Degraded Forests in Eastern Africa

Degraded Forests in Eastern Africa
Author: Frans Bongers
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2010-09-23
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1136532358

Forest degradation as a result of logging, shifting cultivation, agriculture and urban development is a major issue throughout the tropics. It leads to loss in soil fertility, water resources and biodiversity, as well as contributes to climate change. Efforts are therefore required to try to minimize further degradation and restore tropical forests in a sustainable way. This is the first research-based book to examine this problem in East Africa. The specific focus is on the forests of Ethiopia, Tanzania and Uganda, but the lessons learned are shown to be applicable to neighbouring countries and others in the tropics. A wide range of forest types are covered, from dry Miombo forest and afromontane forests, to forest-savannah mosaics and wet forest types. Current management practices are assessed and examples of good practice presented. The role of local people is also emphasized. The authors describe improved management and restoration through silviculture, plantation forestry and agroforestry, leading to improvements in timber production, biodiversity conservation and the livelihoods of local people.

Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics

Indigenous Fruit Trees in the Tropics
Author: Festus K. Akinnifesi
Publisher: CABI
Total Pages: 458
Release: 2008
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1845931106

This book comprises 5 parts and 21 chapters discussing the domestication of indigenous fruit trees in Africa, Oceania, Latin America and Asia; and describes the biophysical and socio-economic aspects of Miombo fruit trees.

Non-Timber Forest Products in the Global Context

Non-Timber Forest Products in the Global Context
Author: Sheona Shackleton
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 289
Release: 2011-03-28
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 3642179835

This book provides a comprehensive, global synthesis of current knowledge on the potential and challenges associated with the multiple roles, use, management and marketing of non-timber forest products (NTFPs). There has been considerable research and policy effort surrounding NTFPs over the last two and half decades. The book explores the evolution of sentiments regarding the potential of NTFPs in promoting options for sustainable multi-purpose forest management, income generation and poverty alleviation. Based on a critical analysis of the debates and discourses it employs a systematic approach to present a balanced and realistic perspective on the benefits and challenges associated with NTFP use and management within local livelihoods and landscapes, supported with case examples from both the southern and northern hemispheres. This book covers the social, economic and ecological dimensions of NTFPs and closes with an examination of future prospects and research directions.

Living With the Trees of Life

Living With the Trees of Life
Author: Roger Leakey
Publisher: CABI
Total Pages: 280
Release: 2024-05-30
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1800624980

With our world torn by climate change, deforestation, land degradation, hunger, malnutrition, poverty, loss of wildlife habitat, zoonotic pandemics, illegal migration and social injustice, this book seeks to find a practical and pragmatic way forwards. Based on the author's extensive experience of tropical agriculture and forestry around the world, as well as his combination of practical and academic agricultural qualifications, the second edition of Living with the Trees of Life presents a unique and positive perspective on resolving these big global issues. It aims to identify principles, strategies, techniques, and skills to find a path through the maze of options for sustainable living in the tropics and subtropics. The book specifically draws heavily on a single case study which involved working to resolve the failure of tropical and subtropical agriculture to feed, sustain and support the needs of rural communities. To address the 'big picture' facing society, the work identified the traditionally important indigenous trees of tropical ecosystems - the trees of life - as a missing component of farming systems. These trees are keystones of the natural environment. Their products and critical ecological and social services have been overlooked by modern agriculture and should be recognized as the natural capital of the environment providing the very many day-to-day needs of local people. Many of today's big problems can be traced back to the breakdown of the natural, social and human capital of farming systems.

Tropical Fruit Tree Diversity

Tropical Fruit Tree Diversity
Author: Bhuwon Sthapit
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2016-05-12
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 131763621X

Farmers have developed a range of agricultural practices to sustainably use and maintain a wide diversity of crop species in many parts of the world. This book documents good practices innovated by farmers and collects key reviews on good practices from global experts, not only from the case study countries but also from Brazil, China and other parts of Asia and Latin America. A good practice for diversity is defined as a system, organization or process that, over time and space, maintains, enhances and creates crop genetic diversity, and ensures its availability to and from farmers and other users. Drawing on experiences from a UNEP-GEF project on "Conservation and Sustainable Use of Wild and Cultivated Tropical Fruit Tree Diversity for Promoting Livelihoods, Food Security and Ecosystem Services", with case studies from India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, the authors show how methods for identifying good practices are still evolving and challenges in scaling-up remain. They identify key principles effective as a strategy for mainstreaming good practice into development efforts. Few books draw principles and lessons learned from good practices. This book fills this gap by combining good practices from the research project on tropical fruit trees with chapters from external experts to broaden its scope and relevance.

Trees, tree genetic diversity and the livelihoods of rural communities in the tropics

Trees, tree genetic diversity and the livelihoods of rural communities in the tropics
Author: Dawson, I.K., Leakey, R., Place, F., Clement, C.R., Weber, J.C., Cornelius, J.P., Roshetko, J.M., Tchoundjeu, Z., Kalinganire, A., Masters, E., Orwa, C., McMullin, S., Kindt, R., Graudal, L. & Jamnadass, R.
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
Total Pages: 64
Release: 2020-12-30
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9251337586

This study, prepared within the ambit of The State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources, reviews what is known about the value of trees for tropical rural communities. It focuses on non-timber products harvested from trees in natural and managed forests and woodlands, the various products and services obtained from trees planted or retained in agroforestry systems, and the commercial products of tree commodity crops. The role of intra-specific genetic variation in determining the value of trees in supporting livelihoods is discussed in each of the three contexts. The study also identifies specific points that should be given particular attention in the future to better support tree-based livelihoods of rural communities in the tropics.

Regreening the Bare Hills

Regreening the Bare Hills
Author: David Lamb
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 560
Release: 2010-10-14
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9048198704

In Regreening the Bare Hills: Tropical Forest Restoration in the Asia-Pacific Region, David Lamb explores how reforestation might be carried out both to conserve biological diversity and to improve the livelihoods of the rural poor. While both issues have attracted considerable attention in recent years, this book takes a significant step, by integrating ecological and silvicultural knowledge within the context of the social and economic issues that can determine the success or failure of tropical forest landscape restoration. Describing new approaches to the reforestation of degraded lands in the Asia-Pacific tropics, the book reviews current approaches to reforestation throughout the region, paying particular attention to those which incorporate native species – including in multi-species plantations. It presents case studies from across the Asia-Pacific region and discusses how the silvicultural methods needed to manage these ‘new’ plantations will differ from conventional methods. It also explores how reforestation might be made more attractive to smallholders and how trade-offs between production and conservation are most easily made at a landscape scale. The book concludes with a discussion of how future forest restoration may be affected by some current ecological and socio-economic trends now underway. The book represents a valuable resource for reforestation managers and policy makers wishing to promote these new silvicultural approaches, as well as for conservationists, development experts and researchers with an interest in forest restoration. Combining a theoretical-research perspective with practical aspects of restoration, the book will be equally valuable to practitioners and academics, while the lessons drawn from these discussions will have relevance elsewhere throughout the tropics.

Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology

Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology
Author: Kelvin S.-H. Peh
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 721
Release: 2024-10-07
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1040130313

The Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology is an essential resource covering all aspects of forest ecology from a global perspective. This new edition has been fully revised and updated throughout to reflect the profound and unprecedented changes in both forests and climates since the publication of the first edition in 2015. The handbook reflects key developments in the field of forest dynamics and large-scale processes, as well as the changes that are now manifesting in different types of forests across the globe as a result of climate change. It covers both natural and managed forests, from boreal, temperate, sub-tropical and tropical regions of the world. In this second edition, the breadth of the handbook has been expanded with new chapters on mountain forests, monodominance, pathogens and invertebrate pests and amphibians and reptiles in forest ecosystems. Original author teams are complemented by the addition of new authors to offer fresh perspectives, and the second edition places greater emphasis on the applicability of each topic at a global level. The handbook is divided into seven parts: • Part I: The forest • Part II: Forest dynamics • Part III: Forest flora and fauna • Part IV: Energy and nutrients • Part V: Forest conservation and management • Part VI: Forest and climate change • Part VII: Human ecology The Routledge Handbook of Forest Ecology is an essential reference text for a wide range of students and scholars of ecology, environmental science, forestry, geography and natural resource management.