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pages i-v Alejandro Estrada and Rhett Butler Special section: Restoring lowland rain forests in Indonesia. Guest Editor: Rhett Harrison
pp 1-3 Rhett D. Harrison Restoration of logged humid tropical forests: An experimental programme pp 4 - 16 Rhett D Harrison and Tom Swinfield Globally there are an estimated 2 billion hectares of degraded land. Across the tropics, huge areas of logged over forest have been abandoned from over exploitation of their timber resources, including an estimated 25 million hectares in Indonesia alone. Here, we describe a research program, including three large-scale experiments, that is being implemented at Harapan Rainforest, an Ecosystem Restoration Concession in Sumatra. Critically important is not only the need to understand the efficacy of different interventions but also to understand their cost-benefit functions, so that sustainable business models for restoration may be developed. Availability of large seed-dispersers for restoration of degraded tropical forest PP 17-27 Jeremy A. Lindsell, David C. Lee, Victoria J. Powell and Elva Gemita There are large areas of degraded tropical forests around the world, not least in Southeast Asia. Such forests are under threat of being converted to agricultural land or tree plantations unless their conservation value and potential to recover is established and recognized. Degraded forests need animals that can disperse tree seeds if they are to recover naturally. Many larger mammals are important seed dispersers – animals such as primates, deer, civets, wild pigs and tapirs. But these animals may well be threatened when forest is degraded, both from the loss of their habitat and from hunting by people. However, if large mammals can survive in degraded forests then they could be important contributors to the recovery of that forest. Our fieldwork in a forest in Sumatra in Southeast Asia found that many important seed dispersing large mammals can indeed survive in degraded forest. Even though there tended to be more wildlife in the least degraded areas we visited, many animals were still able to make use of the most degraded areas. We conclude that these animals are available to provide the important ecological function of seed dispersal in such forests and we suggest that this has been possible because hunting levels have been kept low. There are therefore good grounds for those managing and restoring such forests to prioritise wildlife conservation and keep hunting in check. Identifying targets for plant conservation in Harapan Rainforest, Sumatra pp 28-32 Authors: Rogier P.J. de Kok, Marie Briggs, Dafid Pirnanda and Deden Girmansyah The Harapan Rainforest is located on the Island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The forest has been logged in the past and is now managed for reforestation. In order to know how to restore the forest, one needs to know what the forest originally looked like before it was damaged. In this paper we attempt to describe how the forest may have looked like, based upon interviews with people who have seen the forest before it was logged. This information is used to identify other forests on the island which seem to be similar to the forest in Harapan and which are well known to botanist. We can then compare the current Harapan Rainforest with these other similar forest and decides what is still missing at Harapan. In addition, all the rare and threatened species currently known to occur at Harapan are listed, and a number of weedy species are identified and the risk they pose to the reforestation process is discussed Restoration of artificial ponds in logging concessions: a case-study from Harapan Rainforest, Sumatra pp 33-44 Lars Schmidt, Djoko prasetyonohadi and Tom Swinfield Logged forests throughout the tropics often have large numbers of artificial ponds of 1-3 hectares in size that are created through the construction of roads when small streams are damned back. These ponds are often slow to recover naturally, because of anaerobic conditions and the lack of seed sources for suitable swamp tolerant species near to the ponds. However, the ponds and associated swamps have some conservation value because the rarity of freshwater swamps regionally. Here, we propose restoration protocols. We suggest that improving the drainage is the first and most important intervention, as this reduces the total extent of the pond and improves water quality. We also identify a list of suitable tree species. Does tree planting change minds? Assessing the use of community participation in reforestation to address illegal logging in West Kalimantan pp 45-57 Erica Pohnan, Hotlin Ompusunggu, and Campbell Webb Conflicts between protected areas and local communities are usually associated with access to resources. However, often local communities prefer to avoid illegal activities if they have alternatives and when they are involved in conservation programs. Here, we investigated the impact of participation in a restoration project of perceptions on illegal logging within a protected area in Kalimantan. We found that participation in the restoration project has a substantial effect on people's perceptions. However, the pathway was mainly through the additional skills gained by participants, which made them more employable, rather than simply education. Research articles
pp 58-75 Virgínia de Fernandes Souza, Jamille de Assis Bomfim, Talita Fontoura and Eliana Cazetta What's happening to the bromeliads that remain in altered areas by agricultural activities? To answer this question we compared the bromeliads dispersed by animals that occurred in a landscape dominated by cocoa plantations with those in a landscape dominated by large areas of forest. Our work was done in southern Bahia region, northeastern Brazil. After characterize the landscape, the trees of each area, the trees that harbor bromeliads, all bromeliad species and their quantities we could analyze, compare and understand better. In forest fragments of the forested landscape, there were more bromeliad species compared to the fragments of the agricultural landscape. The number of species was low, or extremely low in the fragments of the landscape dominated by plantations. In relation to their quantity, bromeliad abundance was not different between landscapes, plantations and fragments. However, the cocoa plantations located in the agricultural landscape showed higher number of stands. Moreover, the species in the plantations comprised species that support higher levels dryness. All these results lead us to believe that conservation of these bromeliads depend not only on the quantity of forest in the landscape but rather, on the type of conservation and on the microclimatic modifications the fragments were subjected. Tree species composition, breeding systems, pollination and dispersion syndromes in three forest successional stages in a tropical dry forest in Mesoamerica PP 76- 94 Branko Hilje, Julio Calvo-Alvarado, César Jiménez-Rodríguez and Arturo Sánchez-Azofeifa Tropical dry forests in Mesoamerica are highly endangered by the expansion of human activities like agriculture and cattle ranching. However, dry forests have experienced and outstanding recovery in Costa Rica, and this is due to changes in economic and conservation policies. Dry forest landscapes in Costa Rica are a mixture of forests from different stages of recovery. How tree species breed, and how flowers and seeds are pollinated and dispersed, respectively, are key elements to understand how dry forest recovery occurs. In this study we describe and compare tree species composition and diversity in tropical dry forests from three different ages of recovery (early, intermediate and late) in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. We describe for the first time tree species breeding systems and the main tree pollinators and dispersers for the largest and most significant dry forest remnant in Mesoamerica. For this, we set up plots in forest from three different ages of recovery, and we measured and identified 1,072 trees from 96 species. We observed more tree species in the intermediate stage than in the other stages. Trees with both female and male flower parts were more common than trees with unisexual flowers. Insects were the most important pollinators, and this is facilitated by the trees’ small inflorescences. Wind was the next most important pollinator, mainly in open and disturbed early forests, but also it was also a good seed disperser. As tropical dry forest age increases so does the relevancy of birds and mammals as dispersers; the late stage therefore has more tree species with adaptations to these dispersers. Cocoa farming inside Côte d’Ivoire’s protected areas is accelerating primate extirpation pp 95-113 E. Anderson Bitty, Sery Gonedele Bi, Jean-Claude Koffi Bene, Philippe K. Kouassi and W. Scott McGraw West African primates are increasingly threatened by hunting and habitat loss, two factors related to mounting pressure from humans. As forest capable of supporting primate populations is further reduced, the survival of many species will hinge on the capacity of forest reserves and/or national parks (called protected areas) to provide refuge. Unfortunately, forest within so-called protected areas is being replaced by illegal farms and associated wildlife is not immune to poaching. A major factor responsible for the destruction of habitat within West African protected areas is the cocoa industry. Cote d’Ivoire is the world’s leading producer of cocoa beans (the major ingredient in chocolate) and is home to a great diversity of primates. Over the last thirty years, the cocoa industry has expanded significantly within Cote d’Ivoire, including inside the country’s national parks and forest reserves which should be off limits to such agri-business. We surveyed 23 protected areas in Cote d’Ivoire and collected data on the extent of illegal cocoa farming, number of persons living in and around parks and reserves, and the number of primates present. We found a strong relationship between illegal cocoa farming and the loss of primate diversity and conclude that the chocolate industry is at least partially responsible for the disappearance of multiple primates in Cote d’Ivoire. Unless significant conservation measures are implemented soon, multiple primates in this biodiversity hotspot will become extinct. Distribution and conservation status of Phlegmariurus (Lycopodiaceae) in the state of Veracruz, Mexico pp 114-137 Samaria Armenta-Montero, César I. Carvajal-Hernández, Edward A. Ellis and Thorsten Krömer In Mexico there are 13 species of ferns in the genus Phlegmariurus (before Huperzia, Lycopodiaceae; club moss family), of which nine are found in the state of Veracruz. These species are located primarily in undisturbed humid montane, pine-oak and tropical humid forests, which are all ecosystems threatened by deforestation and fragmentation. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution and conservation status of Phlegmariurus species in Veracruz. Using Maxent, their probability distributions were modeled, based on 173 herbarium specimens, considering factors such as climate, elevation and vegetation cover. A risk category was assigned based on IUCN classifications at regional levels. Results show that distributions are located mainly in the montane regions of the central and southern parts of the state. Based on this study, we determined that all nine species evaluated are considered in some risk category. The main threats to these species are the continuous loss and fragmentation of their natural habitat, uncontrolled harvesting activities and the lack of protected areas that include humid montane and pine-oak forests in the central region of the state. Comparison of butterflies, bats and beetles as bioindicators based on four key criteria and DNA barcodes pp 138-149 Khairunnisa Syaripuddin, Kong-Wah Sing and John-James Wilson A major focus of conservation biology is on protecting places which are home to a large number of species. But how do we identify these places? Counting the total number of species that inhabit a particular place is not an option – so many organisms can be found in one place, including thousands of tiny invertebrates, that to isolate and identify them all is impossible (although this is being attempted by the Moorea Biocode Project http://mooreabiocode.org/). Given this constraint, counting the number species in a small taxonomically restricted group (for example bats, butterflies, beetles, bees) is frequently used as a surrogate for counting “total biodiversity”. But which group to use as a “bioindicator” is an important question as not all groups are equally suited for this purpose. We think four characteristics are especially important for a “bioindicator” group: i) easy to catch/record the organisms; ii) easy to count the number of species; iii) members of the group can be found everywhere, but there are differences in the number and types of species at different places; and iv) the number of species in the group reflects the number of species in other groups (can indicate the “total biodiversity”). We conducted fieldwork around Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and assessed whether bats, beetles and butterflies possess these four characteristics. Based on our findings, butterflies showed the greatest potential as bioindicators A habitat suitability model for capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) at the distribution core in Argentina pp 150-168 Facundo Schivo, Patricia Kandus, María Luisa Bolkovic, Priscilla Gail Minotti, Gabriela González Trilla, and Rubén Darío Quintana The degradation of natural habitats and wildlife overexploitation are identified among the main threats that attempt against the survival of the species at present. The models that assess habitat quality have become an important tool for management and conservation of the species. The capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) is the largest living rodent inhabiting in the South America wetlands and it is also one of the most native exploited species throughout its distribution range. This study was focused in developing and evaluating a spatial model in order to assess the habitat quality for the capybara based on their diet, reproduction, and shelter requirements, considering the hunting risks and the degree of landscape fragmentation. This model was developed for the region with the largest populations of capybaras in Argentina. The results indicate that 13% of the study area corresponds to the areas with the highest quality habitat, characterized by the presence of extensive wetlands with low fragmentation. These results are considered a useful tool for improving conservation and management programs for protecting capybara’s habitat. Measuring Success in a Community Conservation Project: Local Population Increase in a Critically Endangered Primate, the Yellow-tailed Woolly Monkey (Lagothrix flavicauda) at La Esperanza, Northeastern Peru pp 169-186 Sam Shanee and Noga Shanee The Critically Endangered yellow-tailed woolly monkey can only be found in a small area of forest in the Tropical Andes of Northern Peru; an ecosystem threatened by high rates of human immigration and by deforestation. The species is heavily hunted and has lost much of its habitat. Since 2007, people in the community of Yabrasbamba, Amazonas have been working with NGO Neotropical Primate Conservation to protect these primates and their delicate and unique habitats.Local villagers pledged to refrain from hunting and forest clearance and environmental education programs have been implemented. A series of population density surveys in the area has demonstrated that this approach is working; the population of the species in this area has grown by around 30% since 2007, mainly in the number of young monkeys in each group, implying the recovery of a once-struggling population. The rate of deforestation has also notably slowed and is now far lower than the average for the region. We believe that these results show that the “Community Conservation” approach to the protection of biodiversity can be a great success in highly populated areas and we encourage other conservationists to adopt a similar approach when possible. Short-term effects of the management intensities on structure dynamic in monoculture forests of southern subtropical China pp 187-200 Jun Jiang, Yuanchang Lu, Lifeng Pang, Xianzhao Liu andf Daoxiong Cai In subtropical forests, especially monoculture plantations, widely known in south China, is considered a largest artificial ecosystem because 63% of the total plantation area of China that it hosts, including fast-growing and commercially attractive trees to produce raw wood for industries. Since the 1990s, public interest has increasingly focused on strategies for conservation while meeting the economical demand for high timber productivity. Similar to agricultural systems, the question whether to integrate forest management and conservation becomes an important question for managers and conservation planners. Maybe there is no perfect answer to this question, but forest structure dynamic analyses are an important prerequisite to understanding which strategies could be implemented and what the potential benefits and trade-offs of strategies are. In this paper, our study provides new insights into the determinants of forest management intensity and the usefulness of such analysis to inform forest managers, stakeholders and conservation planners concerned with the economics and ecological value of forest policies or investments. We believe that the role of the managers should be to provide scientifically rigorous information possible to stakeholders and policy-makers so that they can make sound decisions to improve sustainable management and conservation. Invasive trees in Singapore: are they a threat to native forests? pp 201-214 Le T. P. Nghiem, Hugh T. W. Tan and Richard T. Corlett Singapore is a small, densely populated, equatorial island nation with a first-world economy. The rainforests that covered it 200 years ago were cleared for cash crops during the 19th century, leaving only small fragments that are now protected in nature reserves. Thousands of plant species have been introduced to Singapore, as crops or ornamentals, or by accident. Hundreds of these have run wild in disturbed areas, but very few species have invaded the nature reserves. We studied invasive trees, since they are potentially more damaging than smaller plants. We identified nine species as invasive in open sites, but none were found in the nature reserves, except at the margins and along major paths. In order to assess their future invasive potential, we grew seedlings in the forest and an open site. In the forest, all grew little and most died rapidly, while in the open all had high survival and rapid growth. Compared with native pioneer species, the invasive trees had very similar characteristics, but compared with exotic species that have not become invasive, they had lighter wood and smaller seeds. These invasive trees are not a threat to native forests, but may slow forest recovery on newly abandoned land. Determining sampling schemes for passive acoustic studies in different tropical ecosystems pp 215-234 Pieretti, N., Duarte, M.H.L., Sousa-Lima, R.S., Rodrigues, M., Young, R.J. and Farina, A. Animals produce sounds to communicate, defend territories, and find mates and food. All these sounds result in a collective sound signature. Understanding the natural variation in soundscapes (intended as the sounds from physical, biological and human-made sources) can help stakeholders make decisions about how to protect animals’ livelihoods, since unusual changes can indicate an environmental problem. Recent advances in technology produced sensors that record sounds for very long periods of time and that can be deployed in different areas simultaneously. These recorders generate an overwhelming amount of information. Thus, the challenge is to process and make sense of all the sounds acquired. We suggest a solution to minimize the effort in analyses without losing information from long term sound recordings. We characterized for the first time the soundscapes of three tropical environments in Brazil (Atlantic Forest, Rupestrian field, and Cerrado) looking for the best way to sample each of these tropical soundscapes. Recording one minute of every five retains most of the information contained in these soundscapes. Recording less time produced a similar result but only in specific portions of the day, so it is not as reliable to capture the animal sound signature and its natural variations. Current genetic structure of teak (Tectona grandis) in Myanmar based on newly developed chloroplast single nucleotide polymorphism and nuclear single sequence repeat markers pp 235-256 Thwe-Thwe-Win, Tomonori Hirao, Atsushi Watanabe and Susumu Goto Teak (Tectona grandis), which is among the most valuable tropical timber species, is under pressure from rapid deforestation and habitat fragmentation. Limited genetic information is available for Myanmar teak, which comes from the largest natural teak-bearing forest area in the world. To conserve the remaining natural genetic resource of teak, genetic information of Myanmar teak is urgently needed. Therefore, geographic patterns and genetic information of Myanmar teak were evaluated using two types of DNA markers in 480 individuals representing 20 natural populations which are almost covering natural forests in Myanmar. Myanmar teak has high genetic diversity and four different genetic components corresponding to different geographic regions. Out of 20 natural populations, four populations should be prioritized for conservation due to their high level of genetic diversity and different genetic components from other populations. The genetic boundaries of teak suggested four potential zones in the teak seed transfer guidelines of Myanmar. Therefore, seed movement for establishment of teak plantation among regions should be cautious. Opinion Article
pp 257-273 Mason Campbell, Will Edwards, Erica Odell, Dharmalingam Mohandass and William F. Laurance Although lianas (woody vines) have been described as “the single most important physiognomic feature differentiating tropical from temperate forests”, as late as the mid-1970s our knowledge of their ecology was proclaimed by one researcher to be “a virtual blank”. Since that period, research into liana ecology has all but exploded with a reported 22-fold increase in the number of liana publications produced between 1980 and 2009 alone. Much of the early liana research generated during this period was focused on their detrimental impact upon trees. As a consequence of these earlier findings, lianas are usually deliberately excluded from rainforest-restoration efforts. However, as knowledge of liana ecology increases, it is becoming apparent that they play an integral role in supporting local biodiversity and overall forest functioning. Consequently, there is a potential that many of their ecological and physiognomic characteristics could be strategically exploited to enhance and accelerate rainforest-restoration processes. Here we propose questions to be answered by the experimental incorporation of strategic liana plantings into rainforest restoration efforts. We hope that these suggestions will be trialled and their value to restoration practitioners determined. Additionally, we suggest why we think these liana-planting strategies could potentially expedite rainforest establishment and improve biodiversity-conservation outcomes. Short communication
pp 274-283 Fakarayi Togarasei, Clayton Mashapa, Edson Gandiwa and Shakkie Kativu We assessed land cover and land use change in Driefontein Grasslands Important Bird Area (Driefontein IBA), Zimbabwe, after the land reforms program of 2000. This program was initiated by the Government of Zimbabwe and it was aimed at land redistribution to vulnerable landless people for empowerment as well as to de-congest communal areas. However, Zimbabwe witnessed spontaneous farm invasions, farms were occupied regardless of whether or not they had been formally allocated for resettlement and cultivation. Changes in land cover and land use proportions were recorded from 1995 to 2010 throughout Driefontein IBA. Land cover classes of grassland and wetland showed a decrease, whereas land area under cultivation increased during 1995-2010. We concluded that changes in land cover in Driefontein IBA were largely driven by land use change, i.e., increase in cultivation, following the resettlement of people within Driefontein IBA. It is likely that with increasing human population the natural habitat of Driefontein IBA will be degraded further, negatively impacting wetlands, bird species, and other biodiversity. Threats to wetlands habitats are also threats to human livelihoods as local people also depend on wetland ecosystem services for their survival, thus there is need to monitor and conserve Driefontein IBA. Popular summaries Reader comments are generally moderated. If you find something inappropriate, please contact Tropical Conservation Science. The opinions expressed in reader comments are those of the author only, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of other authors or Tropical Conservation Science. |
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Tropical Conservation Science is an open-access e-journal that publishes research relating to conservation of tropical forests and other tropical ecosystems.
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