Functional traits as a template to develop a restoration silvics of neotropical trees

为了应对在热带地区开垦废弃和退化土地的挑战，一门新兴的用原生树木重新造林的科学正在兴起。然而，大多数热带树木的生物学仍然鲜为人知，这限制了它们在再造林和造林项目中的部署。为了解决这一知识缺陷，我将对巴拿马共和国PRORENA项目中种植的本地和外来树种进行系统的造林分析。将根据(a)物种在一系列环境条件下的生存、生长和形态，以及(b)它们对当地生态系统过程的影响来描述物种的森林特征。根据这些参数，将开发具有独特生长、生存和生态特征的树种分组，为长期人工林试验提供基础。这些试验将包括物种混合和单一栽培，这些选择是为了实现区域特定恢复目标的潜力。这些目标包括：(1)控制入侵草Sacharum spontanum，(2)恢复严重侵蚀土地的肥力和土壤结构，以及(3)调节巴拿马运河流域的水文制度和径流。

A nascent science of reforestation with native trees is emerging in response to the challenge of reclaiming abandoned and degraded lands in the tropics. The biology of most tropical trees remains poorly known, however, which constrains their deployment in reforestation and afforestation projects. To address this knowledge deficit, I will develop systematic silvicultural analyses for native and exotic tree species that are being grown in the PRORENA project, Republic of Panama. Species' silvics will be be described relative to (a) their survival, growth and morphology under a range of environmental conditions, and (b) their effects on local ecosystem processes. Based on these parameters, groupings of species with distinctive growth, survival, and ecological characteristics will be developed to provide the basis for long term plantation trials. These trials will consist of species mixtures and monocultures that have been selected for their potential to fulfill regionally specific restoration goals. These goals include (1) achieving control of the invasive grass Sacharum spontaneum, (2) restoring fertility and soil structure to severely eroded land, and (3) modulation of hydrological regimes and runoff in the Panama Canal Watershed.