Download or read book Ecology of an African Rain Forest written by Thomas T. Struhsaker and published by . This book was released on 1999-02-01 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A unique book that is likely to become a benchmark for those who wish to save the rain forests through sustainable logging practices. Its uniqueness lies in the author's collection of long-term data (up to 25 years) on both plants and animals in the same site, the Kibale forest in Uganda. . . . Very highly recommended for libraries specializing in ecology, environmental science, forestry, and rain forests."--Choice "A much-needed volume that will be of interest to a wide audience, written by a leader in the field, and one with an international reputation. The current rosy advocacy for 'sustainable development' needs a wake-up call, and this is it. This volume combines some of the hottest topics in conservation science today into a cohesive whole that looks clear-eyed into the face of modern conservation in the tropics and finds it frighteningly lacking in scientific underpinning, rational consideration, and effective implementation."--Truman Young, University of California at Davis Thomas Struhsaker summarizes 20 years of research in the Kibale forest in Uganda, one of the most important centers for the study of tropical rain forests in Africa. Among the longest ongoing projects in rain forest ecology anywhere, Struhsaker's differs from the great majority of logging studies by emphasizing the fauna rather than looking only at the commercially valuable timber species. By providing long-term data on a variety of plants and animals, it offers the first truly in-depth synthesis of the consequences of selective logging in the tropics. The main body of the book demonstrates the adverse effects of logging--as many as 25 years after the event--on community structure and numerous other aspects of forest ecology. Although much has been claimed for the possibilities of sustainable logging in tropical rain forests, few data support these claims. Struhsaker demonstrates that future logging must be done at far lower intensities than is currently practiced if intact ecosystems are to be maintained. He also offers detailed recommendations for harvest plans compatible with the conservation of biodiversity and ecological integrity. The long-term data summarized here on the population dynamics of rain forest trees, primates, rodents, duikers, and elephants are unrivaled and will be widely cited, as will the data on seasonality, tree phrenology, gap dynamics, rainfall, and temperature. Struhsaker addresses the underlying causes of tropical deforestation and concludes that although there are numerous proximate factors, the ultimate causes are rapidly increasing human populations and rates of consumption per capita. He draws comparisons with relevant studies elsewhere in the tropics and offers specific recommendations to address the problems. Thomas T. Struhsaker has conducted field research in Africa over a period of 34 years. From 1970 through 1987 he established, developed, and directed the field research station in Kibale, Uganda. He maintains an active role in Kibale today and is a research scientist in the Department of Biological Anthropology and Anatomy at Duke University. His publications include The Red Colobus Monkey (1975) and more than 80 scientific and popular articles and technical reports on ecology, conservation, and animal behavior.

Download or read book The Rainforests of West Africa written by MARTIN and published by Birkhäuser. This book was released on 2013-11-11 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nowhere eise in the world did industrialized countries leave such early marks in the rainforest as in West Africa. Past and present developments here are in one way or the other significant for rainforests on other continents as weil. West Africa is a pioneer in both a good and a bad sense. This is reason enough to take a closer Iook at the history of moist tropical West Africa. Until recently, no one really seemed to be interested in the rainforests except for a few specialists. The world's scientific community neglected to study the incalculable riches of tropical forests, to make the public aware of them and their due importance. Although interdisciplinary research has been a popular topic for some decades now, it was not applied to just the most complex habitat on earth. Scientists from all fields studied only that which was easiest to record, seemingly blind to a myriad of details awaiting closer examination. Botanists wentabout establishing their herbariums and paid much too little attention to the vegetation as a whole, or to the significance of useful plants for local populations. Zoologists, too, busied themselves with collecting and describing species. Anthropologists, on the other hand, tended to overlook faunal details: in their ignorance of the animal world, they wrote of tigers and deer in Africa. And finally, foresters saw neither the forest nor the trees for the timber - and even confused rainforests with monocultures of fir trees.

Download or read book Woody Plants of Western African Forests written by William Hawthorne and published by Royal Botanic Gardens Kew. This book was released on 2006 with total page 1046 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A guide to the identification of all the woody plants (c. 2,250 species in 740 genera) of the forest region of West Africa called 'Upper Guinea', between Togo and Senegal. Upper Guinea is one of the world's most important centres of biodiversity, from the mountain forests of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone, to the lowland evergreen, and semideciduous forests widespread also in Ghana and Ivory Coast. This comprehensively illustrated guide will play a vital supportive role in the challenge of sustainable development within the forest region of West Africa, helping to promote best practice in the management of its plants and forests.

Download or read book Forestry and Water Conservation in South Africa written by Brett Bennett and published by ANU Press. This book was released on 2015-11-11 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This innovative interdisciplinary study focuses on the history, science, and policy of tree planting and water conservation in South Africa. South Africa’s forestry sector has sat—often controversially—at the crossroads of policy and scientific debates regarding water conservation, economic development, and biodiversity protection. Bennett and Kruger show how debates about the hydrological impact of exotic tree planting in South Africa shaped the development of modern scientific ideas and state policies relating to timber plantations, water conservation, invasive species control, and biodiversity management within South Africa as well as elsewhere in the world. Forestry and Water Conservation in South Africa shows how scientific research on the impact of exotic and native vegetation led to the development of a comprehensive national policy for conserving water, producing timber, and protecting indigenous species from invasive alien plants. Policies and laws relating to forests and water began to change in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a result of political and administrative changes within South Africa. This book suggests that the country’s contemporary policies towards timber plantations, guided by the National Water Act of 1998, need to be reconsidered in light of the authors’ findings. Bennett and Kruger also call for more interdisciplinary research and greater emphasis on integrated policies and management plans for forestry, invasive alien plants, water conservation, and biodiversity preservation.

Download or read book The Dry Forests and Woodlands of Africa written by Emmanuel N. Chidumayo and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2010 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The dry forests and woodlands of Sub-Saharan Africa are major ecosystems, with a broad range of strong economic and cultural incentives for keeping them intact. However, few people are aware of their importance, compared to tropical rainforests, despite them being home to more than half of the continent's population. This unique book brings together scientific knowledge on this topic from East, West, and Southern Africa and describes the relationships between forests, woodlands, people and their livelihoods. Dry forest is defined as vegetation dominated by woody plants, primarily trees, the canopy of which covers more than 10 per cent of the ground surface, occurring in climates with a dry season of three months or more. This broad definition - wider than those used by many authors - incorporates vegetation types commonly termed woodland, shrubland, thicket, savanna, wooded grassland, as well as dry forest in its strict sense. The book provides a comparative analysis of management experiences from the different geographic regions, emphasizing the need to balance the utilization of dry forests and woodland products between current and future human needs. Further, the book explores the techniques and strategies that can be deployed to improve the management of African dry forests and woodlands for the benefit of all, but more importantly, the communities that live off these vegetation formations. Thus, the book lays a foundation for improving the management of dry forests and woodlands for the wide range of products and services they provide.

Download or read book The Biodiversity of African Plants written by Xander van der Maesen and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2012-12-06 with total page 864 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Proceedings of the XIVth AETFAT Congress, 22-27 August 1994, Wageningen, the Netherlands

Download or read book Forests And Forest Plants Volume I written by John N. Owens and published by EOLSS Publications. This book was released on 2009-02-24 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forests and Forest Plants is a component of Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Forests are an essential part of Earth's life support systems. Forest resources are essential for humankind. They provide both vital goods and services. They provide food, fuel, shelter, soil and water protection, and filter the air we breathe. This publication on Forest and Forest Plants provides the user with such information as to create an awareness of the value of our forestlands and the products and environmental services they provide. The three volumes on Forests and Forest Plants are organized starting with first the necessity of : the World's Forest Resources – including classification and distribution of forest, urban forestry and agroforestry; Important Tree Species including trees in reclamation and arid zone forestry; Forests and Forest Products including wood and non word products; the Role of Forests in the Biosphere – preserving biological diversity, functions in the hydrological cycle, etc.; and Conservation and Breeding of Forest Trees – what is being done to improve our forest resources - silviculture, tree nurseries, and forest protection. The theme Forest and Forest Plants has led to the conclusion that there are substantial difficulties in matching environmental concerns and sustainability with an ever-increasing world population. Thus there is a tension between maximizing for food, wood and production on the one hand and implementing sustainable development and environmental protection on the other. These three volumes are aimed at the following five major target audiences: University and College Students Educators, Professional Practitioners, Research Personnel and Policy Analysts, Managers, and Decision Makers, NGOs and GOs.

Download or read book Degraded Forests in Eastern Africa written by Frans Bongers and published by Earthscan. This book was released on 2010-09-23 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book The Conservation Atlas of Tropical Forests written by Jeffrey Sayer and published by Springer. This book was released on 1992-06-18 with total page 287 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recognizing that sound information is vital to the progress of conservation, IUCN have gathered together a visual portfolio of maps of rain forests in Africa. The accompanying text analyzes the extent and causes of deforestation and points a way towards sustainable forest development.

Download or read book Indigenous Forests and Woodlands in South Africa written by Michael John Lawes and published by University of Kwazulu Natal Press. This book was released on 2004 with total page 904 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book represents a defining synthesis of the use and socio-economic value of timber and non-timber resources from indigenous forests and woodlands in South Africa. It provides an up-to-date review of current research and thinking on policies and practices affecting these two biomes. Since 1994, there has been a paradigm shift in the approach to the management of forest and woodland resources, with a move away from former "preservationist" policies and an increased emphasis on the sustainable extractive use of natural resources, particularly by rural communities. A growing recognition of the potential value that these resources hold for local economies and livelihoods has been accompanied by the restructuring of national institutions governing forests and woodlands, and a number of new policies for integrated management.

Download or read book Sustainable Management of Tropical Forests in Central Africa written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2003 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This publication contains 14 case studies which detail successful examples of sustainable forest management practices identified and demonstrate the evolution of the forest sector in Central Africa. This is part of an initiative, undertaken within the framework of the FAO/Netherlands Partnership Programme and in close collaboration with regional and international organisations, to highlight the numerous efforts undertaken in forest management over the last 20 years to promote all aspects of sustainable development.

Download or read book The Forest An African Traditional Definition written by Ekpe Inyang and published by African Books Collective. This book was released on 2015-04-02 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Forest: An African Traditional Definition is aimed at providing the conservationist with some basic ideas as to which cultural areas to explore (using a few African culturesfrom some ecologically and culturally rich forest zones of Cameroon that has earned the description of Africa in miniature due to its diversity and representativeness of ecological and cultural landscape that reflect the continentfor illustration) in order to direct him or her to the appropriate beliefs and customs that could be exploited in favour of conservation. There is no overemphasising that most, if not all, African cultures have at least some rudimentary aspects of conservation in the modern sense. These aspects constitute the strong colours that could be used to create an indelible picture of the importance of conservation on the continent.

Download or read book Medicinal Plants for Forest Conservation and Health Care written by Bodeker and published by Daya Books. This book was released on 2005 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume is a collection of papers by experts in medicinal plants, presented to help clarify the many policy and technical issues associated with the conservation, use, production and trade of medicinal plants. The publication draws attention to the huge contribution of medicinal plants to traditional and modern health care system. It also alerts readers on the many problems and challenges facing their sustainable development. Subjects covered include assessment and management of the medicinal plant resource base; best harvesting and processing practices; trade issues; and intellectual property rights regarding traditional medicines of indigenous peoples. This documents will help raise awareness of medicinal plants as an important forest resource and will help ensure that medicinal plants are adequately included in forest conservation and utilization programmes. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction by G C Bodeker; Part I: General Articles covering Global Issues; Forest based medicines in traditional and cosmopolitan health care by A P Van Seters, Enthnobotanical research and traditional health care in developing countries by M Balick and P A Cox, Between a rock and a hard place: Indigenous peoples, nation states and the multinationals by G Dutfield, Industrial utilisation of medicinal plants in developing countries by T de Silva, Trade in Medicinal Plants by S E Kuipers, Medicinal plant information database by K K S Bhat; Part II: Articles on Regional Aspects of Medicinal Plants Use; Biodiversity-People Interface in Nepal by N Bhattarai, Beyond the Biodiversity convention-the challenges facing the bio-cultural heritage of india s medicinal plants by D Shankar and B Majumdar, A biocultural medicinal plants conservation project in Sri Lanka by L de Alwis, utilisation and conservation of medicinal plants in China with special reference to Atractylides lancea by S-A He and N Sheng, An Africa-wide overview of medicinial plant harvesting, conservation and health care by A B Cunningham, Biodiversity conservation and the application of Amazonian medicinal plants in the control of malaria by W Milliken, Bulgarian model for regulating the trade in plant material for medicinal and other purposes by D Lange and M Mladenova, Phytomedicinal forest harvest in the United States by J A Duke.

Download or read book Biodiversity of Vegetation and Flora in Tropical Africa written by Lúıs Catarino and published by MDPI. This book was released on 2020-12-03 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: African ecosystems comprise a wealthy repository of biodiversity, with a high proportion of native and endemic plant species, which makes them biologically unique and providers of a wide range of ecosystem services. A large part of African populations, in both rural and urban areas, depend on plants for their survival and welfare, but many ecosystems are being degraded, mostly due to the growing impacts of climate change and other anthropogenic actions and environmental problems. Loss of habitat and biodiversity affects livelihoods, water supply and food security and reduces the resilience of ecosystems in the African continent. The knowledge about the great African plant and ecosystem diversity, and the structure, composition and processes involved in vegetation dynamics, is crucial to promote their sustainable use and to preserve one of the most understudied regions in the world. This Special Issue aimed to gather contributions that update and improve such knowledge.

Download or read book Science and Conservation in African Forests written by Richard Wrangham and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-08-14 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forests need apes as much as the apes need the forests. They are the gardeners of the forest - keystone species in the ecology of African and Southeast Asian forests, dispersing seeds, creating light gaps and pruning branch-tips whilst feeding. Their habitat comprises two of the planet's three major tropical forest blocks that are essential for global climate regulation. But the economic pressures that are destroying ape habitats are much greater than current available conservation finance. This unique case study from the Kibale national park illustrates how biological research has had diverse consequences for conservation. It examines effects on habitat management, community relations, ecotourism and training. Lessons learned from this project over the last 20 years will inspire researchers and conservationists to work together to promote biodiversity through field projects.

Download or read book Biodiversity of West African Forests written by Lourens Poorter and published by CABI. This book was released on 2004 with total page 527 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The rain forests of West Africa have been designated as one of the world's hotspots of biodiversity. This book focuses on the biodiversity and ecology of these forests. It analyses the factors that give rise to biodiversity and the structure of tropical plant communities. It includes an atlas with ecological profiles of 280 rare plant species and 56 large timber species, each with a one page entry including a colour photograph and distribution map.

Download or read book Forest Conservation in the East Usambara Mountains Tanzania written by IUCN Tropical Forest Programme and published by IUCN. This book was released on 1989 with total page 410 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: