Forest Recovery After Selective Logging in the Ipetí-Emberá Community Adrian Burrill and Stephanie Garbe of Mcgill University ENVR 451
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Forest Recovery after Selective Logging in the Ipetí- Emberá Community La Recuperación del Bosque después de la Tala Selectiva en la Comunidad de Ipetí-Emberá Adrian Burrill1 and Stephanie Garbe2 McGill University ENVR 451 1Facutly of Science, Department of Biology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada 2Faculty of Science, McGill School of Environment, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada Submitted to Professor Rafael Samudio and Professor Roberto Ibanez In collaboration with OUDCIE and Ignacia Holmes April 26, 2010 - 1 - TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY _______________________________________________ 4 RESUMEN EXECUTIVA ________________________________________________ 6 INTRODUCTION ______________________________________________________ 8 Study Site ____________________________________________________________ 8 Host Institutions ________________________________________________________ 9 Host Insititutions‟ Contact Informtaion ______________________________________ 10 Reducing Emission from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries _ 10 Scope of Long Term Project ______________________________________________ 11 Selective Logging _____________________________________________________ 12 OBJECTIVES _________________________________________________________ 14 METHODOLOGY _____________________________________________________ 15 Gaining Scope of the Project ______________________________________________ 15 Ethical Considerations __________________________________________________ 16 Gap/Road/Tree Inventory ________________________________________________ 17 Disturbance Inventory __________________________________________________ 19 Characterizing Gaps ____________________________________________________ 19 Collection Historical and Future Knowledge of Logging Projects ___________________ 20 Providing Recommendations for Future Research_______________________________ 21 - 2 - Limitations to Gaining Scope of the Project ___________________________________ 21 RESULTS ____________________________________________________________ 22 Gap/Road/Tree Inventory _______________________________________________ 22 Disturbance Inventory __________________________________________________ 26 Characterizing Gaps ____________________________________________________ 26 Collecting Historical and Future Knowledgeof Logging Projects ____________________ 30 Providing Recommendations for Future Research_______________________________ 30 Limitations to Collecting and Analyzing Data _________________________________ 37 Limitations to Recommendations and Considerations ____________________________ 38 DISCUSSION _________________________________________________________ 39 Implications for the Community and REDD ___________________________________ 41 CONCLUSION ________________________________________________________ 42 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ______________________________________________ 42 REFERENCES ________________________________________________________ 44 APPENDICES ________________________________________________________ 46 Appendix I – Gap Measurements Diagrams ___________________________________ 46 Appendix II – Gap Characterization Charts ___________________________________ 51 Appendix III – Table of Project Working Days ________________________________ 84 Appendix IV – Product for OUDCIE ________________________________________ 84 - 3 - EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Forest Recovery after Selective Logging in the Ipetí-Emberá Community Adrian Burrill and Stephanie Garbe of McGill University ENVR 451 Host Institution: OUDCIE Ipetí-Emberá, Provincia de Panama 333-0803 McGill University with Ignacia Holmes 845 Sherbrooke St West, Montreal, QC, Canada Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Roosvelt Ave. Balboa, Ancón Panamá 507 212- 8000 Ipetí-Emberá is an indigenous community located west of Panama City in the Bayano watershed region. The communal land, a Tierra Colectiva, comprises 3145 ha, within which a small scale selective logging project took place in a 31.92 ha region called Ambroya 2 between February and April 2009. Selective logging is the process of removing isolated, mature trees of preferred timber species for the purpose of selling. Its practice has increased in Latin America in recent years as a valuable source of income for small scale land holders, and it has been recognized as a more sustainable alternative to traditional clear cutting logging practices. However, concerns have arisen over the true impacts on the forest and its subsequent recovery following a selective logging event, and little is known on the regeneration of commercial timber species. Also, few studies have been conducted on the effect of this logging practice on different types of disturbances, for example gaps and logging roads left behind in the forest. This project aims to set the foundation for a long term monitoring initiative investigating forest re-growth in forest canopy gaps and logging roads after selective logging in Ambroya 2. On a large scale, the goal of the study will be to create a model of the area before and after logging with respect to carbon levels, investigating the compatibility of small scale selective logging with the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) program in the Ipetí-Emberá community. To initiate such a plan, solid baseline information is required for future reference and comparison. The goals of this particular venture are to compile an inventory of the forest gaps and roads, and to qualitatively collect ecological characteristics of each gap. To complete an inventory of all disturbances, the total area of all gaps and roads was required to determine the overall disturbance level. For gaps, area was calculated from previously collected data and measurements taken in the field. For roads, ArcGIS data was analyzed to obtain area. Characterization of the gaps involved making standardized field observations on biotic and abiotic factors of each gap. This data will be used for comparison in the future and to look at the relationship between these environmental factors and a particular gap‟s regeneration of timber species, and to look at the differences in forest recovery between roads and gaps. The obtained results showed a total disturbance level of 9.9% of the entire Ambroya 2 area, and a high level of re-growth in gaps after logging one year ago. Further study will - 4 - be required to analyze in depth the recovery of this forest, including species composition over time, seedling and sapling recruitment and canopy cover, among others. This paper recommends methodologies for laying plots for future surveying. Results of this initiated project will be informative on many different levels, including the capacity of commercially and culturally important tree species to sufficiently recover from logging activity and the ability to adopt a REDD-compatible carbon stock program in the community. They will provide reference for environmental impacts of future selective logging projects, and could influence the decision making process for their plans. In conclusion, this study is the beginning of a long term monitoring scheme linking the community‟s necessary use of the forest and an attempt to promote sustainable forestry practices. - 5 - RESUMEN EJECUTIVO La Recuperación del Bosque Después de la Tala Selectiva en la Comunidad de Ipetí- Emberá Adrian Burrill y Stephanie Garbe de la Universidad de McGill ENVR 451 Institución anfitriona: OUDCIE Ipetí-Emberá, Provincia de Panamá 333-0803 Universidad de McGill con Ignacia Holmes 845 Sherbrooke St West, Montreal, QC, Canadá Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Roosvelt Ave. Balboa, Ancón Panamá 507 212- 8000 Ipetí-Emberá es una comunidad ubicada al este de la Ciudad de Panamá en la región de Bayano. La tierra comunal, una Tierra Colectiva, comprende 3145 ha, dentro de la cual un proyecto de tala de pequeña escala se llevó a cabo en una región que se llama Ambroya 2 entre febrero y abril 2009. La tala selectiva es el proceso de retirar los árboles más grandes y aislados del bosque de las especies de madera preferidas para vender. Su uso se ha incrementado en Latinoamérica en los últimos años como una valiosa fuente de ingreso para los terratenientes de pequeña escala, y se ha reconocido como una alternativa más sostenible que las prácticas tradicionales de tala. Sin embargo, han surgido problemas sobre los impactos en el bosque y su recuperación después de un evento de tala selectiva, y poco es conocido sobre la recuperación de las especies de madera comerciales. Además, pocas investigaciones se han realizado sobre el impacto de este método de tala sobre los diferentes tipos de perturbaciones, por ejemplo los hoyos en el bosque creados por los árboles cortados y los caminos de tala. Este proyecto tiene como objetivo hacer una fundación para una iniciativa de seguimiento de largo plazo para investigar el nuevo crecimiento en los hoyos del dosel del bosque y los caminos de tala después de la tala selectiva en Ambroya 2. A largo plazo, el objetivo de este estudio va a ser de crear un modelo del área antes y después de la tala con respeto a los niveles de carbono, investigando la compatibilidad de la tala selectiva a pequeña escala con el programa de Reducción de las Emisiones por Deforestación y Degradación de los bosques (REDD) en la comunidad de Ipetí-Emberá. Para iniciar este plan, se requiere una muy buena información de base como referencia y comparación en el futuro. Los objetivos de esta parte del proyecto son de recopilar un inventario de los hoyos