Tropical Rainforest Degradation Research Articles

Natural regeneration of woody plant species along an elevational and disturbance gradient at Mt. Kilimanjaro

The continuous decline and degradation of tropical rainforests is currently mainly driven by land-use change. Over the long term, climate change will further exacerbate the situation for the remaining forests. To develop sustainable conservation strategies, we need to understand the natural forest-recovery potential after disturbance and the impact of climate on forest recovery. So far, little is known about regeneration of woody species in tropical landscapes, especially in tropical Africa. We investigated the regeneration of woody plant species in six natural and seven anthropogenically disturbed habitat types along a 3.6 km elevational gradient from savanna woodland to afro-alpine vegetation at Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. We recorded and identified all saplings of woody plants in a total of 65 plots, each measuring 100 m2. The total number of recorded sapling individuals amounts to 4,738 saplings from 110 species of 50 families. Along the elevational gradient, sapling numbers in natural plots showed a hump-shaped distribution peaking at mid elevation, where rainfall and overall woody biomass were highest, while species number and diversity of saplings were continuously decreasing with increasing elevation. The sapling layer in the savanna zone had three times as many species as the layer of adult trees and shrubs in the same plots, but the species composition of saplings differed strongly from the one of trees and shrubs, indicating strong spatial or temporal heterogeneity. Active agricultural plots at lower elevations also showed natural regeneration of woody species, even though numbers of sapling individuals and species were much lower than in natural low-elevation plots. Forests formerly disturbed by fire and logging showed either comparable or even increased numbers of sapling individuals and species than natural plots at the same elevation, indicating ongoing succession. Finding regeneration of woody species in all disturbed habitat types, even in agriculturally managed habitats, strongly suggests that natural regeneration is a very powerful tool to recover forest diversity after disturbances. Furthermore, our sapling dataset provides an important baseline for future monitoring of the consequences of climate and land-use change on regeneration.

Impact of population growth on biodiversity loss in boki agro-ecological rainforests, cross river state, nigeria

In today's world, the rapid growth of human populations, who rely on forest resources as their primary source of income, is a major source of concern. The impact of population increase on biodiversity loss in the Boki rainforest in Nigeria's Cross River State was investigated in this study. The study looked into the causes of rapid population expansion, the proximate causes of deforestation, the effects of deforestation on biodiversity, and the economic values of rainforests to Boki inhabitants. The study gathered information on the factors that contribute to population growth, the pace of biodiversity loss, the causes of deforestation, and the effects of deforestation on biodiversity in the study area. The findings found that a mix of human influences such as rapid population growth, increasing human activities such as lumbering, fuel wood extraction, settlement expansion, agricultural practices, and construction works had aggravated tropical rainforest degradation in the studied area. These factors have aided in the extinction and depletion of important flora and fauna species in the study area. To maintain the Boki rainforests and it’s biodiversity, the report suggests population education, research-based innovative forestry and biodiversity policies, and forest restoration efforts such as community-based forest management.

Life in the treetops—An overview of forest canopy science and its future directions

Societal Impact StatementForests are currently under global threat from human activities, despite the fact that recent findings confirm trees are critical for the health of humans as well as for the entire planet. Advances in whole forest research, which includes the upper reaches and not just the forest floor, are providing critical information about carbon storage, biodiversity, water cycles, and other essential ecosystem services provided by trees. The methods to study forest canopies are relatively new and vastly underfunded, despite our growing recognition of the global importance of trees. In addition to advancing exploration of the treetops, the forest canopy toolkit is also proving instrumental to jumpstart innovative actions to conserve forest ecosystems.SummaryForest canopies are home to an estimated 50% of terrestrial biodiversity but remain relatively unexplored until just four decades ago. As one of the first global arbornauts, I share an abbreviated history of canopy science, and how treetop access has inspired forest conservation, especially in the tropics where forests remain relatively unexplored. The arboreal toolkit of ropes and harnesses, canopy walkways, dirigible and inflatable rafts, construction cranes, drones, and LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR) has revealed that forests provide many important ecosystem services, essential for life on earth. Yet despite millions of research dollars, extensive time, and extraordinary intellectual capital, the degradation of tropical rain forests is accelerating and does not correlate with the extent of scientific investments. A few case studies illustrate how canopy access methods can inspire innovative approaches to conservation, especially in tropical forests where deforestation is rampant: (a) Use treetop walkways for education and ecotourism, not just research, so that indigenous communities can earn sustainable income without logging; (b) Incorporate citizen scientists into forest field research through BioBlitzes or virtual technologies that are now relatively inexpensive and far‐reaching; (c) Inspire girls, especially in low‐income countries, to become stewards of their local forests; and (d) Seek diverse stakeholders in forest conservation actions, including religious and corporate leaders. I summarize how treetop exploration can inspire a renaissance in botany, engaging the public about the importance of trees, especially tropical forests and their biodiversity.

Impacts of human farm activities on tropical deforestation and climate change: interactive statistical models

The tropical rainforests are essential for sustainable development of earth's ecosystem. The rainforests are rich storehouse of biodiversity, natural pharmaceutical products, source of sustained water resources and manage microclimate of their region. The forest regimes in Amazonian, Congo basin and South East Asian forest regions are under constant threat of degradation. The carbon dioxide concentration in the earth's atmosphere has reached the highest ever seen by the human beings to 400 ppm level and mean surface temperature of earth has increased by 1°C in last 50 years. This study explores statistical relations for rainforest remaining in the earth and carbon dioxide concentration in the earth's atmosphere as function of widespread human farm activities such as soya bean, corn and palm oil production as factors. The response surface methodology is used to analyse data from year 2000 to 2013 which shows that rate of world tropical rainforest degradation and CO2 concentration in the earth's atmosphere increases with increase in world soy, corn and palm production and mathematical models predicting these relations were developed.

Increasing the Scientific Evidence Base in the “High Conservation Value” (HCV) Approach for Biodiversity Conservation in Managed Tropical Landscapes

AbstractLand‐use change is a major driver of tropical biodiversity declines. The “High Conservation Value” (HCV) approach aims to protect critical environmental and social values in production landscapes, and is a common feature of many voluntary certification schemes (e.g., Forest Stewardship Council, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil). Despite the popularity of the HCV approach within forestry and agriculture production systems, it is little known in academia and the scientific evidence base supporting it is not well developed. By raising the profile of the HCV approach, we hope to instigate new research to examine the impact of the HCV approach on biodiversity conservation. We argue for better knowledge exchange between scientists, policy makers, and HCV users, sharing of information, and consideration of the practical constraints within which HCV users and commodity producers operate. Given the continuing loss and degradation of tropical rainforests, such strategies are required urgently to reduce biodiversity losses in production landscapes.

Rapid Assessment and Feeding Guilds of Birds in Selected Rubber and Oil Palm Plantations in North Cotabato

The degradation of tropical rainforests in Mindanao has augmented the interest in the potential value of commercial plantations for the conservation of biodiversity. However, it is not yet apparent how this type of land use affects forest bird fauna since there were no studies conducted yet to document birds in commercial plantations, particularly in North Cotabato. Hence, this study was done to determine occurrence of birds in Carumba Oil Palm Plantation (COPP) and Platinum Rubber Plantation (PRP) in North Cotabato. A combination of mist netting and transect walk technique had recorded 30 birds species belonging to 6 orders, 19 families and 26 genera. Passeriformes was the most represented order having 20 species, six of which were country endemics and two were Mindanao faunal region endemics. Noteworthy was the presence of one threatened species ( Alcedo argentata ) from PRP with a vulnerable conservation status. Results indicate that oil and rubber agro-forestry systems contribute to conservation efforts by serving as habitats to endemic bird species. In addition, major feeding guilds of birds were also determined. Insectivorous species predominated in both areas. This high number of insectivorous species delivers a natural pest control service in the plantations which is beneficial to farmers and owners. Keywords - bird fauna, endemism, feeding guilds, rubber plantation, oil palm plantation, North Cotabato