Different contexts, same concerns? Wood gap and forest restoration in Indonesia and Cameroon

The gap between demand and supply of sustainable wood, in countries rich forest with a poor governance, is one of the major causes of forest degradation. This phenomenon, which is combining with other major forest degradation causes as agriculture and fires, should not be overlooked as it results in dire deforestation. In Indonesia, uncontrolled development of wood industries, led to a growing wood demand disconnected with sustainable forest management capacity. This started in 70s with log exports development, followed by the plywood industry in the 80s', pulp and paper in the 90s' and the forest conversion to agro-plantations. Tree cover in permanent forest lands dropped from 113.1 million ha to 87.4 million ha, or by 23% in 34 years, from 1982 to 2016. In Cameroon, the growing demand for timber is accelerated by domestic market paired with the population growth above 2.5% per year. Domestic timber and firewood are sourced from poorly managed non-permanent and permanent forest. The rate of deforestation at the national level remains low (0.2 % per year), but deforestation is rapid around cities and along roads. Comparing the two countries, some similarities have been identified, I) in each case wood gaps are filled by illegal practices, 2) there are miss-perceptions about sustainable wood supplies from forests, 3) governments are now planning forest restoration and 4) low wood prices are discouraging investment into forest plantations, secondary forest silviculture and forest restoration. Finally, we compare how, governments are addressing wood gap and forest restoration

Forest landscape restoration in the drylands of Latin America

Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) involves the ecological restoration of degraded forest landscapes, with the aim of benefiting both biodiversity and human well-being. We first identify four fundamental principles of FLR, based on previous definitions. We then critically evaluate the application of these principles in practice, based on the experience gained during an international, collaborative research project conducted in six dry forest landscapes of Latin America. Research highlighted the potential for FLR; tree species of high socioeconomic value were identified in all study areas, and strong dependence of local communities on forest resources was widely encountered, particularly for fuelwood. We demonstrated that FLR can be achieved through both passive and active restoration approaches, and can be cost-effective if the increased provision of ecosystem services is taken into account. These results therefore highlight the potential for FLR, and the positive contribution that it could make to sustainable development. However, we also encountered a number of challenges to FLR implementation, including the difficulty of achieving strong engagement in FLR activities among local stakeholders, lack of capacity for community-led initiatives, and the lack of an appropriate institutional and regulatory environment to support restoration activities. Successful implementation of FLR will require new collaborative alliances among stakeholders, empowerment and capacity building of local communities to enable them to fully engage with restoration activities, and an enabling public policy context to enable local people to be active participants in the decision making process. © 2012 by the author(s). Published here under license by the Resilience Alliance

Seed rain and soil seed banks limit native regeneration within urban forest restoration plantings in Hamilton City, New Zealand

Restoration of native forest vegetation in urban environments may be limited due to isolation from native seed sources and to the prevalence of exotic plant species. To investigate urban seed availability we recorded the composition of seed rain, soil seed banks and vegetation at native forest restoration plantings up to 36 years old in Hamilton City and compared these with naturally regenerating forest within the city and in a nearby rural native forest remnant. Seed rain, soil seed banks (fern spores inclusive) and understorey vegetation in urban forest were found to have higher exotic species richness and lower native species density and richness than rural forest. Both understorey vegetation and soil seed banks of urban sites >20 years old had lower exotic species richness than younger (10–20 years) sites, indicating a developmental threshold that provided some resistance to exotic species establishment. However, the prevalence of exotic species in urban seed rain will allow reinvasion through edge habitat and following disturbance to canopy vegetation. Persistent soil seed banks from both urban and rural sites were dominated by exotic herbaceous species and native fern species, while few other native forest species were found to persist for >1 year in the seed bank. Enrichment planting will be required for those native species with limited dispersal or short-lived seeds, thus improving native seed availability in urban forests as more planted species mature reproductively. Further research into species seed traits and seedling establishment is needed to refine effective management strategies for successful restoration of urban native forests

Evaluating the Success of Forest Restoration

Forest restoration projects are occurring throughout the world. Restoration projects can vary greatly depending on the type of forest and the type of stressors that have caused ecosystem degradation and the need for restoration. Because of this variability, and because objective criteria for determining the success of restoration projects are lacking, it is difficult to evaluate the overall success of forest restoration projects. Using ecological standards developed for river restoration as a model, a similar set of standards was applied to forest restoration projects. The standards put forward can be used to evaluate the success of ecosystem restoration universally through the use of site-specific indicators of ecological success. This analysis found that many but not all of the criteria are being used to evaluate forest restoration success. Furthermore, the ecological health of the restored ecosystem is not always prioritized, as socioeconomic values are occasionally favored. Thus, it is important for a set of evaluation criteria primarily related to ecological health to be readily accepted by forest restoration practitioners

Carbon pools recover more rapidly than plant biodiversity in secondary tropical forests

Both REDD+ and the Convention on Biological Diversity aim to enhance carbon stocks and biodiversity through tropical forest restoration. However, we lack evidence of the effectiveness of such management. Using data from tropical forest chronosequence and restoration studies we investigate the recovery of carbon pools and plant biodiversity in recovering forests and determine factors limiting recovery

Are current ecological restoration practices capturing natural levels of genetic diversity? A New Zealand case study using AFLP and ISSR data from mahoe (Melicytus ramiflorus)

Sourcing plant species of local provenance (eco-sourcing) has become standard practice in plant community restoration projects. Along with established ecological restoration practices, knowledge of genetic variation in existing and restored forest fragments is important for ensuring the maintenance of natural levels of genetic variation and connectivity (gene flow) among populations. The application of restoration genetics often employs anonymous ‘fingerprinting’ markers in combination with limited sample sizes due to financial constraints. Here, we used two such marker systems, AFLPs and ISSRs, to estimate population-level genetic variation of a frequently used species in restoration projects in New Zealand, māhoe (Melicytus ramiflorus, Violaceae). We examined two rural and two urban forest fragments, as potential local source populations, to determine whether the māhoe population at the recently (re)constructed ecosystem at Waiwhakareke Natural Heritage Park (WNHP), Hamilton, New Zealand reflects the genetic variation observed in these four potential source populations. Both marker systems produced similar results and indicated, even with small population sizes, that levels of genetic variation at WNHP were comparable to in situ populations. However, the AFLPs did provide finer resolution of the population genetic structure than ISSRs. ISSRs, which are less expensive and technically less demanding to generate than AFLPs, may be sufficient for restoration projects where only a broad level of genotypic resolution is required. We recommend the use of AFLPs when species with a high conservation status are being used due to the greater resolution of this technique

Study of social perceptions to reconcile international concerns and local needs: A Mosaic of worlds and forests

International policies award a central role to participation by local populations in sustainable development issues. The development operators representing global undertakings must ensure true participation by the stakeholders working at the local scale. The FOREAIM project is aimed at limiting degradation and enhancing the restoration of ecosystems for local populations and with their participation. M this framework, the present study is based on the perceptions of forest of the different stakeholders in order to develop restoration strategies. The work was conducted in three villages in the Ankeniheny Zahamena forest corridor on the east coast of Madagascar. It is based on the analysis of the opinions of the various stakeholders to understand their perception of forest and forest degradation. The different perceptions and the solutions put forward for remedying degradation are then used to develop restoration strategies. (Résumé d'auteur

Drier Conditions, More Wildfire, and Heightened Concerns About Forest Management in Eastern Oregon

This brief examines climate change and forest conditions in eastern Oregon. Eastern Oregon is experiencing warmer, drier conditions and increased numbers of wildfires. Surveys of the Oregon public find that forest health and wildfire threats are widely shared concerns. The more knowledgeable residents say they are about forest management, the more likely they are to say that forests are becoming less healthy. Majorities support active forest management (forest thinning, surface fuel reduction) and restoration to reduce the likelihood of high-severity wildfires that would damage forest resources and threaten local communities. The authors conclude that forests continue to be an important part of the heritage of western lands, and their management is a crucial issue of our time. Engaging private forest owners who are not actively managing their lands and developing new partnerships to support active management on public lands are essential to addressing the threats confronting the Blue Mountains and the Inland Northwest

Ecological restoration success is higher for natural regeneration than for active restoration in tropical forests

Is active restoration the best approach to achieve ecological restoration success (the return to a reference condition, that is, old-growth forest) when compared to natural regeneration in tropical forests? Our meta-analysis of 133 studies demonstrated that natural regeneration surpasses active restoration in achieving tropical forest restoration success for all three biodiversity groups (plants, birds, and invertebrates) and five measures of vegetation structure (cover, density, litter, biomass, and height) tested. Restoration success for biodiversity and vegetation structure was 34 to 56% and 19 to 56% higher in natural regeneration than in active restoration systems, respectively, after controlling for key biotic and abiotic factors (forest cover, precipitation, time elapsed since restoration started, and past disturbance). Biodiversity responses were based primarily on ecological metrics of abundance and species richness (74%), both of which take far less time to achieve restoration success than similarity and composition. This finding challenges the widely held notion that natural forest regeneration has limited conservation value and that active restoration should be the default ecological restoration strategy. The proposition that active restoration achieves greater restoration success than natural regeneration may have arisen because previous comparisons lacked controls for biotic and abiotic factors; we also did not find any difference between active restoration and natural regeneration outcomes for vegetation structure when we did not control for these factors. Future policy priorities should align the identified patterns of biophysical and ecological conditions where each or both restoration approaches are more successful, cost-effective, and compatible with socioeconomic incentives for tropical forest restoration

Tropical forest restoration and rehabilitation management in Malaysia: opportunities and challenges

Malaysia has been endowed with a beautiful tropical forest which provides various ecosystem services such as carbon dioxide absorption, water supply and soil stabilization to the community. It is also a timber source for wood-based industries generating RM22 billion in 2016. However, there are illegal encroachment activities in the forests causing the forests to be degraded as well as conversion of land use to agriculture. The enforcement activities carried out by the authorities have resulted in the degraded areas being reclaimed and the forest areas are being restored with planting of local species with commercial value. To date many degraded forest areas have been restored using different approaches. This paper aims at presenting Malaysia's experiences and initiatives in forest restoration and rehabilitation of degraded forests. These activities have created opportunities to improve the forest ecosystem. There are also many challenges need to be addressed in order the forest restoration and rehabilitation to be successful. These challenges will also be discussed