Tropical Forest Restoration

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  • Created by: LaurMae
  • Created on: 22-05-24 17:20

Forest restoration

'Aim to prevent, halt, and reserve the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean' - ecosystem restoration, UN 2020

Ecological resotration defined by Society of Ecological Restoration 2004 - intervention that seeks to assist the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed

'Directing and accelerating ecological succession toward an indigenous reference forest ecosystem of the maximum which are self-sustainable within climatic and soil limitations' - forest restoration

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Global and National Policies of forest restoration

Bonn Challenge - restore 250 Mha by 2030 of degraded land by using integrated landscape approach - IUCN 2011

New York Declaration on Forests - halt natural forest loss by 2030, resotre 350 Mha of degraded land/forests, improve governance, increase forest finance and reduce emissions from deforestation as part of post-2020 global climate agreement

Kunming Montreal Biodiversity Framework - reduce threats to biodiversity, meet people's needs through sustainable use and benefit-sharing

Trillion Trees

AFR100 - country-led effort brining 100 Mha of land in Africa into restoration by 2030

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Tree planting fails

- Planting trees in areas naturally low in trees and cannot support forests

- Focus fast growing exotic species

- Lack monitoring and maintenance of planting sites

- Lack communtiy engagement

- Singual focus on carbon goals

- Lack site protection

- Tree carbon labile

- No integration into socio-ecological landscape

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Forest Restoration Interventions

Self-sustinable within climatic and soil limitations - structural complexity, biomass, biodiversity, and ecologiclal unctioning 

Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR) - aim to restore forest ecosystem functions at landscape level and contribute to livelihoods, wellbeing and climate change resilience. Combine mix of restoration methods - tree planting, natural regeneration, and assisted approaches

Active forest restoration - when active intervention being used, such as seedling planting, seeding, enrichment planting, transplantation etc. No distinction between native of exotic species use

Passive forest restoration/natural regen - natural regeneration of sites with minimal human intervention

Assisted natural regeneration - active and passice restoration methods speeding up process of natural regen - fencing, fire exclusion, enrichment planting, bird perches, nucleation planing etc.

Agroforestry - tree introduction in farming landscape - increase forest cover

Rehabilitation/revegetation - replanting vegetation/soil to rehabilitate/protect degraded land

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Restoration theory and ecology

Scientific study of repairing disturbed ecosystems through human intervention - involves application of ecological concepts and theory to develop guidelines for ecological restoration

The more disturbed the ecosystem, the harder and longer the work towards the target forest condition

Stage 1 - protect from further  disturbance, prevent encroachment, fire, cattle, hunting etc.

Stage 2 - protection AND assisted natural regeneration - reduce weed competitions

Stage 3 - apply framework species method

- Planting minimum number of indigenous forest tree species for max recovery of biodiversity. Species have high survival rates, rapid growth, dense crowns to shade out weeds, attract seed dispersers etc.

Stage 4 - max diversity plantings, plant back species and some remediation

Stage 5 - 'nurse trees' to improve soil followed by max diversity plantings

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Ecological case study - Thailand

Weeding and fertilizer application essential for 2 rainy seasons after planting

End 2nd rainy season = canopy closure and weeds shaded out

End 3rd rainy season = canopy closure complete, site captured, weeds mostly gone, natural forest dynamic restored

Carbon level in trees go back to normal in around 20 years

6 years after planting, multilayered canopy, weeds replaced by leaf litter, competition-free conditions for tree seedling establishment

Bird species richness increase from 34 to 88 in the 6 years

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Social case study - Peru

Restoration priority areas overlap with low HDI and high population density

Why must restoration be people centered? - people key agent in process, people own/manage/farm the land, people dependent on land and its resources, many people make living on the land, meant to create benefits and services for people, key agents in the degradation

Motivations - water, agriculture maintenance, economic, community wellbeing, biodiversity, other (future generations)

Degree of following factors varied for governments, NGOs and the local communities

Enabling factors - communal interest from nature dependence, strengthen capacity to protect/restore, support from NGOs, clarity on land tenure, direct coordination with communities etc.

Limting factors - livestock encroachment, grought, slow growth of native species, cliamte change, uncontrolled fire use, low environmental education, community resistance and internal problems, fear of land grabbing

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Restoration Projects

Financing and funding 

Traditional, grants, pre-sales, public, NGOs, private sector, state/government, development agencies

Certification of carbon credits 

Site selection

Good sites - secured long-term land use agreement, low land opportunity cost, biophysically support tree growth, be degraded and guarentee additionality, accessible, fit ecologically in landscpae, socially acceptable

Species selection

Preliminary screening to identify candidate species - fast growing long lived, biodiversity value, economic benefit?

Trials to choose final species - actual framework species

Exotic species in restoration - 

- PROS = economic benefit, often cheap to acquire seeds, fast growing, culturally accpeted, serve as nurse species

- CONS = risk land degradation, negative effect on water availability, invasive, little benefit for biodiversity

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Restoration Projects 2

Seed collection

- Identify location of desired mother trees

- Work when seeds mature

- Enough genetic diversity

- Locally adapted variety

Tree phenology - study response of living organisms to seasonal cycles in environmental conditions

Aim - optimal seed collection, optimize nursery schedule. identify key stone tree species, observe pollination and dispersal

Production schedule - ultimate aim of nursery research

- Optimum seed collection date and germination time/lenght of seed dormancy and how it might be manipulated

- Length of time required from seed sowing to pricking out and standing-down time to grow saplings

- How plant growth and standing-down time can be manipulated

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Restoration Projects 3

Site Preparation - clearing, site protection, weeding, herbicide application, hole digging

Transport and logistics - challening in remote areas

Planting  - often on communal planting days involving local communities, schools, investors

Maintenance - usually up to 3 years post intervention, weeding and clearing, watering, replacing dying seedlings

Monitoring - ecological recovery wheel tool for conveying progress of recovery of ecosystem attributes compared to those reference model

1st wheel represents condition each attribute assessed during baseline inventory stage of project

2nd wheel depicts 10yr old restoration project, where over half attributes attain 40star condition

Photo monitoring - most direct and accesible way to show progress

Drone monitoring

Acoustic monitoring

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