Natural regeneration in the context of large-scale forest and landscape restoration in the tropics

• Published in: Biotropica Vol. 48; no. 6; pp. 709 - 715
• Main Authors: Chazdon, Robin L., Uriarte, María
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Hoboken Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2016; Wiley; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Climate change; Climate change mitigation; Climate effects; Deforestation; Economics; Ecosystem integrity; ecosystem services; Environmental restoration; farms; financial economics; Food security; forest and landscape restoration; forest damage; Forest degradation; forest restoration; forests; human development; humans; INTRODUCTION; Land use; Landscape; landscape management; landscapes; livelihood; mosaic restoration; mosaico de restauração; natural regeneration; people; planting; regeneración natural espontanea; regeneração natural espontânea; restauración de mosaícos; restauración forestal a escala de paisaje; restauração em larga escala; restauração florestal e em paisagens florestais; servicios ecosistémicos; serviços ecossistêmicos; soil; spontaneous natural regeneration; sustainable land use; Tree planting; trees; Tropical environments; tropics; uso sustentable del paisaje; uso sustentável da terra; Water resources; wide-scale restoration
• ISSN: 0006-3606; 1744-7429
• DOI: 10.1111/btp.12409

Large-scale and long-term restoration efforts are urgently needed to reverse historical global trends of deforestation and forest degradation in the tropics. Restoration of forests within landscapes offers multiple social, economic, and environmental benefits that enhance lives of local people, mitigate effects of climate change, increase food security, and safeguard soil and water resources. Despite rapidly growing knowledge regarding the extent and feasibility of natural regeneration and the environmental and economic benefits of naturally regenerating forests in the tropics, tree planting remains the major focus of restoration programs. Natural regeneration is often ignored as a viable land-use option. Here, we assemble a set of 16 original papers that provide an overview of the ecological, economic, and social dimensions of forest and landscape restoration (FLR), a relatively new approach to forest restoration that aims to regain ecological integrity and enhance human well-being in deforested or degraded forest landscapes. The papers describe how spontaneous (passive) and assisted natural regeneration can contribute to achieving multiple social and ecological benefits. Forest and landscape restoration is centered on the people who live and work in the landscape and whose livelihoods will benefit and diversify through restoration activities inside and outside of farms. Given the scale of degraded forestland and the need to mitigate climate change and meet human development needs in the tropics, harnessing the potential of natural regeneration will play an essential role in achieving the ambitious goals that motivate global restoration initiatives.