Abstract
Aim of the study: To evaluate how middle-aged active restoration plantations of native tree species contribute to the recovery of the tropical cloud forest in terms of vegetation structure, tree richness, species composition, and to shade-tolerance and seed dispersal mode functional groups.Area of the study: We studied two 19-year-old active restoration sites and their reference mature forests in the tropical montane cloud forest belt, Veracruz, Mexico.Materials and methods: The basal area, density and height as well as the tree species composition and number of species and individuals classified by shade tolerance (pioneer and non-pioneer trees), and seed dispersal mode (anemochorous, barochorous-synzoochorous and endozoochorous) were compared between active restoration plantations and reference forests.Main results: Planted trees and the woody vegetation growing under them represented a high proportion of reference forests’ basal area. Tree richness and Shannon’s equitability index were similar in both reference forests and one active restoration plantation and slightly different in the other. Tree species composition differed among sites; however, each 19-year-old plantation already had several non-pioneer species and a similar species proportion of the seed dispersal syndromes present in their reference forests.Research highlights: Active restoration accelerated the recovery of cloud forest in degraded pasture and bracken fern lands. Planted trees promoted the rapid development of vegetation structure and natural tree regeneration. Although species composition is still different, these middle-aged restoration plantations already have forest species and a proportion of functional groups of species similar to those of their own reference montane cloud forests.Keywords: active restoration; forest recovery; passive restoration; seed dispersal mode; succession; tree species; tropical montane cloud forest.
Highlights
Tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) has been recognized as a highly biodiverse provider of ecosystem services such as a steady supply of high-quality water and protection against soil erosion, it is clearly one of the most threatened terrestrial ecosystems (Scatena et al, 2010)
In MY, basal area did not differ between forest and active restoration
The performance of the planted tree species varied between sites, but overall they represented 36-55% of the basal area and 45-85% of the tree density of the natural regeneration of woody plants
Summary
Tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) has been recognized as a highly biodiverse provider of ecosystem services such as a steady supply of high-quality water and protection against soil erosion, it is clearly one of the most threatened terrestrial ecosystems (Scatena et al, 2010). Ecological restoration has become crucial for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services, but forest restoration can take decades. Existing reports are mainly based on relatively recently established plantations and rarely include old plantations (e.g., Wortley et al, 2013; Gatica-Saavedra et al, 2017). Forest restoration has been widely implemented in the Neotropics, and several studies have carried out empirical assessments focused most frequently on short-term restoration sites (1 to 15 years old). There have been a few studies on restoration sites of an intermediate age (> 12 – 20 years), and projects on sites over 35 years old are uncommon (e.g., Wortley et al, 2013; Suganuma et al, 2014; Gatica-Saavedra et al, 2017).
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