Resource Library Search

Type any text into the search box. Narrow your search using the dropdown boxes or the filters in the sidebar. If there are no results, try using fewer filters or broder dropdown options. 

Advanced Search Options

Access

Subject Areas

Species

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.

Available with subscription or purchase

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

background

Available with subscription or purchase

Early Species Selection for Tropical Reforestation: A Consideration of Stability

background

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.

Available with subscription or purchase

Native Species: A Resource for the Diversification of Forestry Production in the Lowland Humid Tropics

background

This research evaluates the success of native species for reforestation plantings in Costa Rica in comparison with exotic species.

Available with subscription or purchase

Amazonian Forest Restoration: An Innovative System for Native Species Selection Based on Phenological Data and Field Performance Indices

background

In this article, data is presented from 14 years of evaluating native species from primary forests in Para State, Brazil for their potential use as reforestation trees on a bauxite mine.

Available with subscription or purchase

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.

Available with subscription or purchase

Woody Understory Plant Diversity in Pure and Mixed Native Tree Plantations at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica

Background

This study compares the species richness, abundance, and seed disperal method of individuals growing in the understory of native single-species plantations, native mixed-species plantations, and naturally regenerating (non-planted) areas of the La Selva biological station in Costa Rica.

Available with subscription or purchase

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.

Available with subscription or purchase

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.

Available with subscription or purchase

A Review of the Agroforestry Systems of Costa Rica

Background

This literature review provides a historical overview of agroforestry systems in Costa Rica from the 1970s to the present.

Available with subscription or purchase

Seeding ecological restoration of tropical forests: Priority setting under REDD+

Background

Available with subscription or purchase

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

Background

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.

Available with subscription or purchase

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

background

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.

Available with subscription or purchase

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

Background

Available with subscription or purchase

Screening trial of 14 tropical hardwoods with an emphasis on species native to Costa Rica: Fourth year results

Background

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. 

Available with subscription or purchase

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

background

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.

Available with subscription or purchase

Effects of Above- and Below-Ground Competition of Shrubs and Grass on Calophyllum brasiliense (Camb.) Seedling Growth in Abandoned Tropical Pasture

background

This article evaluates the above and below-ground competition between grasses, shrubs, and woody seedlings in abandoned pastures in montane Costa Rica.

Available with subscription or purchase

Direct Seeding of Late-Successional Trees to Restore Tropical Montane Forest

background

This study measures seed germination, seedling establishment, survival, growth and foliar nutrient content of five late-successional tree species which were directly seeded into three different habitats representing different stages of succession in tropical montane Costa Rica.The study also compares the costs of direct seeding with locally collected seeds with planting nursery-raised seedlings.

Available with subscription or purchase

Attempting Restoration of Wet Tropical Forests in Costa Rica

Background

This article describes a reforestation effort of the Tropical Forestry Initiative using mixed stands of native species to recover abandoned pastureland in the tropical wet forest of Costa Rica.

Available with subscription or purchase

Early Growth of Native and Exotic Trees Planted on Degraded Tropical Pasture

background

This study describes the potential of two exotic and five native tree species to restore degraded land in Costa Rica.

Research Goals & Methods

Thirty blocks were established over 25 hectares of abandoned cattle pasture and tree height was measured at 3 and 7 years and tree survival was measured after 7 years.

Available with subscription or purchase