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Madagascan tropical forests return thanks to better management and well-defined ownership
May 02, 2007A study published in the May 2nd issue of the online, open-access journal PLoS ONE, shows that although loss of tropical dry forests occurs in southern Madagascar, there are also large areas of forests regenerating. The return of forest cover was found to be substantial in the study area, with an overall net increase of 4 % during the period 1993-2000. These dry forests have the highest level of plant endemism (species found only in a particular region) in all of Madagascar and are listed as one of the 200 most important "ecoregions" of the world. The study also shows that the relationship between human population density and deforestation is much more complex than previously thought.
"We were surprised to find the highest deforestation rates in an area with low human population density and large distance to markets, while the area with highest population density had stable forest cover," says Thomas Elmqvist, Professor at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, Sweden.
The results, based on analyses of satellite images and vegetation on the ground, surprised the team of scientists from Sweden and the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar. As a result, they went further and also made a social inventory based on interviews with local forest officials and villagers. This inventory revealed that loss of forest occurred mainly in areas with insecure property rights, while areas with well-defined local norms, rules and property rights for forest management showed either regenerating or stable forest cover.
"Regeneration of tropical forests has so far mostly been studied by ecologists trying to understand factors like seed dispersal and soil quality, our study clearly shows the importance of an increased understanding also of the social context behind forest regeneration," says Elmqvist. The loss of tropical forests is a concern worldwide since these forests harbor more than 50 % of the terrestrial species richness in the world and have a large importance in global climate regulation. Estimates of tropical forest loss are still uncertain and a 50 % margin of error appears possible. However, scientists know even less about regeneration of tropical forests.
"We now know a fair amount about the human social context in which tropical forest loss is embedded, but very little is known about the role of social institutions in influencing regeneration of tropical forests," says Maria Tengö from Stockholm university and one of the authors behind the new study.
The new study points to the large capacity of dry tropical forests to spontaneously regenerate if existing local rules and norms (including well-defined property rights) mitigate other drivers of deforestation and alternative land-use.
Public Library of Science
"Regeneration of tropical forests has so far mostly been studied by ecologists trying to understand factors like seed dispersal and soil quality, our study clearly shows the importance of an increased understanding also of the social context behind forest regeneration," says Elmqvist. The loss of tropical forests is a concern worldwide since these forests harbor more than 50 % of the terrestrial species richness in the world and have a large importance in global climate regulation. Estimates of tropical forest loss are still uncertain and a 50 % margin of error appears possible. However, scientists know even less about regeneration of tropical forests.
"We now know a fair amount about the human social context in which tropical forest loss is embedded, but very little is known about the role of social institutions in influencing regeneration of tropical forests," says Maria Tengö from Stockholm university and one of the authors behind the new study.
The new study points to the large capacity of dry tropical forests to spontaneously regenerate if existing local rules and norms (including well-defined property rights) mitigate other drivers of deforestation and alternative land-use.
Public Library of Science
Tropical Forests Current Events and Tropical Forests News RSSResearchers document world's mammals in crisis
From majestic African elephants to tiny and often unappreciated rodents, mammals on Earth are in a state of crisis. One in four mammal species on Earth is being pushed to extinction, according to the Global Mammal Assessment, the most comprehensive assessment of the world's mammals.
Long-term study shows effect of climate change on animal diversity
Two species of giraffe, several rhinos and five elephant relatives, along with multitudes of rodents, bush pigs, horses, antelope and apes, once inhabited what is now northern Pakistan.
Bad sign for global warming: Thawing permafrost holds vast carbon pool
Permafrost blanketing the northern hemisphere contains more than twice the amount of carbon in the atmosphere, making it a potentially mammoth contributor to global climate change depending on how quickly it thaws.
Tahitian vanilla originated in Maya forests, says UC Riverside botanist
he origin of the Tahitian vanilla orchid, whose cured fruit is the source of the rare and highly esteemed gourmet French Polynesian spice, has long eluded botanists. Known by the scientific name Vanilla tahitensis, Tahitian vanilla is found to exist only in cultivation; natural, wild populations of the orchid have never been encountered.
Extinction most likely for rare trees in the Amazon rainforest
Common tree species in the Amazon will survive even grim scenarios of deforestation and road-building, but rare trees could suffer extinction rates of up to 50 percent, predict Smithsonian scientists and colleagues in the Aug. 12 issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.
The drivers of tropical deforestation are changing, say scientists
A shift from poverty-driven to industry-driven deforestation threatens the world's tropical forests but offers new opportunities for conservation, according to an article coauthored by William Laurance of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama.
Vine invasion? UWM ecologist looks at coexistence of trees and lianas
Among the hundreds of species of woody vines that University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee ecologist Stefan Schnitzer has encountered in the tropical forests of Panama, the largest has a stalk nearly 20 inches in circumference.
Extinction threat growing for mankind's closest relatives
Mankind's closest relatives - the world's monkeys, apes and other primates - are disappearing from the face of the Earth, with some literally being eaten into extinction.
A bee's future as queen or worker may rest with parasitic fly
Strange things are happening in the lowland tropical forests of Panama and Costa Rica. A tiny parasitic fly is affecting the social behavior of a nocturnal bee, helping to determine which individuals become queens and which become workers.
Insect warning colors aid cancer and tropical disease drug discovery
Brightly colored beetles or butterfly larvae nibbling on a plant may signal the presence of chemical compounds active against cancer cell lines and tropical parasitic diseases, according to researchers at Smithsonian's Tropical Research Institute in Panama.
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