Ecosystem Services and Ecological Processes
Beekeeping of Stingless Bees to Strengthen Community LivelihoodsBackgroundThis publication provides a summary of a training held Central Kalimantan, Indonesia in November 2019 concerning the keeping of stingless bees to enhance local livelihoods. The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) requires companies to protect, conserve, and restore areas of high conservation value (HCV); one means of achieving this is through providing sustainable livelihoods like beekeeping. Thus this training aims at providing both plantation managers and local community members with the technical skills and knowledge to promote stingless beekeeping in order to preserve biodiversity and promote livelihoods. Open access copy available |
Functional divesity changes during tropical forest successionBackgroundThis paper evaluates changes in species richness and functional diversity during tropical secondary forest succession following shifting cultivation in Chiapas, Mexico, particularly examining whether speces richness is a good predictor of functional diversity. Functional diversity was calculated based on a combination of nine functional traits, and two individual traits important for primary production (specific leaf area) and carbon sequestration (wood density). Open access copy available |
Anthropogenic disturbance in tropical forests can double biodiversity loss from deforestationBackgroundThe authors examined the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances within a forest on the ability of the forest to conserve biodiversity and provide ecosytem services. The research used large data sets of plants, birds, and dung beetles and used them as indicators of biodiversity change in the forest. Open access copy available |
Floristic composition, structure and natural regeneration in a moist semideciduous forest following anthropogenic disturbances and plant invasionBackgroundThis research examined the floristic composition, struture and natural regeneration in three different forests: undisturbed (UF), disturbed-invaded (DIF) and disturbed (DF) within a forest reserve in Ghana. Open access copy available |
Targeted habitat restoration can reduce extinction rates in fragmented forestsBackgroundHabitat lost is one of the primary drivers of species extinction. This study examines two highly-fractured ecosystems, the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania and the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, and evaluates the rate at which habitat loss may lead to extinction and thus biodiversity loss. Specifically, the authors use halflife vs. area relationship to determine how long it will take to lose one-half of all tropical bird communities in each habitat. Open access copy available |
Tropical forest restoration: Fast resilience of plant biomass contrasts with slow recovery of stable soil C stocksBackgroundThe study looks at three land-use types: 1) land left barren after a clear-cut in the 1950s, with only a sparse cover of shrubs, grasses, and vines, 2) a Eucalyptus exserta plantation established in the 1960s, and 3) a eucalyptus plantation that was clear-cut in 1974 and converted into a plantation of native tree species, now considered a secondary forest. The biomass and soil carbon (C) of these three land-use types were compared to a nearby natural old-growth forest. Open access copy available |
Factors Affecting Mortality and Resistance to Damage Following Hurricanes in a Rehabilitated Subtropical Moist ForestBackgroundThis study was conducted in the Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF), which was previously abandoned pastureland reforested through mixed planting and natural regeneration. Available with subscription or purchase |
Screening of native plant species for phytoremediation potential at a Hg-contaminated mining siteBackgroundThis study was conducted in one of the most important Artisanal and small-scale (ASGM) gold-mining sites in Colombia, to identify native plant species growing in Mercury contaminated soils used for agricultural purposes, and to assess their potential as phytoremediation systems. Available with subscription or purchase |
Microhabitats reduce animal’s exposure to climate extremesBackgroundThe Scheffers et al. (2014) paper discusses the effect of microhabitats and their corresponding microclimates on ectotherm species in a warming macroclimate. Available with subscription or purchase |
Sprouting, succession and tree species diversity in a South African coastal dune forestBackgroundThis study examines the role of sprouting in the maintenance of plant diversity where prevailing disturbance frequency and severity allows, specifically, in the coastal dune forest of Kwazulu-Natal. Open access copy available |
