Natural Regeneration

Taking Back the Land: Factors Aiding or Constraining Regeneration of Damaged Mangrove Forests in South Andaman Island

Background

The mangrove forests in the Andaman Islands of India have suffered severe decline, which has only been enhanced by the 2004 tsunami season. While there has been numerous resources and efforts put into restoring and reforesting these mangroves, much of them have been futile. This study seeks to understand why.

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Tropical rainforest regeneration in an area degraded by mining in Mato Grosso State, Brazil

Background

Gold mining has been a major cause of environmental degradation in the rainforests in the north of Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Regulations on mining activity are beginning to be developed, including standards for forest recovery methodologies. This study characterizes natural tropical rainforest regeneration in Matupa County, Mato Grosso State, Brazil.

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Overcoming Ecological Barriers to Tropical Lower Montane Forest Succession on Anthropogenic Grasslands: Synthesis and Future Prospects

Background

This review attempts to address the difficulty in restoring grasslands to secondary tropical forest through reforestation. Proposed strategies are discussed for future recruitment methods for woody vegetation.

Research Goals & Methods

This study examines work conducted in Knuckles Forest Reserve (KFR) in the lower montane tropical rainforest and grasslands of Sri Lanka.

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Self-restoration of post-agrogenic soils of Calcisol-Solonetz complex: Soil development, carbon stock dynamics of carbon pools

Background

Abandoned land may move towards self-restoration without human intervention. In the European part of Russia, over half a million km2 was abandoned between 1987 and 2007; another 200,000 km2 was abandoned in Eastern Russia. The majority of abandonments occurred in unirrigated dry steppe, land that is arable but less favorable for agriculture. This study compares differences in self-restoration based on underlying soil types, climate, and land-use history across a chronosequence of abandoned land in the dry steppe zone of Russia in a Calcisol–Solonetz complex, reporting on vegetation and soil characteristics.

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The Role of Revegetation for Rehabilitation of Sodic soils in Semiarid Subtropical Forest, India

background

This study relies on a  case study evaluate the rehabilitation of barren land within a larger forest ecosystem. The article indicates that restoration opportunities exist even with severely degraded land where natural succession does not occur without management practices.

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Vegetation recovery on earthquake-triggered landslide sites in the Ecuadorian Andes

Background

In this study, researchers surveyed vegetation in a landslide on the Quijos river in Ecuador and inventoried species distribution at distances along the landslide.

Conclusions & Takeaways

The authors found that species composition at the upper limit of the landslide is most similar to the plant composition of the forest, indicating that the forest is an important pool of colonizers. The authors suggest that earthquake landslides are common and an important contributor to floristic diversity

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Seed Dispersal and Potential Forest Succession in Abandoned Agriculture in Tropical Africa

Background

Forest 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

Seed inputs to microsite patch recovery on two tropandean landslides in Ecuador

Background

Regeneration of landslides is typically initiated by seed rain. This study reports on seed rain, seed pool, and plant cover on two Ecuadorian landslides.

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Trees and regeneration in rubber agroforests and other forest-derived vegetation in Jambi (Sumatra, Indonesia)

background

Rubber agroforests (RAF) in Sumatra, introduced in the early 1900s, represent a managed forest type that is an intermediate ecosystem between natural forest and agricultural land. While understory vegetation and some trees are allowed to remain in RAF, as agriculturally managed forests, they may differ from unmanaged forests. This study compares forest regeneration in RAF and secondary forests.

Open access copy available

Colonization of Non-Planted Mangrove Species into Restored Mangrove Stands in Gazi Bay, Kenya

Background

As mangroves are being recognized as some of the world’s most productive ecosystems, restoration efforts are being undertaken around the world. Not all projects are successful, however. This study will potentially help mangrove restoration practitioners with species selection.

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