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Urgency

Stranglers of the tropics -- and beyond

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Written by Kenneth Pavloff
Monday, 18 April 2011 14:15

But kudzu may be no match for the lianas of the tropics, scientists have found. Data from sites in eight studies show that lianas are overgrowing trees in every instance.

If the trend continues, these "stranglers-of-the-tropics" may suffocate equatorial forest ecosystems.

 

Tropical forests contain more than half of Earth's terrestrial species, and contribute more than a third of global terrestrial carbon and a third of terrestrial net primary productivity, says ecologist Stefan Schnitzer of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Schnitzer is co-author with Frans Bongers of Wageningen University in the Netherlands of a paper on lianas in the current issue of the journal .

"Any alteration of tropical forests has important ramifications for , productivity--and ultimately the ," says Schnitzer.

Tropical forests are indeed experiencing large-scale structural changes, the most obvious of which may be the increase in lianas, according to Robert Sanford, program director in the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of, which funded the research.

Lianas are found in most tropical lowland forests. The woody vines are "non-self-supporting structural parasites that use the architecture of trees to ascend to the forest canopy," says Schnitzer.

Last Updated ( Monday, 18 April 2011 14:29 )

Fruit-eating fish does far-flung forestry

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Written by Kenneth Pavloff
Monday, 18 April 2011 14:02

Species’ seed-dispersal skills go the distance

by Susan Milius March 2011

 

In the Amazon, Johnny Appleseed may be a fish.

When rivers in the Amazon Basin flood into surrounding forests and savannas, a fruit-eating fish called a tambaqui proves itself a champion at excreting seeds in distant new homes, says Jill T. Anderson of Duke University in Durham, N.C. In extreme cases, seeds hitchhiking with the fish can land almost 5.5 kilometers from the mother tree.. 

Tree Planting TambaquiTree Planting TambaquiThose distances put the tambaqui (Colossoma macropomum) into the ranks of elephants and big birds for long-distance planting, Anderson and her colleagues report in an upcomingProceedings of the Royal Society B.

In tree reproduction, distance matters, especially as loggers, farmers and builders clear more and more patches of forest. Fruit-eaters are “the mobile links that keep forest fragments connected,” says ecologist Pedro Jordano of the Doñana Biological Station in Seville, Spain. Otherwise patches could become so isolated they lose healthful genetic diversity.

Biologists have begun to gather evidence on how much impact a seed-courier fish might have on a terrestrial forest. The tambaqui, also called a gamitana, is one of roughly 200 known fruit-eating fish species worldwide and gets its chance to forage in the floodplains where rivers swell over their banks and cover some 250,000 square kilometers for months each year. “In some places, you can canoe in the tree canopy,” Anderson says.

Last Updated ( Monday, 18 April 2011 14:14 )

Reforestation projects capture more carbon than industrial plantations

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Written by Kenneth Pavloff
Monday, 18 April 2011 12:17

Australian scientists researching environmental restoration projects have found that the reforestation of damaged rainforests is more efficient at capturing carbon than controversial softwood monoculture plantations. The research, published in Ecological Management and Restoration, challenges traditional views on the efficiency of industrial monoculture plantations.

Reforestation ProjectsReforestation Projects Carbon markets have become a potential source of funding for restoration projects as countries and corporations seek the cheapest way to reduce carbon emissions,' said Dr John Kanowski from the Australian Wildlife Conservancy. 'However, there is a concern that this funding will encourage single species monoculture plantations instead of diverse reforestation projects, due to the widely held belief that monocultures capture more carbon.'

Last Updated ( Monday, 18 April 2011 12:26 )

Bottomland Forest restoration brings back rare species

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Written by Kenneth Pavloff
Monday, 18 April 2011 12:09

By The Nature Conservancy  

Rare animal species are returning to West Tennessee’s restored bottomland forests, according to recent research sponsored by The Nature Conservancy.

Swainson’s warbler, the barking treefrog and the prairie warbler are examples of rare or declining species that have been recently found at sites along rivers where hardwood trees are being replanted and restored in the marshy bottomlands where they used to grow. Additional species found during the study include green heron, southern cricket frog and crawfish frog. 

Historically, the rare animals had inhabited many of West Tennessee’s river bottomlands, but widespread removal of trees in decades past had pushed them out of these areas. The recent rare animal discoveries occurred during a two-year research project conducted by Associate Professor Matthew Gray and graduate student Beth Summers from the University of Tennessee’s Wetlands Program in the Department of Forestry, Wildlife & Fisheries. The research project was funded by The Nature Conservancy and the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

 

Last Updated ( Monday, 18 April 2011 12:16 )

Natural reforestation in southern Pyrenees favors orchid

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Written by Kenneth Pavloff
Monday, 18 April 2011 11:55

Published: in Earth & Climate
A 13-year study has been key to understanding how and why an orchid species (Cypripedium calceolus), which is endangered in some countries in Europe, is surviving and recovering in the Pyrenees. The results suggest that the abandonment of farming and grazing, which is enabling reforestation to take place, is benefiting this orchid. Populations of species at the edges of their distribution areas, as is the case with the 'lady's slipper' orchid (Cypripedium calceolus) on the southern side of the Pyrenees, have always been considered to be more vulnerable than those at the centre of their range.

Last Updated ( Monday, 18 April 2011 12:06 )
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