Historical patterns of natural forest management in Costa Rica: The good, the bad and the Ugly

J P Arroyo-Mora; S Svob; M Kalacska; Robin L Chazdon

doi:10.3390/f5071777

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Historical patterns of natural forest management in Costa Rica: The good, the bad and the Ugly

Journal article

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Historical patterns of natural forest management in Costa Rica: The good, the bad and the Ugly

J P Arroyo-Mora, S Svob, M Kalacska and Robin L Chazdon

Forests, Vol.5(7), pp.1777-1797

2014

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/f5071777

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Abstract

selective logging

natural forest management

historical patterns

forest sustainability

REDD+

Costa Rica

We present an in-depth analysis of natural forest management practices in Costa Rica based on a new historical forestry GIS database encompassing five conservation regions in the country where selective logging has been prevalent for the last 18 years. Natural forest management refers to the selective logging practices for the production of timber in natural forest ecosystems. The study considers natural forest management plans developed following a standardized format, based on Forestry Law 7575, established in 1996. Our results show a positive aspect of forest management where a large percentage of the managed forest is still standing, contrary to other tropical countries where selective logging promotes land use change. The negative finding is that managed forest areas occur in the last remaining forest fragments outside of protected areas, which challenges the continuity of selective logging in the near and mid future due to the potential impoverishment of the isolated forest stands. The most negative aspect is the recent establishment, by law, of a very short return logging cycle (10-15 years-minimum cutting cycle) as it contradicts ecological studies showing that tropical forests require over 60 years for the forest structure and composition to return to a state similar to pre-logging states. Our results should inform decision makers and managers in conservation areas to review current policies and establish new benchmarks for sustainable forest management in the country. © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Details

Title: Historical patterns of natural forest management in Costa Rica: The good, the bad and the Ugly
Authors: J P Arroyo-Mora (Author) - McGill University, Canada
S Svob (Author) - McGill University, Canada
M Kalacska (Author) - McGill University, Canada
Robin L Chazdon (Author) - University of Connecticut, United States
Publication details: Forests, Vol.5(7), pp.1777-1797
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2014
DOI: 10.3390/f5071777
ISSN: 1999-4907
Copyright note: Copyright © 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/).
Organisation Unit: Tropical Forests and People Research Centre; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Forest Research Institute
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99451039902621
Output Type: Journal article

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Forestry

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