Ecosystem Services and Ecological Processes
Strategies for Landscape-Scale Restoration in the TropicsAboutThis publication summarizes the proceedings from the 2012 Conference of the International Society of Tropical Foresters, Yale Student Chapter, which took place on January 26-28,2012 at Yale University in New Haven, CT. Open access copy available |
A Cost-Benefit Framework for Analyzing Forest Landscape Restoration DecisionsBackgroundThis report provides a cost-benefit analysis of forest land restoration (FLR) decisions with a focus on African countries. It seeks to help decision makers "set prices for payment for ecosystem services, identify sources of restoration finance, identify low-cost/high-benefit pathways towards carbon sequestration, and identify priority landscapes for restoration based on return-on-investment analysis." Open access copy available |
Towards Productive LandscapesBackgroundIncreasingly, practitioners, scientists, and policymakers are recognizing the need to puruse integrated landscape level initiatives to address restoration issues. Given this, this report draws on 29 papers by practitioners all over the world that highlight both the successes and challenges of landscape approaches in order to inform the future of these practices. Open access copy available |
Croissance et assimilation nette foliaire de jeunes plants de dix arbres de la forêt guyanaise, cultivés à cinq niveaux d'éclairementbackgroundThis study assesses the growth of ten species of tropical rainforest trees under 5 different light conditions. Conclusions & TakeawaysThe authors find that juveniles of most species did best in 25-45% sun light conditions and that the lowest light levels severely decrease growth across species.
Open access copy available |
Rôle des perturbations actuelles et passées dans la dynamique et mosaique forestière (Role of current and past disturbances on dynamics and forest mosaics)The author broadly discusses community and population dynamics in tropical forests, including mortality and dispersal. He highlights the role of animal dispersal and disturbances in modifying stand heterogeneity.
Open access copy available |
Aspects de la régénération naturelle en forêt dense de Côte-d’Ivoire (Aspects of natural forest regeneration in Ivory Coast)The author describes forest dynamics in the Ivory Coast. He discusses primarily forest regeneration as a process disturbed by perturbations that leave a gap in the canopy and notes that leading up to these disturbances, forested areas build up seed banks. The author concludes that characteristics of the disturbance determine future forest vegetation.
Open access copy available |
Successions Post-Culturales en Foret Tropicale: Essai de Synthèse Bibliographique (Secondary succession in tropical forests: essay and bibliographic synthesis)This article discusses four models of secondary succession (facilitation, inhibition, tolerance, and random). The authors examine the differences between the fundamental niche and the realized niche and they note that very little has been studied about ecosystem function of tropical forests.
Open access copy available |
Changing gears during succession: shifting functional strategies in young tropical secondary forestsBackgroundAdaptations toresource availability strongly shape patterns of community composition along successional gradients in environmental conditions. This study examines the extent to which variation in functional composition explains shifts in trait-based functional strategies in young tropical secondary forests during the most dynamic stage of succession (0–20 years). Open access copy available |
Etude environnementale de la Réserve naturelle forestière de Bururi (Environmental study of the Bururi forest reserve)The author presents a study of the Buruni forest reserve in Burundi (RNFB). He puts the current state of the forest in a historical context and provides a survey of animals and plants living in the reserve. The author details the forest reserve's ecological functioning and provides hydrologic and climatic data about the reseve along with discusses the threats to the Buruni forest reserve and offers suggestions for its protection.
Open access copy available |
Gestion durable des ressources forestières: Rapport pour les états généraux de la forêt, de la faune et des ressources en eau (Sustainable management of forest resources: report on the state of forest, fauna, and water resources)The authors discuss causes for ecosystem degradation in Ivory Coast. They highlight problems of governance, inappropriate management techniques, industrial exploitation of minerals and production of charcoal, ultimately offering recommendations to improve forest management.
Open access copy available |
