the Sierra Madre Mexico.

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

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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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Early Woody Invasion Under Tree Plantations in Costa Rica: Implications for Forest Restoration

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This study evaluates the regeneration of woody plants, the amount of herbaceous cover, and the light conditions in the understory of 3-year-old mixed and single-species plantations in Costa Rica.

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Influence of Overstory Composition on Understory Colonization by Native Species in Plantations on a Degraded Tropical Site

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This study evaluates forest understory regeneration in a 4.5 year-old plantation in Puerto Rico. The plantations, established in 1989, were planted on abandoned pasture in mixtures or monocultures of three exotic species: Casuarina equisetifolia, Eucalyptus robusta, and Leucaena leucocephala.

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Growth, carbon sequestration, and management of native tree plantations in humid regions of Costa Rica

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A Re-emerging Atlantic Forest? Urbanization, Industrialization and the Forest Transition in Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil

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The Atlantic Forest region of southern Brazil has experienced rapid urbanization and industrialization in the second half of the 20th century. Trends in other regions of the world might suggest this would lead to increased forest cover in rural areas, however a developing country such as Brazil may present a different scenario.

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Forest Expansion in Northwest Costa Rica: Conjuncture of the Global Market, Land-Use Intensification, and Forest Protection

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This article examines the land cover conversion trends in Costa Rica, a topic that is widely studied in developed coutries but less so in developing. 

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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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The Fate of the Tropical Forest: Carbon or Cattle?

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The Clean Development Mechanism, established by the Kyoto Protocol, includes small-scale afforestation and reforestation projects as a means for participating developed countries to receive credit for emission redcutions.

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Methods of Facilitating Reforestation of Tropical Degraded Land with the Native Timber Tree, Terminalia amazonia

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In tropical dry regions, like Costa Rica, it is critical to reforest degraded farms in order to reduce erosion and increase soil fertility. This paper explores the results of an 8-year long experiment in Southern Costa Rica that sought to identify ways to reforest such land economically.

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Determinants for Successful Reforestation of Abandoned Pastures in the Andes: Soil Conditions and Vegetation Cover

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This article compares the growth of native and exotic species seedlings planted in abandoned pasture and among brachen ferns and shrubs in Andean Ecuador over three years.

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Soil compaction and topsoil removal effects on soil properties and seedling growth in Amazonian Ecuador

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Soil properties affect plant growth including during germination and establishment. Topsoil loss, nutrient loss, and compaction due to industrial activity in forest may impact forest regeneration. This study reports on soil properties and seedling growth following topsoil removal in Amazonian Ecuador.

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Early Species Selection for Tropical Reforestation: A Consideration of Stability

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This study describes a screening of timber species planted in abandoned pasture sites to understand the effect of different site conditions on tree growth and to determine the species that grew with the highest variation.

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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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Commercial forestry plantations have consistently relied on a limitd number of species, often favoring exotic species over native ones. This is mainly due to a lack of information or understanding related to the silviculture of native species plantations. This article uses a long-term experiement site in Costa Rica's La Selva Biological Station to work towards filling this knowledge gap. 

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Early Growth Performance of Native and Introduced Fast Growing Tree Species in Wet to Sub-Humid Climates of the Southern Region of Costa Rica

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The authors present information on the growth of seven-year-old native tree species planted in abandoned pasture with low fertility acidic soils in the southern pacific region of Costa Rica.

Research Goals & Methods

The study evalutes trees in four ecoregions of varying elevation and precipitation.

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