Nurse Trees
Desarrollo del dosel de leguminosas bajo diversas condiciones de restauración ecológica en bosque de pino – encino de Michoacán, México (Legume canopy development under various conditions of ecological restoration in pine-oak forests of Michoacan, Mexico)Englishresearch goals & methodsThe work aims to evaluate the establishment of Lupinus elegans, Crotalaria pumila and Trifolium repens under pine-oak for their use in restoration strategies, to reconvert abandoned agricultural land into productive forests. The study also evaluates its potential use for restoring areas disturbed by deposition of volcanic ash in the indigenous community of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, Michoacán. Open access copy available |
Restoration of Dry Afromontane forest using pioneer shrubs as nurse-plants for Olea europaea ssp. cuspidataBackgroundShrubs are often considered competitive barriers for seedlings planted in reforestation programs, although they can facilitate tree recruitment, especially in ecosystems under high abiotic stress. An alternative reforestation technique using pioneer shrubs as nurse-plants for Olea europaea ssp. cuspidata was tested in exclosures in northern Ethiopia. Open access copy available |
Expediting Reforestation in Tropical Forests Grasslands: Distance and Isolation from Seed Sources in PlantationsbackgroundThis study investigates the potential use of tree plantations to facilitate regeneration of indigenous trees in successionally arrested grassland. It focuses on how characteristics of the plantations and native species can determine the type of regeneration occurring in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Open access copy available |
Enrichment Planting Does Not Improve Tree Restoration when Compared with Natural Regeneration in a Former Pine Plantation in Kibale National Park, UgandabackgroundThis study assesses the rate of biomass accumulation of planted seedlings relative to natural regeneration in a harvested plantation in Kibale National Park, Uganda. Enrichment planting was carried out in an area where a pine plantation had been harvested to determine the relative value of these management options. Available with subscription or purchase |
Effects of Canopy Cover and Understory Environment of Tree Plantations on Richness, Density and Size of Colonizing Woody Species in Southern EthiopiabackgroundThis study investigates the effects of canopy characteristics and associated understory environmental factors of tree plantations on native woody species colonization in two broadleaved and two coniferous plantations in southern Ethiopia. The plantation forests investigated are surrounded by dry Afromontane natural forest. Available with subscription or purchase |
Establishment of Broad-leaved Thickets in Serengeti, Tanzania: The Influence of Fire, Browsers, Grass Competition, and ElephantsBackgroundIn Tanzania, thickets are declining due to frequent fires yet when the fires are removed the thickets fail to regrow. As a fire-resistant tree, seedlings of E. divinorum are potentially an ideal species to restore these land covers. Available with subscription or purchase |
Intensive Tree Planting Facilitates Tropical Forest Biodiversity and Biomass Accumulation in Kibale National Park, UgandabackgroundThis study investigates how intensive planting affects tropical forest regeneration and biomass accumulation in reforested sites in Kibale National Park, Uganda. The study assessed species richness of naturally regenerating (i.e. non-planted) species in the park and compared the biomass accumulation of planted versus naturally regenerating trees in sites replanted by the Uganda Wildlife Authority. Available with subscription or purchase |
Analysis of the "Shelter Tree-Effect” of Natural and Exotic Forest Canopies on the Growth of Young Podocarpus falcatus Trees in Southern EthiopiabackgroundThe potential for plantations of fast-growing non-native trees to create suitable habitat for regeneration of native plant ecosystems has gained attention in the scientific literature. Previous studies often focus on the plantation species’ impacts on soil, but this study in the Munessa-Shashemene forest of Ethiopia proposes that light factors may be important as well. In this forest, native Podocarpus falcatus saplings actually perform better under the canopy of planted non-native Pinus patula and Eucalyptus saligna trees than in native forest, and this study hypothesizes that varying patterns of irradiance and sunflecks may explain this phenomenon. Available with subscription or purchase |
Factors Limiting the Survival of Native Tree Seedlings used in Conservation Efforts at the Edges of Forest Fragments in Upland MadagascarbackgroundThis study investigates the survival of tree seedlings 15 months after planting in grasslands along the edges of tropical forest fragments damaged by fire in four restoration treatments in upland Madagascar. Available with subscription or purchase |
Parks as a Mechanism to Maintain and Facilitate Recovery of Forest Cover: Examining Reforestation, Forest Maintenance and Productivity in UgandabackgroundThis study highlights the use of parks as a tool for restoration and forest maintenance with a focus on Kibale National Park in Uganda. The authors assess methodological approaches and limitations with current techniques to study land cover change. Research Goals & MethodsLandcover analyses were conducted to determine the extent and spatial distribution of temporal forest change and to provide an initial analysis of forest cover change both within and around the park. Open access copy available |
