Natural Regeneration
Bosques andinos del sur de Ecuador, clasificación, regeneración y uso (Andean Forests of Southern Ecuador, classification, regeneration and use)EspañolantecedentesA pesar de la gran diversidad e importancia de los bosques montanos tropicales, existe muy poca información disponible sobre ellos, incluyendo inventarios y descripciones. Open access copy available |
Restoration of Degraded Tropical Forest LandscapesBackgroundDeforestation and the declining extent of tropical forests has negatively impacted ecosystem functions, services, and goods and has disproportionately harmed the rural poor of tropical countries. In the wake of deforestation, agricultural development and traditional methods of reforestation (plantations) have largely failed to provide sustainable livelihoods. This review article assesses the strengths and weaknesses of different tropical restoration methods to combat forest degredation and address rural poverty. Open access copy available |
The Potential for Species Conservation in Tropical Secondary ForestsBackgroundThe importance of tropical secondary forests for conserving biodiversity increases with the degradation of old-growth forests, yet little is known about the role that these forests play in promoting biodiversity. Geospatial and temporal factors influence the role of secondary forests in species conservation, and this synthesis of case studies evaluates the significance of these factors on regional and landscape scales. Open access copy available |
Genetic Consequences of Tropical Second-Growth Forest RegenerationBackgroundThis article is an examination of the genetic impacts of old-growth deforestation among 24 year-old second-growth Iriartea deltoidea, a canopy palm, in a lowland Costa Rican forest. Iriartea is widely distributed throughout neotropical rainforests and displays a diverse range of size classes in mature forests. This species recolonizes second-growth forests with newly generated seeds, which are dispersed by birds and mammals. Open access copy available |
Scaling Up Farmer-Managed Natural Regeneration in Africa to Restore Degraded LandscapesBackgroundProtecting and managing natural regeneration of woody species on‐farm can help create new agroforestry parklands as well as promote natural regeneration off‐farm. Increasing the number of trees on farms as well as off‐farm is important in the context of accelerated climate change and ambitious pledges to restore degraded forestland. This study examines large-scale agroforestry parklands in three African countries. Available with subscription or purchase |
Globalization and Forest Resurgence: Changes in Forest Cover in El SalvadorBackgroundThe authors study certain globalization impacts in land-use change in El Salvador. The legacy of war, remittances and international migration are among other factors that have allowed tree resurgence even in highly urban populated areas. This study tracks the different trajectories of forest recovery by analysing remote-sensing satellite images from 1970's to the early 2000's. 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 |
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 |