Restoration and Management Strategies
Old timber plantations and secondary forests attain levels of plant diversity and structure similar to primary forests in the West African humid tropicsBackgroundThere is a high rate of biodiversity loss and deforestation in tropical ecosystems. In order to maintain global biodiversity, it is necessary to conserve plant diversity in alternative forest landscapes such as secondary forests and plantations. Comparing conservation values and tradeoffs of different forest landscapes is important for sustainable forest management and conservation practices. Open access copy available |
Overcoming biotic homogenization in ecological restorationBackgroundRegional, or gamma, diversity is often lower in restored landscapes compared to reference landscapes due to the selection of few desirable species for planting. Lowered diversity in restored landscapes is leading to overall biotic homogenization which puts ecosystems and humans in a more vulnerable position for adapting to environmental changes. Available with subscription or purchase |
Linking disturbance history to current forest structure to assess the impact of disturbances in tropical dry forestsBackgroundTropical dry forests are given less attention in studies compared to tropical humid forests, but they still experience high levels of disturbance, both natural and human-made. These disturbances heavily alter the characteristics of valuable remaining forest structures. There are gaps in knowledge about how the timing and type of disturbance affects forest structure in seasonally dry tropical forests. Open access copy available |
Forest ecosystem services at landscape level – Why forest transition matters?BackgroundForest transition theory describes patterns of forest decline and recovery. This theory explains what services change as forested landscapes shift in the three stages of recovery. This model covers both forest-type gradients (diversity and usage) and landscape gradients (connectivity and coverage). It is not yet understood how these forest transition stages influence the quantity and quality of ecosystem services. Open access copy available |
Out of steady state: Tracking canopy gap dynamics across Brazilian AmazonBackgroundCanopy gaps are a regular characteristic of natural or anthropogenic disturbance in forested landscapes. Gap-creating disturbances often result in a forest mosaic with patches of varying successional stages. Many species in tropical forests depend on these canopy gaps for regeneration. Field monitoring of canopy gaps can be difficult due to time constraints and plot size, making tropical gap dynamics an understudied topic. Available with subscription or purchase |
Legacy effects of canopy gaps on liana abundance 25 years later in a seasonal tropical evergreen forest in northeastern ThailandBackgroundLianas or woody vine species are abundant in tropical forests. They depend on trees for stability to grow and climb to the canopy. While lianas depend on trees for growth, they also require canopy gaps at early growing stages to satisfy their high demand for sunlight. At times, lianas occupy new treefall gaps densely enough to prevent tree regeneration. Tree host ability may influence the abundance of lianas in Southeast Asian seasonally dry tropical forests. Open access copy available |
Controlling invasive plant species in ecological restoration: A global reviewBackgroundInvasive plant species are known to impede the growth and establishment of many native plant species while influencing other ecosystem features such as soil properties, fire regimes, hydrology, and human well-being. This article presents the findings of a literature review of 372 articles to better understand the impact of invasive species and control methods to highlight gaps in overall knowledge of the topic. Available with subscription or purchase |
Selecting tree species to restore forest under climate change conditions: Complementing species distribution models with field experimentationBackgroundClimate-based species distribution models are used as a strategy to decide on optimal tree species for forest restoration projects. The criteria in these models is based on species performance in local climates. The limitation of species distribution models is that they do not include recruitment. Including the species successful reproduction, recruitment and growth at an early stage is vital for successful reforestation efforts. In addition, the models are not calibrated to take into account future climatic conditions, making it difficult to plan long-term restoration projects. Available with subscription or purchase |
Trade-offs at applying tree nucleation to restore degraded high Andean forests in ColombiaBackgroundThis article recognizes applied nucleation as a forest restoration strategy in many low to mid altitude forests and aims to compare applied nucleation to passive regeneration at high altitude forests. Applied nucleation is successful at accelerating the speed of forest regeneration, improving soil conditions, and shading out invasive species in many low-mid altitude forests of the neotropics. There are gaps in the literature about the performance of applied nucleation in other tropical regions as well as high attitude tropical forests. Available with subscription or purchase |
A cautionary note for forest landscape restoration in drylands: cattle production systems in northwest Madagascar’s dry forestsBACKGROUNDIt is evident that land tenure security is crucial for successful restoration. Unfortunately, in Madagascar, dry forests are considered unoccupied and unowned even when communities have long-established claims under customary tenure systems. The authors stated that collective tenure recognition efforts were underway in Madagascar, but limited knowledge of agropastoralist cattle production strategies impeded the efforts to develop tenure reforms. The authors examined how cattle raisers in the Boney Region in northwest Madagascar organize pastoral spaces and cattle production strategies in the area’s dry forest. Open access copy available |
