Nocturnal ant integrates generalist pollination system in the Caatinga dry forest

Argentina is experiencing an expansion of soya and maize cultivation that is pushing the agricultural frontier over areas formerly occupied by native Chaco forest. Subsistance farmers use this dry forest to raise goats and cattle and to obtain a broad range of goods and services. Thus, two very different and non-compatible land uses are in dispute. On the one hand subsistance farmers fostering an extensive and diversified forest use, on the other hand, large-scale producers who need to clear out the forest to sow annual crops in order to appropriate soil fertility. First, the paper looks at how these social actors perceive Chaco forest, what their interests are, and what kind of values they attach to it. Second, we analyze the social-environmental conflicts that arise among actors in order to appropriate forest’s benefits. Special attention is paid to the role played by the government in relation to: (a) how does it respond to the demands of the different sectors; and (b) how it deals with the management recommendations produced by scientists carrying out social and ecological research. To put these ideas at test we focus on a case study located in Western Córdoba (Argentina), where industrial agriculture is expanding at a fast pace, and where social actors’ interests are generating a series of disputes and conflicts. Drawing upon field work, the paper shows how power alliances between economic and political powers, use the institutional framework of the State in their own benefit, disregarding wider environmental and social costs.

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Utilisation of wild growing yams as supplementary nutrition and its impact on the dry forest ecosystem in north-western Madagascar

Schweizerische Zeitschrift fur Forstwesen ◽

10.3188/szf.2004.0080 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 155 (3-4) ◽

pp. 80-88 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Klaus Ackermann

Keyword(s):

Forest Ecosystem ◽

Rainy Season ◽

Secondary Forest ◽

Local Population ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Dry Forests ◽

Supplementary Food ◽

Wild Yams ◽

Supplementary Nutrition ◽

North Western

Wild growing yams (Dioscorea spp.) are an important supplementary food in Madagascar, especially during periods of rice shortage in the rainy season. Yams grow in dry forests and there is a particularly high occurrence of yam tubers in recently burned, open secondary forest formations. The study found that the uncontrolled harvest of yams can contribute to the degradation of dry forests due to the high quantity of wild yams harvested by the local population and the widespread practice of intentionally burning forests to increase yams production.

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Hymenochaete cifuentesii, H. potosina, and H. raduloides spp. nov. from the tropical dry forest of Mexico

Mycotaxon ◽

10.5248/133.499 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 133 (3) ◽

pp. 499-512 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Magdalena Contreras-Pacheco ◽

Ricardo Valenzuela ◽

Tania Raymundo ◽

Leticia Pacheco

Keyword(s):

Tropical Dry Forest ◽

Dry Forest

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Soil Moisture Dynamics in Response to Precipitation and Thinning in a Semi-Dry Forest in Northern Mexico

Water ◽

10.3390/w13010105 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (1) ◽

pp. 105

Author(s):

Argelia E. Rascón-Ramos ◽

Martín Martínez-Salvador ◽

Gabriel Sosa-Pérez ◽

Federico Villarreal-Guerrero ◽

Alfredo Pinedo-Alvarez ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Forest Management ◽

Water Availability ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Rainfall Events ◽

Rainfall Characteristics ◽

Northern Mexico ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact ◽

Moisture Dynamics

Understanding soil moisture behavior in semi-dry forests is essential for evaluating the impact of forest management on water availability. The objective of the study was to analyze soil moisture based in storm observations in three micro-catchments (0.19, 0.20, and 0.27 ha) with similar tree densities, and subject to different thinning intensities in a semi-dry forest in Chihuahua, Mexico. Vegetation, soil characteristics, precipitation, and volumetric water content were measured before thinning (2018), and after 0%, 40%, and 80% thinning for each micro-catchment (2019). Soil moisture was low and relatively similar among the three micro-catchments in 2018 (mean = 8.5%), and only large rainfall events (>30 mm) increased soil moisture significantly (29–52%). After thinning, soil moisture was higher and significantly different among the micro-catchments only during small rainfall events (<10 mm), while a difference was not noted during large events. The difference before–after during small rainfall events was not significant for the control (0% thinning); whereas 40% and 80% thinning increased soil moisture significantly by 40% and 53%, respectively. Knowledge of the response of soil moisture as a result of thinning and rainfall characteristics has important implications, especially for evaluating the impact of forest management on water availability.

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Tree Species Diversity, Composition and Aboveground Biomass Across Dry Forest Land-Cover Types in Coastal Ecuador

Tropical Conservation Science ◽

10.1177/1940082921995415 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 194008292199541

Author(s):

Xavier Haro-Carrión ◽

Bette Loiselle ◽

Francis E. Putz

Keyword(s):

Species Diversity ◽

Land Cover ◽

Community Composition ◽

Aboveground Biomass ◽

Tree Species ◽

Dry Forest ◽

Stem Density ◽

Tree Species Diversity ◽

Land Cover Types ◽

Schizolobium Parahyba

Tropical dry forests (TDF) are highly threatened ecosystems that are often fragmented due to land-cover change. Using plot inventories, we analyzed tree species diversity, community composition and aboveground biomass patterns across mature (MF) and secondary forests of about 25 years since cattle ranching ceased (SF), 10–20-year-old plantations (PL), and pastures in a TDF landscape in Ecuador. Tree diversity was highest in MF followed by SF, pastures and PL, but many endemic and endangered species occurred in both MF and SF, which demonstrates the importance of SF for species conservation. Stem density was higher in PL, followed by SF, MF and pastures. Community composition differed between MF and SF due to the presence of different specialist species. Some SF specialists also occurred in pastures, and all species found in pastures were also recorded in SF indicating a resemblance between these two land-cover types even after 25 years of succession. Aboveground biomass was highest in MF, but SF and Tectona grandis PL exhibited similar numbers followed by Schizolobium parahyba PL, Ochroma pyramidale PL and pastures. These findings indicate that although species-poor, some PL equal or surpass SF in aboveground biomass, which highlights the critical importance of incorporating biodiversity, among other ecosystem services, to carbon sequestration initiatives. This research contributes to understanding biodiversity conservation across a mosaic of land-cover types in a TDF landscape.

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