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Reforestation is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted,usually through deforestation but also after clearcutting. Two important purposes of reforestation programs are for harvesting of wood or for climate change mitigation purposes.
Daniel Hunt Janzen is an American evolutionary ecologist and conservationist. He divides his time between his professorship in biology at the University of Pennsylvania,where he is the DiMaura Professor of Conservation Biology,and his research and field work in Costa Rica.
Ecological restoration,or ecosystem restoration,is the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded,damaged,or destroyed. It is distinct from conservation in that it attempts to retroactively repair already damaged ecosystems rather than take preventative measures. Ecological restoration can reverse biodiversity loss,combat climate change,and support local economies. Habitat restoration involves the deliberate rehabilitation of a specific area to reestablish a functional ecosystem. To achieve successful habitat restoration,it's essential to understand the life cycles and interactions of species,as well as the essential elements such as food,water,nutrients,space,and shelter needed to support species populations. When it's not feasible to restore habitats to their original size or state,designated areas known as wildlife corridors can be established. These corridors connect different habitats and open spaces,facilitating the survival of species within human-dominated landscapes. For instance,marshes serve as critical stopover sites for migratory birds,wildlife overpasses enable animals to safely cross over highways,and protected riparian zones within urban settings provide necessary refuges for flora and fauna. The United Nations named 2021-2030 the Decade on Ecosystem Restoration.
Stephen P. Hubbell is an American ecologist on the faculty of the University of California,Los Angeles. He is author of the unified neutral theory of biodiversity and biogeography (UNTB),which seeks to explain the diversity and relative abundance of species in ecological communities not by niche differences but by stochastic processes among ecologically equivalent species. Hubbell is also a senior staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Balboa,Panama. He is also well known for tropical forest studies. In 1980,he and Robin B. Foster of the Field Museum in Chicago,launched the first of the 50 hectare forest dynamics studies on Barro Colorado Island in Panama. This plot became the flagship of a global network of large permanent forest dynamics plots,all following identical measurement protocols. This global network now has more than 70 plots in 28 countries,and these plots contain more than 12000 tree species and 7 million individual trees that are tagged,mapped,and monitored long-term for growth,survival and recruitment. The Center for Tropical Forest Science coordinates research across global network of plots through the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. The program has expanded into the temperate zone,and is now known as the Forest Global Earth Observatory Network or ForestGEO.
Guanacaste Conservation Area is an administrative area which is managed by the Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion (SINAC) of Costa Rica for conservation in the northwestern part of Costa Rica. It contains three national parks,as well as wildlife refuges and other nature reserves. The area contains the Area de Conservación Guanacaste World Heritage Site,which comprises four areas.
Tropical ecology is the study of the relationships between the biotic and abiotic components of the tropics,or the area of the Earth that lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The tropical climate experiences hot,humid weather and rainfall year-round. While many might associate the region solely with the rainforests,the tropics are home to a wide variety of ecosystems that boast a great wealth of biodiversity,from exotic animal species to seldom-found flora. Tropical ecology began with the work of early English naturalists and eventually saw the establishment of research stations throughout the tropics devoted to exploring and documenting these exotic landscapes. The burgeoning ecological study of the tropics has led to increased conservation education and programs devoted to the climate. Tropical ecology provides a wealth of natural resources to humans,this includes contributing to the carbon cycle,with the ability to store 50% of carbon emissions as well as turnover 40% of global oxygen. However,despite the natural services provided by tropical ecology,deforestation is a threat of tropical rainforests. Any plant of interest can be exploited for commercial reasons and extraction of these specific plant species can be at a rapid rate without time for healthy regeneration. Most of the global plant biodiversity is hosted in tropical areas,however studies in this area is mostly covered by scientist from Northern countries. Inclusion of scientist from countries where rainforest is present is heavily encouraged because it extends global knowledge and research which advances scientific contributions,benefiting tropical ecology.
Forest restoration is defined as “actions to re-instate ecological processes,which accelerate recovery of forest structure,ecological functioning and biodiversity levels towards those typical of climax forest”i.e. the end-stage of natural forest succession. Climax forests are relatively stable ecosystems that have developed the maximum biomass,structural complexity and species diversity that are possible within the limits imposed by climate and soil and without continued disturbance from humans. Climax forest is therefore the target ecosystem,which defines the ultimate aim of forest restoration. Since climate is a major factor that determines climax forest composition,global climate change may result in changing restoration aims. Additionally,the potential impacts of climate change on restoration goals must be taken into account,as changes in temperature and precipitation patterns may alter the composition and distribution of climax forests.
Aaron M. Ellison is an American ecologist,photographer,sculptor,and writer. He retired in July 2021 after 20 years as the senior research fellow in ecology at Harvard University and as a Senior Ecologist at the Harvard Forest. He also served as deputy director of the Harvard Forest from 2018 to 2021. Until 2018,he also was an adjunct research professor at the University of Massachusetts in the Departments of Biology and Environmental Conservation. Ellison has both authored and co-authored numerous scientific papers,books,book reviews and software reviews. For more than 30 years,Ellison has studied food-web dynamics and community ecology of wetlands and forests;the evolutionary ecology of carnivorous plants;the responses of plants and ants to global climate change;application of Bayesian statistical inference to ecological research and environmental decision-making;and the critical reaction of Ecology to Modernism. In 2012 he was elected a fellow of the Ecological Society of America. He was the editor-in-chief of Ecological Monographs from 2008 to 2015,was a senior editor of Methods in Ecology and Evolution from 2018-2021,and since 2021 has been the executive editor of Methods in Ecology and Evolution.
Ronald Nigh is an American ecological anthropologist focusing on Caribbean areas and the Maya region in Mesoamerica. Nigh is a professor and researcher at Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores en Anthropologia Social (CIESAS),where he continues his research on ecological anthropology.
Malwattage Celestine Violet Savitri Gunatilleke is professor emeritus at the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka's Central Province. She has had a long career in forest ecology and has been a leader in quantitative ecology and education. Most of her research has focused in the Sinharaja rain forest in Sri Lanka. She considers her main contribution to forest ecology to be spreading the idea that successful forest conservation depends on local conservationists. In line with this,she is proud of her students and their accomplishments in the field of conservation.
Julie Sloan Denslow is an American botanist,ecologist and biologist. She grew up in South Florida,and always loved nature. She graduated from Coral Gables Senior High School in 1960. She has contributed to the field of ecology through her work with and research of tropical ecosystems. Earlier in her career,she spent significant time in the field in tropical locations such as Costa Rica and Panama,as well as in temperate locations in Louisiana. and later on in her career she worked more in the office and classroom,but still spent the occasional day in the field. She has focused on research involving the ecology of exotic invasive plant species,and on ecosystem reactions and recovery following disturbances. Denslow is also a strong supporter of gender equality in the natural sciences,pushing for equal representation of women involved in tropical research and leadership during a 2007 Gender Committee Meeting within the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC). Her most notable contribution to tropical research is her paper "Gap Partitioning among Tropical Rainforest Trees",published in 1980.
John Jeffrey Ewel is an emeritus professor and tropical succession researcher in the department of biology at the University of Florida. Most of his research was conducted through experimental trials to understand ecosystem processes in terrestrial and tropical environments. The results of the research provided the ability to further comprehend forest structure and management,as well as its nutrient dynamics. The primary research conducted dealt with the beginning stages of the regrowth and recovery following agriculture practices. Ewel also participated in studies regarding invasive species and restoration ecology.
Jennifer S. Powers is an American ecologist and full professor in the departments of ecology,evolution and behavior,and plant and microbial biology at the University of Minnesota. Powers' research has advanced the understanding of global change consequences,ecosystem ecology,restoration and conservation of tropical dry forests. She also has been very active on several editorial boards,and in 2019 became the editor-in-chief of Biotropica,a scientific journal from the Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC).
Tana Elaine Wood is a biogeochemist and ecosystem scientist with a focus in land-use and climate change. Her research is focused on looking into how these issues affect tropical forested ecosystems and particularly focuses on soil science and below ground research efforts.
Winifred Hallwachs is an American tropical ecologist who helped to establish and expand northwestern Costa Rica's Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG). The work of Hallwachs and her husband Daniel Janzen at ACG is considered an exemplar of inclusive conservation.
Bette Ann Loiselle is an American neotropical ornithologist,neotropical ecologist,and conservation biologist.
Dialium guianense is a species of tree in the flowering plant family Fabaceae. The species occurs through North America,Central America and South America,and was an important source of food and wood for the ancient Mayans.
Liza Sheera Comita is an American ecologist and Professor of Tropical Forest Ecology in the School of the Environment at Yale University. Her research focuses on tropical tree species ecology and how spatial and temporal variation in early life-stages affects abundance and diversity of species in tropical forests.
Stacy Philpott is an American ecologist who is a professor at the University of California,Santa Cruz. Her research considers agroecology and the conservation of biodiversity. She was elected a Fellow of the Ecological Society of America in 2021.
The Tropical Wet Forests are a Level I ecoregion of North America designated by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in its North American Environmental Atlas. As the CEC consists only of Mexico,the United States,and Canada,the defined ecoregion does not extend outside these countries to Central America nor the Caribbean.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "2004–05 Faculty Member of the Year Award: Robin Chazdon". University of Connecticut. April 25, 2005. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- ↑ "Kenwood Notes". Chicago Hyde Park Herald. February 16, 1972. Retrieved July 29, 2021– via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Speaking of Sports". Hyde Park Herald. April 4, 1973. Retrieved July 29, 2021– via newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Million STEM: Robin Chazdon". Million STEM. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- ↑ "Interviews with the ATBC 2020 Honorary Fellows". Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. 2020. Retrieved July 20, 2021.
- 1 2 3 4 Pennisi, Elizabeth (August 21, 2015). "SECOND ACT" (PDF). Science Magazine. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ↑ "Robin Chazdon". Fulbright Scholar Program. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
- ↑ "President's Medal". British Ecological Society. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ↑ "Robin L. Chazdon CV" (PDF). Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- 1 2 Kimbrough, Liz (January 10, 2014). "Next big idea in forest conservation? Integrating forest conservation, use, and restoration". Mongabay. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ↑ Buckley, Christine (May 22, 2013). "Ecology Professor Receives Royal Summons to Join Scientific Committee". University of Connecticut. Retrieved July 29, 2021.
- 1 2 "Grantee 2015–16: ROBIN L. CHAZDON PH.D." National Geographic. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ↑ Miller, Samantha (December 1, 2021). "Six UConn researchers named amongst the world's most highly-cited researchers". The Daily Campus. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ↑ "Closing the gaps in restoration science, policy and practice". The Oxford Centre for Tropical Forests. October 30, 2020. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ↑ "Interviews with the ATBC 2020 Honorary Fellows". Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
- ↑ "Weicker proposal would loosen restraints on university budgets". Hartford Courant. February 3, 1991. Retrieved July 20, 2021– via newspapers.com.
- ↑ Hance, Jeremy (November 19, 2007). "Large-scale agriculture 'compromises' forest's ability to recover". Mongabay. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
