Ecosystem Services and Ecological Processes

Tree Canopy Management Affects Dynamics of Herbaceous Vegetation and Soil Moisture in Silvopasture Systems Using Arboreal Legumes

Background

It is important to understand how herbaceous and arboreal species interact with each other, specifically how shade effects understory plants. Silvopasture functions best when both strata of the forest are thriving. Silvopasture is impacted by species chosen, spacing of tree plantings, and other management practices. Tree legume species such as Gliricidia sepium and Mimosa caesalpiniifolia hold a potential value for commercial use while also fixing soil nitrogen in the soil.

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Edaphic factors and initial conditions influence successional trajectories of early regenerating tropical dry forests

Background

Edaphic factors include soil characteristics and topography of a landscape. These factors are thought to have strong impacts on forest communities and can predict the trajectory of forest regeneration. Differing soil conditions and slopes result in varying species assemblages, growth rates, and overall tree cover.

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Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

Background

Bees are the most dominant group of pollinators and they may hold a key to achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They have a great potential for promoting agricultural success, providing people with crop pollination services. However bee populations are declining due to habitat loss, pesticide use, and climate change. Knowing the extent to which bees contribute to SDGs  and identifying their critical roles within SDGs is important for conservation targeting.

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Drought reduces the growth and health of tropical rainforest understory plants

Background

Plant responses to drought are important to understand for agricultural practices and environmental stress. Susceptibility to drought varies among and between plant species. Most field studies on plant responses to drought in tropical rainforests ignore understory plant species such as saplings and shrubs. These species are important to understand because they are often more vulnerable to environmental stressors, and they contribute greatly to forest biodiversity.

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Seed removal, seed dispersers, and the allocation of tissues in Myrtaceae seeds

Background

Plants allocate resources to protective seed tissues in order to avoid seed death and ensure successful reproduction. Myrtaceae is an abundant plant family in the Brazilian Atlantic forest with many species producing fleshy fruits that are attractive to birds, rodents, and other mammals. Myrtaceae species may adapt seed characteristics to avoid predation.

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Safeguarding sloths and anteaters in the future: Priority areas for conservation under climate change

Background

Sloths and anteaters come from the order Pilosa which has very little species richness and a high rate of species loss in recent years, making this order highly vulnerable to extinction. This order is distributed endemically in the Neotropics. Conservation concerns are high due to the high levels of habitat fragmentation and loss in Neotropical landscapes and conservation areas need to be prioritized to ensure Pilosa species survival.

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Forest structure predicts species richness and functional diversity in Amazonian mixed-species bird flocks

Background

Secondary forests between forest fragments are valuable sources of biodiversity during the regeneration process. In the Brazilian Amazon, understory birds are often an indicator of forest regeneration and overall health. Functional diversity is an important component of ecosystem health and services, yet little is known about the role it plays in the return of mixed-species bird flocks.

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Density-dependent reproductive success among sympatric dipterocarps during a major mast fruiting event

Background

Masting or mast fruiting is the annual synchronous production of many seeds by a plant species. Masting is an important reproductive strategy that depends on the intensity of flowering and fruiting, as well as the seeds’ ability to survive herbivory and competition with other seeds. Southeast Asia, many tree species (particularly Dipterocarps) are known to synchronize their masting events and therefore, community-wide seed density is an important factor predicting successful reproduction.

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Active restoration of secondary and degraded forests in the context of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

Background

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Removing climbers more than doubles tree growth and biomass in degraded tropical forests

Background

Tree climbing plants such as lianas are known to inhibit forest recovery by outcompeting trees after disturbances. The removal of climbers is recognized as a viable forest restoration management practice, however no best practices are established yet due to lack of research repetition and synthesis.

Goals and Methods

The authors conduct a literature review on climber removal studies in tropical forests in order to quantify removal efficacy for promoting tree growth and increasing biomass.

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