Deforestation and Degradation

Peasants, agroforesters, and anthropologists: A 20-year venture in income-generating trees and hedgerows in Haiti

Background

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Carbon sequestration in Africa: The land tenure problem

Background

Research on afforestation and reforestation projects highlights how tropical forests can store carbon on a large scale. Africa offers vast areas of suitable land for carbon sequestration through these initiatives. However, the author argues that land tenure issues in Africa create an obstacle to achieving this potential.

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Patterns and drivers of disturbance in tropical forest reserves of southern Ghana

Background

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Committed to restoring tropical forests: an overview of Brazil's and Indonesia's restoration targets and policies

Background

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Editorial: Mangroves in the Anthropocene: From local change to global challenge

Background

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Role of local communities in forest landscape restoration: Key lessons from the Billion Trees Afforestation Project, Pakistan

BACKGROUND:

Forests in Pakistan have depleted over the years due to anthropogenic disturbances such as illegal logging, urbanization, and agriculture. The Billion Trees Afforestation Project (BTAP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa aims to conserve forests, improve livelihoods, and mitigate climate change by actively involving local communities. This study evaluates the effectiveness of BTAP, the critical role of farmer participation, and the factors influencing their engagement in the project.

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The potential of secondary forests to restore biodiversity of the lost forests in semi-deciduous West Africa

BACKGROUND:

The human population in West Africa has increased considerably over the past four decades, leading to a high demand for food. This has led to the conversion of vast forest lands to agricultural lands in the region. Degraded forest landscapes have the capacity to regain fertility and naturally regenerate, resulting in the widespread spread of secondary forests in West Africa. Despite the significant presence of secondary forests in the region, there is rare knowledge about forest successional stages and general dynamics.

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Spatial patterns and drivers of smallholder oil palm expansion within peat swamp forests of Riau, Indonesia

Background

Tropical peat swamps are a major carbon sink, and therefore critical for meeting global climate goals. There is also rapid loss of these ecosystem types due to agriculture practices and drainage. Oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) is often planted in drained peat swamps for production. Policies in Indonesia drive smallholder oil palm farms into peatlands and prevent their access to industrial fields.

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The eco-evolutionary history of Madagascar presents unique challenges to tropical forest restoration

Background

Madagascar forests contain high biodiversity and species endemism, while also being heavily threatened by deforestation. Restoration of these forests may be unique to many other restoration projects due to the unique evolutionary history of the island.

Goals and Methods

The authors conduct a literature review of publications to determine if forest restoration in Madagascar is more challenging. With compiled literature from 1990 to 2022, the authors consequently describe unique challenges to Madagascar forest restoration in order to facilitate higher quality restoration projects.

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Linking disturbance history to current forest structure to assess the impact of disturbances in tropical dry forests

Background

Tropical dry forests are given less attention in studies compared to tropical humid forests, but they still experience high levels of disturbance, both natural and human-made. These disturbances heavily alter the characteristics of valuable remaining forest structures. There are gaps in knowledge about how the timing and type of disturbance affects forest structure in seasonally dry tropical forests.

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