Management of montane secondary forests in Costa Rica: an environmentally-sound socioeconomic alternative?
In the montane forest belt (>2000 m alt.) of the Los Santos Forest Reserve in Costa Rica's Cordillera de Talamanca, the outcome of an assessment of current socioeconomic activities was integrated with baseline data from an ecological study carried out in primary and secondary oak forests. On the one han, socioeconomic and agroecologic results show that actual and use practices, including charcoal production, dairy cattleraising, potato cultivation and fruit-tree growing, are far from sustainable, as they induce forest clearing, soil compaction and erosion, water shortage and pollution through over-use of pesticides. At the same time reforestation activities at the farm level in the area are few and involve mainly exotic, soil-degrading tree species (e.g. Cupressus and Eucalyptus). On the other hand, plant ecological results show that abandoned pasturelands give way to a process of forest recovery (succession) leading to species-rich secondary forests, which sustain commercially valuable native woody species. For these reasons, the management of montane secondary forests is suggested as a more sustainable socioeconomic option. This alternative deserves our special attention as the management of these successional forests appears to be a low-cost and high-benefit option, because they can grow without much human labor: after clearing and burning, less than a decade of grazing and subsequent abandonment, a healthy forest recovery process is possible. Through this process, two complementary goals are achieved: i) ecosystem recovery and restoration of key ecological functions are stimulated, and ii) a new, natural resource with a socioeconomically high potential value is created. Thus, montane secondary forests can principally be used for timber and fuelwood production, while, at the same time, their vegetation cover protects the fragile soils against erosion features and restores the area's hydrological function. Moreover, montane secondary forests may form corridors connecting isolated fragments of pristine forest - a must for the survival of many animal species. As montane secondary forests grow older and become more mature, their usefulness can be improved by favouring desirable native tree species through thinning and enrichment. In the long run they may reduce the pressure on the undisturbed mature forests still abounding in the neighbouring Amistad Biosphere Reserve. The active participation of local people is of utmost importance to the success of such an (initially experimental) initiative.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | biblioteca |
| Published: |
San José (Costa Rica)
1994
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| Subjects: | BOSQUE SECUNDARIO, MANEJO FORESTAL, ASPECTOS SOCIOECONOMICOS, PARTICIPACION CAMPESINA, COSTA RICA, |
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| Summary: | In the montane forest belt (>2000 m alt.) of the Los Santos Forest Reserve in Costa Rica's Cordillera de Talamanca, the outcome of an assessment of current socioeconomic activities was integrated with baseline data from an ecological study carried out in primary and secondary oak forests. On the one han, socioeconomic and agroecologic results show that actual and use practices, including charcoal production, dairy cattleraising, potato cultivation and fruit-tree growing, are far from sustainable, as they induce forest clearing, soil compaction and erosion, water shortage and pollution through over-use of pesticides. At the same time reforestation activities at the farm level in the area are few and involve mainly exotic, soil-degrading tree species (e.g. Cupressus and Eucalyptus). On the other hand, plant ecological results show that abandoned pasturelands give way to a process of forest recovery (succession) leading to species-rich secondary forests, which sustain commercially valuable native woody species. For these reasons, the management of montane secondary forests is suggested as a more sustainable socioeconomic option. This alternative deserves our special attention as the management of these successional forests appears to be a low-cost and high-benefit option, because they can grow without much human labor: after clearing and burning, less than a decade of grazing and subsequent abandonment, a healthy forest recovery process is possible. Through this process, two complementary goals are achieved: i) ecosystem recovery and restoration of key ecological functions are stimulated, and ii) a new, natural resource with a socioeconomically high potential value is created. Thus, montane secondary forests can principally be used for timber and fuelwood production, while, at the same time, their vegetation cover protects the fragile soils against erosion features and restores the area's hydrological function. Moreover, montane secondary forests may form corridors connecting isolated fragments of pristine forest - a must for the survival of many animal species. As montane secondary forests grow older and become more mature, their usefulness can be improved by favouring desirable native tree species through thinning and enrichment. In the long run they may reduce the pressure on the undisturbed mature forests still abounding in the neighbouring Amistad Biosphere Reserve. The active participation of local people is of utmost importance to the success of such an (initially experimental) initiative. |
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