Ecology

Programming language

Disturbance (geology)

Soil fertility

Tropics

Agroforestry

Population

Biomass (ecology)

Demography

Computer science

Soil water

Seed dispersal

Biology

Ecosystem

Pathology

Sociology

Environmental science

Paleontology

Forest restoration

Biological dispersal

Medicine

Forest ecology

Soil science

Vegetation (pathology)

Deforestation (computer science)

Perspectives in Plant Ecology Evolution and Systematics

Land-use history interacts with natural forces to influence the severity of disturbance events and the rate and nature of recovery processes in tropical forests. Although we are far from an integrated view of forest recovery processes, some generalizations can be made. Recovery of forest structure and composition is relatively rapid following disturbances that primarily impact forest canopies, such as hurricanes. Recovery is considerably slower following disturbances that heavily impact soils as well as aboveground vegetation, such as bulldozing, heavy or long-term grazing, and severe fires, often with long-lasting effects on species composition. The landscape matrix plays a critical role in local recovery processes. Proximity of disturbed areas to remnant forest patches promotes more rapid recovery, which depends heavily on seed dispersal. Recovery of aboveground biomass is constrained by soil fertility and texture across regions as well as across soil types within a region. Restoration of soil fertility may...

Tropical forest recovery: legacies of human impact and natural disturbances