학술논문
Considerations of the ecological foundation of natural forest management in the American tropics
Document Type
Technical Report
Author
Source
Subject
Language
English
Abstract
Natural forest management (NFM) is a land use in which commercially valuable forest products are extracted from forested areas in ways that allow retention of substantial canopy cover. This study identifies research needed to support NFM in the American tropics, with emphasis on silvicultural systems that encourage natural regeneration. The study first discusses the concept of natural resource sustainability and suggests ways in which it might be measured. Section two identifies several ecological areas critical to effective NFM in which, however, research has been slim: flower production and pollination; phenology; seed production; seed dispersal, predation, and germination; light and nutrient requirements, and responses to competition; harvesting schedules and yield estimates; seedling pathogens; susceptibility to mechanical damage; and cataclysmic disturbances.