Forest Inventories in Private and Protected Areas of Paraguay

Abstract

Environmental degradation in Paraguayan ecosystems relates to anthropogenic intervention and has intensified with wildfires and drought. To help mitigate forest cover loss, the local government created laws, parceled land to private owners, and established protected areas. How differences in land tenure regimes affect dendrology and biodiversity remain to be answered. This preliminary study examined the differences and similarities between three protected area forests (National Park Ybycuí, and Natural Monuments Cerro Koi, Cerro Chorori) and three family-owned forests in Guairá, Central, and Paraguarí of eastern Paraguay. Forty-three transects were established following FAO protocols to examine tree diversity, floristic composition, and complementary vegetation structure information using two biodiversity indexes. Nine hundred and three individuals were registered, representing 92 species, 80 genera, and 35 families. The most abundant families were Fabaceae, Rutaceae, Myrtaceae, and Rhamnaceae; and the most abundant genera were Pilocarpus, Columbrina, Acrocomia, Plina, and Astronium. The most important species were Parapiptadenia rigida, Peltophorum dubium, and Astronium fraxinifolium. Results showed higher species richness and significantly greater tree diversity, but a nonsignificantly larger diameter in private forests compared to protected areas studied. Detected differences were small, indicating a need for additional research of forests with differing land tenure regimes as climate dynamics continually shift and management strategies show effects.

Plantation forestry in Paraguay emerges

“…The Región Occidental has 11.9 Mha of mostly xerophytic forests and three major natural ecosystems: the Humid Chaco (or Bajo Chaco), Dry Chaco (or Chaco Central), and Pantanal (wetlands) (Cervantes et al 2023;Frey 2007;INFONA 2023a). The Humid or Bajo Chaco receives only about 700 mm of rainfall annually, while the Dry or Chaco Central is even dryer, receiving only 600 mm (Frey 2007;Pasten et al n.d.).…”

Low-Cost Non-Contact Forest Inventory: A Case Study of Kieni Forest in Kenya

“…Acting upon these recommendations, Kenya's parliament passed the Forest Conservation and Management Act in 2016, and the result has been an increase in forest cover [25,30,31,37,43]. The country's national strategy includes enhancing forest resource assessment through a comprehensive national forest inventory, an endeavour which requires capacity building for remote sensing surveys and field data collection [21,30,31,39,40,43,44]. The responsibility for realising this lies with the Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, and universities [43].…”