Soil Health and Management

Nitrogen Fixing Trees for Animal Production on Acid Soils

Background 

Nitrogen-fixing trees play a crucial role in improving pasture and livestock systems on acid soils, which are prevalent in tropical regions. Acid soils often challenge agricultural productivity due to low fertility and high aluminum toxicity. Nitrogen-fixing trees, such as Erythrina poeppigiana, Cratylia argentea, and Alnus acuminata, enhance soil chemistry and fertility by adding nitrogen through organic matter and improving physical soil properties like porosity and bulk density. They are integrated into silvopastoral systems, where trees and shrubs coexist with pastures, offering multiple benefits such as soil stabilization, increased forage quality, and diversified farm outputs. 

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The soil organic carbon in particle-size separates under different regrowth forest stands of north eastern Costa Rica

BACKGROUND:

Costa Rica, having experienced significant deforestation from 1950 to 1984, now sees a rise in secondary forests due to land abandonment and reforestation efforts. These forests vary widely in soil carbon accumulation, influenced by the previous land use intensity and the age of the forest. The paper investigates the role of secondary forests in Costa Rica in soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration, a critical component in understanding climate change mitigation potential.

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The soil C pool in different agroecosystems derived from the dry tropical forest of Guanacaste, Costa Rica

BACKGROUND:

Seasonally dry tropical forests, constituting 42% of all tropical forests, are critically endangered, with less than 0.1% protected in Pacific Mesoamerica. The preservation of these forests is severely threatened by the invasive, highly flammable grass Hyparrhenia rufa, which has aggressively colonized the area since the 1940s. The paper focuses on examining soil carbon pools across various ecosystems derived from these forests in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, emphasizing the urgent need for comprehensive research on their soil carbon dynamics.

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Carbon sequestration and nutrient cycling in agroforestry systems on degraded soils of Eastern Amazon, Brazil

Background:

Among various approaches to forest restoration, passive restoration via natural regeneration stands out as the most cost-efective option. However, the resilience of the forest is heavily influenced by factors such as water availability, soil integrity, and the presence of seed dispersers in the landscape. In situations where resilience is low, successful restoration relies on active human interventions. Unfortunately, many restoration projects, especially those involving smallholders, face budget constraints. In such circumstances, Agroforestry Systems emerge as a restoration strategy that combines both socio-economic and ecological advantages.

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Tropical Rainforest Restoration Plantations Are Slow to Restore the Soil Biological and Organic Carbon Characteristics of Old Growth Rainforest

Background:

With widespread deforestation and land conversion posing significant threats to biodiversity and carbon sequestration, there is an urgent need to comprehend the intricate relationship between land use change, soil microbial communities, and soil organic carbon dynamics in tropical rainforest ecosystems.

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Forest Health and Global Change

Background:

In addition to facing natural disruptions such as drought, windthrow, insect infestations, diseases, and fires, forests are increasingly grappling with intensified stressors of anthropogenic origin. These stressors arise directly through activities like logging and clearing or indirectly through climate change, air pollution, and invasive species. The pace of these human-induced disturbances surpasses the adaptability of evolutionary processes, thus shaping the future of global forests through intricate responses to multiple stressors spanning local to global scales.

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Soil Biological Activity, Carbon and Nitrogen Dynamics in Modified Coffee Agroforestry Systems in Mexico

Background

Coffee agroforestry systems bring a plethora of economic, social, and ecological benefits. Specifically, they aid soil biological activity. In Mexico, due to cost and production challenges, coffee is being replaced by avocado plantations. The impact of coffee agroforestry systems on specific soil biological characteristics and processes is not fully understood. Nor are the impacts of avocado plantations on soil biological activity.

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The eco-evolutionary history of Madagascar presents unique challenges to tropical forest restoration

Background

Madagascar forests contain high biodiversity and species endemism, while also being heavily threatened by deforestation. Restoration of these forests may be unique to many other restoration projects due to the unique evolutionary history of the island.

Goals and Methods

The authors conduct a literature review of publications to determine if forest restoration in Madagascar is more challenging. With compiled literature from 1990 to 2022, the authors consequently describe unique challenges to Madagascar forest restoration in order to facilitate higher quality restoration projects.

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Multidimensional tropical forest recovery

Background

Tropical forests are disappearing at a high rate due to deforestation. They also have the potential to regenerate to diverse and high-quality forest once more. The authors analyze 12 forest attributes to assess how forest recovery and succession progresses. This review is a compiled analysis done in a chronosequence across three continents and multiple latitudes globally.

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Divergent litterfall nutrient responses to rainfall seasonality revealed through long-term observations in a tropical dry forest

Background

Forest litterfall can provide important nutrients to the soil for ecosystem health such as Phosphorus and Nitrogen. In water limited ecosystems rainfall often controls forest nutrient cycling. It is not yet understood how nutrient uptake of these nutrients is influenced by seasonal rainfall and how these litter nutrient contents change from year to year.

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