Ecosystem Services and Ecological Processes
Soil carbon differences among forest, agriculture, and secondary vegetation in lower montane EcuadorBackgroundChanges in land use and land cover may affect soil properties and processes. Conversion of forest to cultivation is assumed to result in a decrease in soil nutrients. In the lower montane region of Ecuador, shifting cultivation patterns mean that forest clearing is occurring simultaneously with recolonization of secondary vegetation on abandoned agricultural lands. Open access copy available |
Effects of forest clearing and succession on the carbon and nitrogen content of soils in Puerto Rico and US Virgin IslandsBackgroundConversion of tropical forest lands to agriculture or pasture affects soil organic matter, moisture, and nutrients. This study examines the effects on soil carbon, nitrogen, and moisture at depths up to 100 cm of conversion from forest to agriculture and pasture. Available with subscription or purchase |
Nitrogen Dynamics of Actinorhizal Casuarina Forest Stands and its Comparison with Alnus and Leucaena ForestsBackgroundNitrogen plays a key role in soil fertility and plant productivity. Therefore, in regions in which deforestation has increasingly led to savannization and desertification, afforestation by fast-growing, n-fixing tree species is preferable. This study examines the characteristics of nitrogen fixing trees. Research Goals & MethodsThe nitrogen retention rates of three dry tropical forest tree species were measured, by examining rates of N cycling through vegetation, litter and soil pools. Available with subscription or purchase |
O recobrimento do Brasil (The Recovery of Brazil)Open access copy available |
InVEST: A Tool for Integrating Ecosystem Services into Policy and Decision-MakingbackgroundThis document explains the InVEST tool, an ecosystem service model (via a software program) used to geographically map the provision of ecosystem services and how they can be affected by development and policies. The model, designed by the Natural Capital Project (collaboration of WWF, TNC, the University of Minnesota, and Stanford University), is intended for planners to maximize the benefit from activities such as reforestation. Open access copy available |
A regeneração natural como um serviço do ecossistema: uma proposta metodológica para o seu cálculo (Natural regeneration as an ecosystem service: a methodological proposal for its calculation)backgroundThis study begins by stating that the economic quantification of ecosystem services is a crucial step towards their sustainable use. research goals & methodsThe study pairs the quantified value of ecosystem services with the process of ecological restoration to attempt to calculate the value of natural regeneration. Both comparative and analytical approaches are used. Open access copy available |
Manual de recuperação de matas ciliares para produtores rurais (Manual of riparian forests recovery for rural producers)This technical manual targets farmers and “all those that perceive that the life of people is connected to the life of the forests, the animals, the earth and the rivers”. The guide contemplates many themes related to recovery of degraded areas, such as: the importance of riparian forests and other types of natural vegetation, technical aspects of the development and implementation of forest restoration activities, and useful tips for the implantation and maintenance of planted riparian areas. Open access copy available |
Seed Dispersal and Potential Forest Succession in Abandoned Agriculture in Tropical AfricaBackgroundForest succession on disturbed and post-agrarian lands is often slow because the resources necessary for succession – such as soil nutrients, seeds, and moisture – are depleted. In such areas, succession may depend on bat- and bird-dispersed seeds arriving from distant forest patches. Open access copy available |
Evidence of Incipient Forest Transition in Southern MexicobackgroundThis study uses satelite images (Landsat) to analyze land cover change in southern Mexico from 1990 to 2006. Open access copy available |
Seeing the fruit for the trees in BorneoBackgroundLowland dipterocarp tropical rainforests reproduce during infrequent community-wide events known as ‘general flowering.’ These unpredictable cycles, thought to be influenced by El Niño cycles, are the primary reproductive driver across this forest type. During a time of rapid deforestation across the highly diverse, but highly sensitive, dipterocarp-dominated landscape of Borneo, capitalizing on general flowering is critical for seed collection for restoration efforts and for species preservation. Open access copy available |
