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Species

Crecimiento de especies forestales nativas en la zona norte de Costa Rica (Growth of native forest species in the north area of Costa Rica)

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Antecedentes

El estudio evalúa el comportamiento y crecimiento de cinco especies nativas utilizadas en la reforestación de llanuras del trópico húmedo de Costa Rica.

Open access copy available

Productividad en plantaciones puras y mixtas de especies forestales nativas en la estación biológica La Selva, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica

Open access copy available

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.

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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

Growth in pure and mixed plantations of tree species used in reforesting rural areas of the humid region of Costa Rica, Central America

Background

Despite government incentives in Costa Rica for establishing and maintaining native tree plantations since the 1990s, farmers and small landowners often lack adequate knowledge about plantation management. Yield and rotation periods for each of the ten most common species grown in monoculture have previously been published. This paper compares productivity in monoculture and mixtures at La Selva Biological Station in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica.

Open access copy available

Screening Trial of 14 Tropical Hardwoods with an Emphasis on Species Native to Costa Rica: Fourth Year Results

Background

A lack of silvicultural information on native timber species in the tropics has contributed to the propogation of fast-growing exotic tree species in reforestation efforts. The plantations evaluated at the La Selva Biological Station in Costa Rica were considered marginal lands with low input of forest maintenance, reflecting the conditions of many lands that farmers would use for reforestation.

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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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An Evaluation of Farmers' Experiences Planting Native Trees in Rural Panama: Implications for Reforestation with Native Species in Agricultural Landscapes

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Open access copy available

Survival and Growth of Under-Planted Trees: A Meta-Analysis Across four Biomes

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This article is a meta-analysis synthesizing the results of survival and growth of under-planted trees in forests in tropical, temperate coastal, boreal, and temperate deciduous forests. Additionally, the survival and growth of these underplanted trees are evaluated according to the silvicultural treatment affecting density of the overstory: uncut, dense shelterwood, intermediate density shelterwood, light density shelterwood, clear cut.

Open access copy available

Root architecture and allocation patterns of eight native tropical species with different successional status used in open-grown mixed plantations in Panama

Background

While an increasing number of native tropical trees are under study for reforestation and commercial plantations, the majority of studies on trees in the tropics have concentrated on the aboveground aspects of tree growth. This study investigates biomass allocation and root architecture of eight tropical species with different successional status.

Open access copy available

Carbon Sequestration and Plant Community Dynamics Following Reforestation of Tropical Pasture

Background

Conversion of abandoned cattle pasture to secondary forest in the tropics is a potential means to increase carbon sequestration as well as to enhance local biodiversity. This study uses data from a long-term tropical reforestation project – Luquillo Experimental Forest in Puerto Rico – to estimate rates of above- and belowground carbon sequestration.

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

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

Canopy development in tropical tree plantations: a comparison of species mixtures and monocultures

Background

The establishment of plantation monocultures has dominated much of the intensive forest management practiced in the humid tropics of the Americas, with most forestry research and practice concentrating on a small number of non-indigenous species. Growing interest exists in modifying these practices both by creating mixed-species plantations and by making greater use of native tree species.

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Is Tree Diversity an Important Driver for Phosphorus and Nitrogen Acquisition of a Young Tropical Plantation?

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This article presents the effect of native species diversity on the nitrogen and phosphorous pools above-ground in a plantation in the Canal Zone of Panama.

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Initial Performance and Reforestation Potential of 24 Tropical Tree Species Planted Across a Precipitation Gradient in the Republic of Panama

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The authors of this study  planted trees from 22 native species and two exotic species to use in selection trials testing the growth and survivability of trees in plantations in three different sites.

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Factors Affecting Community Composition of Forest Regeneration in Deforested, Abandoned Land in Panama

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This study tests how Saccharum spontaneum, an invasive grass, affects early forest succession and community composition in an area of previously abandoned pasture.

Open access copy available

Árboles de uso multiple en El Salvador: Un manual para propagación y reforestación (Multipurpose trees in El Salvador: a manual for propagation and reforestation)

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Antecedentes

El Salvador es uno de los países del hemisferio oeste con mayor deforestación . En el año  1998 este país contaba con tan solo el 2% de sus bosques originales en pie. A pesar del interés de la población en realizar actividades de reforestación, existe una gran falta de información sobre especies nativas adecuadas para este fin.

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Restoration of dry tropical forests in Central America: A review of pattern and process

Background

Much information on restoration and management exists for wet tropical forests of Central America but comparatively little work has been done in the dry forests of this region. Such information is critical for reforestation efforts that are now occurring throughout Central America. This paper describes processes of degradation due to land use and provides a conceptual framework for the restoration of dry tropical forest, of which less than 2% remains intact.

Open access copy available

Especies para reforestación en Nicaragua (Species for Reforestation in Nicaragua)

Background

This manual provides information about multipurpose trees in Nicaragua.

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