Application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a Humid Tropical Forest

Although there is an increasing concern about the suitability of timber extraction in tropical forests, the vulnerability of tree populations to logging has been scarcely assessed. In an attempt to improve the management of natural forests in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica, I developed a vulne...

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Autor principal: Valverde, Oscar J.
Formato: Online
Idioma:spa
Publicado: Editorial Tecnológica de Costa Rica 2012
Acceso en línea:https://revistas.tec.ac.cr/index.php/kuru/article/view/511
id KURU511
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spelling KURU5112015-12-16T03:18:50Z Application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a Humid Tropical Forest Valverde, Oscar J. Biological conservation Tropical forest management Timber production Tree populations Although there is an increasing concern about the suitability of timber extraction in tropical forests, the vulnerability of tree populations to logging has been scarcely assessed. In an attempt to improve the management of natural forests in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica, I developed a vulnerability index considering ecological and socio - economical traits for 60 timber species consumed in local markets. In addition, I compared the timber harvest and economical profit between the traditional forest extraction scenario and the proposed assessment, which included harvest reduction for vulnerable and highly vulnerable species. The analysis of the species' ecological traits demonstrated that the floristic composition in the study area had a higher proportion of dioecious species than previous estimations in the area. Most of the tree species depend on vertebrates for seed dispersal and open areas for establishment. Most of them had a large geographic distribution with only eight endemic species to Costa Rica and only ten species qualified as highly-valuable wood. The assessment characterized 31 species as vulnerable and seven as highly vulnerable to timber extraction. Lower harvest rates for vulnerable species and no extraction for the highly vulnerable group would mean 16% reduction of the timber harvest in comparison with the traditional approach but almost 40% decrease on the net profit, highlighting the importance that vulnerable species have in forest management profitability. Editorial Tecnológica de Costa Rica 2012-11-25 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion application/pdf https://revistas.tec.ac.cr/index.php/kuru/article/view/511 Revista Forestal Mesoamericana Kurú; Vol. 3 Núm. 8 (2006); pág. 1-15 2215-2504 spa https://revistas.tec.ac.cr/index.php/kuru/article/view/511/438
institution Tecnológico de Costa Rica
collection Revista Forestal Mesoamaericana
language spa
format Online
author Valverde, Oscar J.
spellingShingle Valverde, Oscar J.
Application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a Humid Tropical Forest
author_facet Valverde, Oscar J.
author_sort Valverde, Oscar J.
description Although there is an increasing concern about the suitability of timber extraction in tropical forests, the vulnerability of tree populations to logging has been scarcely assessed. In an attempt to improve the management of natural forests in the Caribbean lowlands of Costa Rica, I developed a vulnerability index considering ecological and socio - economical traits for 60 timber species consumed in local markets. In addition, I compared the timber harvest and economical profit between the traditional forest extraction scenario and the proposed assessment, which included harvest reduction for vulnerable and highly vulnerable species. The analysis of the species' ecological traits demonstrated that the floristic composition in the study area had a higher proportion of dioecious species than previous estimations in the area. Most of the tree species depend on vertebrates for seed dispersal and open areas for establishment. Most of them had a large geographic distribution with only eight endemic species to Costa Rica and only ten species qualified as highly-valuable wood. The assessment characterized 31 species as vulnerable and seven as highly vulnerable to timber extraction. Lower harvest rates for vulnerable species and no extraction for the highly vulnerable group would mean 16% reduction of the timber harvest in comparison with the traditional approach but almost 40% decrease on the net profit, highlighting the importance that vulnerable species have in forest management profitability.
title Application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a Humid Tropical Forest
title_short Application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a Humid Tropical Forest
title_full Application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a Humid Tropical Forest
title_fullStr Application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a Humid Tropical Forest
title_full_unstemmed Application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a Humid Tropical Forest
title_sort application of a timber extraction vulnerability index in a humid tropical forest
publisher Editorial Tecnológica de Costa Rica
publishDate 2012
url https://revistas.tec.ac.cr/index.php/kuru/article/view/511
work_keys_str_mv AT valverdeoscarj applicationofatimberextractionvulnerabilityindexinahumidtropicalforest
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