Effects of pasture management on the natural regeneration of neotropical trees

Natural regeneration of forest trees in grazed pastures could potentially contribute to theconservation of tree diversity within the fragmented and agricultural landscapes that dominatemuch of the tropics. To understand this potential, we evaluated the effects of several widely usedpasture management practices on tree regeneration in pastures in a tropical dry forest (subhumid)region of central Nicaragua. Species richness, density, diversity and composition of seedlings, saplings and adult trees werecompared in 46 pastures under different management conditions. The management conditionsincluded three different types of grasses (Brachiaria spp., Cynodon spp. and naturalized pastures)and two categories of fire history (recently burnt and not recently burnt). Thirty-seven of the 85 tree species present in the pastures were regenerated under the currentmanagement conditions. The remaining 48 species may have had reduced natural regenerationbecause of limitations in either germination, dispersal, establishment or growth, as well as becauseof negative effects of pasture management practices. The richness, density and species composition of tree seedlings within pastures were explainedby grass species composition, the density and richness of adult trees, cattle management and thedistance of the pasture to forest. In contrast, no clear effect of fire history was found. Synthesis and applications. Current management practices allow the regeneration of almost halfof the tree species in grazed pastures. However, to enhance the regeneration of species that showlimited regeneration, management strategies, such as the retention of adult trees, protection ofsaplings and seedlings from weeding and grazing and use of enrichment plantings, may benecessary. These changes in pasture management would help contribute to the long-termconservation of tree diversity within agricultural landscapes across the tropics.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	65813 Esquivel, M.J., 76351 Harvey, Celia Alice, Finegan, Bryan 1, Casanoves, Fernando 54865, 119630 Skarpe, C.
Format:	biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	Londres, Reino Unido British Ecological Society 2008
Subjects:	BRACHIARIA, CYNODON, BOSQUE TROPICAL, REGENERACION, TIERRAS DE PASTOS, COMPOSICION BOTANICA, BIODIVERSIDAD, SEMILLAS, INCENDIOS FORESTALES, HISTORIA NATURAL, NICARAGUA,
Online Access:	http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2007.01411.x/abstract
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