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Tropical rainforest regeneration in an area degraded by mining in Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Background

Gold mining has been a major cause of environmental degradation in the rainforests in the north of Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Regulations on mining activity are beginning to be developed, including standards for forest recovery methodologies. This study characterizes natural tropical rainforest regeneration in Matupa County, Mato Grosso State, Brazil.

Open access copy available

Biodiversity–Productivity Relationships in Small-Scale Mixed-Species Plantations Using Native Species in Leyte Province, Philippines

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Open access copy available

Farmer Strategies for Dealing with Climatic Variability: A Case Study from the Mixteca Alta Region of Oaxaca, Mexico

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Open access copy available

Identifying Hotspots of Deforestation and Reforestation in Colombia (2001–2010): Implications for Protected Areas

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This article uses satellite imagery, MODIS MOD13Q1 Vegetation Indices 250 , the Virtual Interpretation of EarthWeb-Interface Tool (VIEW-IT) to conduct a land-use analysis of Colombia, mapping trends and "hotspot" areas of deforestation and of reforestation from 2001 to 2010.

Open access copy available

The Role of Silvopastoral Systems in the Rehabilitation of Andean Stream Habitats

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Open access copy available

Habitat Distribution of Dipterocarp Species in the Leyte Cordillera: an Indicator for Species – Site Suitability in Local Reforestation Programs

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This article presents the results of a vegetation study in primary forest areas of Leyte, in vicinity of the case study site (near Mt. Pangasugan). It provides information on habitat distribution patterns and elevational ranges of dipterocarp species with the purpose of providing baseline data for ensuring species-site suitability for local reforestation programs.

Open access copy available

Differential Seedling Establishment of Woody Plants along a Tree Density Gradient in Neotropical Savannas

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Open access copy available

Designing Mixed Species Tree Plantations for the Tropics: Balancing Ecological Attributes of Species with Landholder Preferences in the Philippines

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This paper reports on the assessment of forest stands planted as part of the Rainforestation Farming Program and the management of plantations by local landowners regarding the original intent of planting.

Open access copy available

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.

Open access copy available

Methodology for Comparative Analysis of Sustainability in Agroforestry Systems

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This paper analyses different forms of agroforestry systems, including political and institutional linkages in the Caí and Taquari river valleys of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul in an effort to determine their sustainability.

Open access copy available

Land Cover Change in Colombia: Surprising Forest Recovery Trends between 2001 and 2010

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This study mapped annual land-use and land-cover from 2001 to 2010 in Colombia using MODIS (250 m) products coupled with reference data from high spatial resolution imagery (QuickBird) in Google Earth.

Open access copy available

Effects of Invasive Alien Plants on Fire Regimes

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This article considers how  invasive plant species affect native ecosystems by altering fuel properties, fire behavior and fire regime characteristics. These may impact the ability of a site to restore to its previous state.

Open access copy available

Variation in the Population Structure Between a Natural and a Human-Modified Forest for a Pioneer Tropical Tree Species not Restricted to Large Gaps

Background

The study was conducted in a permanent plot in a primary forest at Caetetus Ecological Station (CES), and in an early successional forest adjacent to the state reserve at Torrão de Ouro Farm, state of São Paulo, Southeast Brazil. This forest originally covered nearly the entire plateau in the state of São Paulo, and it is currently the most threatened forest in the State due to past fragmentation.

Open access copy available

Teak (Tectona grandis Linn. f): Its Natural Distribution and Related Factors

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This paper provides an introduction to the distribution and growth of teak in its natural habitat in India, Burma, Thailand and Laos.

Open access copy available

Drug Policy as Conservation Policy: Narco-Deforestation

Background

Central America exploded into prominence as a drug trafficking corridor in the last decade. The authors document that an unprecedented flow of cocaine into Central America “coincided with a period of extensive forest loss”. The authors discuss the evidence that supports the idea that "trafficking of drugs (principally cocaine) has become a crucial—and overlooked—accelerant of forest loss” in Central America.

Open access copy available

Sixty-Seven Years of Land-Use Change in Southern Costa Rica

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Habitat loss and fragmentation of forests are among the biggest threats to biodiversity and associated ecosystem services in tropical landscapes. This paper uses the vicinity of the Las Cruces Biological Station in southern Costa Rica as a regional case study to comment on seven decades of land-use change in one of the most intensively studied sites in the Neotropics.

Open access copy available

Functional Diversity Changes during Tropical Forest Succession

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This paper evaluates changes in species richness and functional diversity during tropical secondary forest succession following shifting cultivation in Chiapas, Mexico. It examines whether speces richness is a good predictor of functional diversity.

Open access copy available

Forest Fragmentation and its Correlation to Human Land Use Change in the State of Selangor, Peninsular Malaysia

Background

This paper uses a simple fragmentation index comprising three landscape metrics-  non-forest area, forest edge bordered by human land use, and patch size coefficient of variation- to study changes in forest fragmentation in the state of Selangor, in peninsular Malaysia between 1966, 1981 and 1995.

Open access copy available

Does Tree Planting Change Minds? Assessing the Use of Community Participation in Reforestation to Address Illegal Logging in West Kalimantan

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Gunung Palung National Park in West Kalimantan, Indonesia has experienced illegal logging and fires that led to degradation and conversion of forests to grasslands in a state of arrested succession. A local NGO named Alam Sehat Lestari (ASRI) began a restoration effort to restore degraded forest areas and provide jobs to local community members that might otherwise participate in illegal logging.

Open access copy available

Mangrove restoration without planting

Background

Mangrove planting is the most common method of restoring mangrove forests. However, this approach is not often successful, especially when the causes of mangrove degradation were not removed prior to planting new seedlings or propagules. A successful mangrove restoration project may not necessarily include a planting phase. When the stressors are removed and suitable environmental conditions are present, natural regeneration processes could recover mangroves from degradation.

Open access copy available