IntroducciónLas perturbaciones son parte integral de las características de un ecosistema, y la mayoría de los bosques están sometidos a varios regimenes de perturbaciones que tienen lugar a diferentes escalas espaciales y temporales (Holling et al., 1995;Turner et al., 1998
ResumenEl manejo forestal puede cambiar atributos clave del ecosistema, afectando al crecimiento de los árboles mucho después del cese de las actividades forestales. En este trabajo se ha explorado la influencia del manejo en la recuperación ecológica de plantaciones de Pinus caribaea Morelet en el occidente cubano por medio del modelo ecosisté-mico FORECAST. Se simularon tres manejos diferentes: producción de biomasa, de fibra y de madera, difiriendo en la duración del turno y en la intensidad de la retirada de biomasa. Nuestros resultados muestran que la producción de biomasa puede producir una degradación del ecosistema que necesitaría varios siglos para recuperar su estado inicial. Esta recuperación sería más rápida si la plantación se destina a la producción de fibra, y si el objetivo es madera el ecosistema podría mantener unas condiciones similares a las existentes antes de la intervención humana. En conclusión, nuestros resultados muestran cómo el legado del manejo forestal puede ser un factor clave en acelerar o retrasar la recuperación de los ecosistemas forestales, dependiendo de la intensidad de la explotación. Estos resultados también muestran la utilidad de los modelos ecológicos de manejo forestal para analizar diferentes escenarios alternativos de manejo y sus efectos a largo plazo sobre el ecosistema forestal.Palabras clave: legados ecológicos, plantaciones forestales, emulación de perturbaciones, modelo ecológico, FORECAST, Cuba, Pinus caribaea.
AbstractThe legacy of forest management in tropical forests: analysis of its long-term influence with ecosystem models Forest management can modify key ecosystem attributes, affecting tree growth long after the end of forest management. Long-term influence of current management on forest recovery has been explored with the FORECAST model in Pinus caribaea Morelet plantations in western Cuba. Management for three different products was simulated: biomass, fibre and timber, with differences in rotation length and harvest intensity. Our results show that biomass production can produce ecosystem degradation that may need centuries to recover. If f ibre is the objective of management, ecosystem recovery would be faster than managing for bioenergy. However, only if timber is the final objective the ecosystem might be able to keep similar conditions to the natural forest. In conclusion, our results show that forest management legacies can be a key factor in accelerating or delaying forest ecosystem recovery, depending on the exploitation intensity. These results also show the utility of ecosystem-level management models to analyze alternative management scenarios and their long-term effects on forest ecosystems.
In recent decades, urban air pollution has increased considerably in Mexico City, leading to harmful effects on the ecosystem. To reduce pollutant emissions, new sustainable technologies have been adopted in the transport sector. To date, no studies have conducted a technoeconomic analysis of the environmental impact of electric vehicles (EVs) in regard to taxis in Mexico. To address this gap in the research, this study aimed to perform a cost-environmental impact assessment of electric taxi introduction in Mexico City using the life-cycle cost (LCC) methodology and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions assessment. Furthermore, a sensitivity analysis was performed to identify parameters with the greatest influence on the LCC. The LCC of EVs was found to be larger than that of internal combustion vehicles (ICVs); the acquisition cost was identified as the greatest contributor to the total LCC, followed by the maintenance cost. Worldwide, mixed results have been reported due to differences in the use of local parameters and values. To promote EVs, it is necessary to reduce either acquisition costs or battery costs. The environmental analysis showed that there is only a slight reduction in GHG emissions with electric taxi introduction. Nevertheless, cleaner renewable energy sources must be adopted and considered in order to achieve a much greater reduction and take full advantage of the benefits of EVs.
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