Restoration and Management Strategies

Restoring tropical diversity: beating the time tax on species loss

Background

Remnant tropical forests are being deforested at approximately the same rates as cleared lands revert to secondary forest, leading to a fragmented or patchwork landscape. Small patches of remnant forest may remain, but these inevitably lose species to local extinction. Despite forestation rates that may appear relatively stable on paper, vegetation matrices are rapidly changing from a diversity of old-growth species to a much smaller number of early-successional and non-native species that dominate natural-regeneration and reforestation sites.

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Facilitating Regeneration of Secondary Forests with the Use of Mixed and Pure Plantations of Indigenous Tree Species

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This research presents the abundance and diversity of woody species regenerating under tropical plantations (mixed and single-species) and a control of natural regeneration at La Selva Biological Station in the Atlantic humid lowlands of Costa Rica.

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The Role of Native Species Plantations in Recovery of Understory Woody Diversity in Degraded Pasturelands of Costa Rica

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This study analyzes the understory recruitment success of tropical timber plantations in order to understand biodiversity recovery on degraded lands through the use of fast-growing timber plantations. The study takes place in the Atlantic humid lowlands of Costa Rica. 

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Early Woody Invasion Under Tree Plantations in Costa Rica: Implications for Forest Restoration

Background

This study evaluates the regeneration of woody plants, the amount of herbaceous cover, and the light conditions in the understory of 3-year-old mixed and single-species plantations in Costa Rica.

Research Goals & Methods

Single species plots included the native species Jacaranda copaia and Vochysia guatemalensis.

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Perceptions of Biodiversity, Environmental Services, and Conservation of Planted Mangroves: A Case Study on Nijhum Dwip Island, Bangladesh

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Influence of Overstory Composition on Understory Colonization by Native Species in Plantations on a Degraded Tropical Site

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This study evaluates forest understory regeneration in a 4.5 year-old plantation in Puerto Rico. The plantations, established in 1989, were planted on abandoned pasture in mixtures or monocultures of three exotic species: Casuarina equisetifolia, Eucalyptus robusta, and Leucaena leucocephala.

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Development of Floristic Diversity in 10-year-old Restoration Forests on a Bauxite Mined Site in Amazonia

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This article evaluates the diversity of species in a 10-year-old native species plantation in the Para state of Brazil. The study site was mined for bauxite in 1984 and planted in 1985 with 70 species of native forest tree species.

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Restoration pathways for rain forest in southwest Sri Lanka: A review of concepts and models

Background

In the last 10 years government policy towards remaining rain forest in Sri Lanka has changed from one that promoted commercial exploitation to one of conservation, recognizing the growing importance of uplands as catchments for water production, biodiversity conservation and other downstream services. This review article discusses recent research on rain forest dynamics of southwest Sri Lanka with the objective of how this knowledge can be used for forest restoration.

Open access copy available

Responses of 20 Native Tree Species to Reforestation Strategies for Abandoned Farmland in Panama

Background

In the tropics, deforestation often leads to unproductive agriculture and results in degraded grasslands. This study seeks to understand why forests fail to regenerate naturally in these ecosystems. 

Open access copy available

Daikin Industries Reforestation Project

Background

Daikin Industries Ltd., a Japanese based air-conditioning company, has been partnering with Conservation International (CI) to support the reforestation of a degraded area along the edges of the Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park in Indonesia. The national park, which has some of the little remaining forest area on the island of Java, is a source of water for the cities of Jakarta, Bogor, Tangerang, and Bekasi.

Open access copy available
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