This collection features four peer-reviewed reviews on restoring degraded forests.
The first chapter reviews the restoration of tropical forests, focusing specifically on forest landscape restoration (FLR). It addresses the importance of implementing FLR and provides two detailed case studies to demonstrate this. The chapter concludes with a discussion on the challenges and opportunities in taking FLR forwards.
The second chapter considers the importance of exploiting the genetics of tropical tree species for the restoration of tropical forests. The chapter identifies and reviews the available methods to measure genetic diversity and suitability for future plantation establishment, including field trials and molecular markers.
The third chapter provides an overview of ecosystem services delivered by tropical agroforestry systems (AFS). The chapter reviews practical approaches for trade-off analysis between ecosystem services and plant biodiversity for better design (or redesign), as well as the sustainable management of AFS.
The final chapter discusses how measuring, monitoring and managing the environmental impact of plantation operations are key components in sustainable palm oil production. The chapter examines the operational impacts of oil palm cultivation on biodiversity, as well as how oil palm production can be balanced to ensure forest conservation.
Chapter 1 - Forest landscape restoration (FLR) of tropical forests: Stephanie Mansourian, Mansourian.org/University of Geneva, Switzerland/IUFRO, Austria; 1 Introduction 2 Implementing forest landscape restoration (FLR) 3 Case studies 4 Challenges and opportunities in taking FLR forward 5 Conclusion 6 Where to look for further information 7 References Chapter 2 - Understanding and exploiting genetics of tropical tree species for restoration of tropical forests: Reiner Finkeldey, Kassel University, Germany; and Markus Müller, Carina Carneiro de Melo Moura and Oliver Gailing, University of Göttingen, Germany; 1 Introduction 2 Methods to measure genetic diversity: field trials and tree improvement 3 Methods to measure genetic diversity: molecular markers 4 DNA barcoding 5 Genetic studies to investigate reproductive systems 6 Case studies: figs, dipterocarps, teak and eucalypts 7 Summary and future trends 8 Where to look for further information 9 References Chapter 3 - Tropical agroforestry and ecosystem services: trade-off analysis for better design strategies: Rolando Cerda, CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza), Costa Rica; Luis Orozco-Aguilar, The University of Melbourne, Australia; Norvin Sepúlveda, CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza), Costa Rica; Jenny Ordoñez and Geovana Carreño-Rocabado, CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza) and World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), Costa Rica; and Freddy Amores, Willan Caicedo, Samuel Oblitas and Eduardo Somarriba, CATIE (Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza), Costa Rica; 1 Introduction 2 Overview on ecosystem services provided by tropical agroforestry 3 Practical approaches to assess trade-offs between different ecosystem services, and between ecosystem services and biodiversity 4 Case study: application of trade-off analysis to derive better design strategies for agroforestry systems 5 Acknowledgment 6 Where to look for further information 7 References Chapter 4 - Balancing oil palm cultivation with forest and biodiversity conservation: Carl Traeholt, South East Asia Programme Director, Copenhagen Zoo, Malaysia; 1 Introduction 2 Research methods 3 Measuring operational impacts on biodiversity 4 Measuring operational impacts on abiotic factors 5 Biological pest management 6 Results and discussion 7 Conclusion and future trends 8 Where to look for further information 9 References
