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A timber truck fully loaded with logs drives over a very simple wooden bridge in a forest.
© Thünen-Institut
A timber truck fully loaded with logs drives over a very simple wooden bridge in a forest.
Institute of

WF Forestry

Restoration of tropical montane cloud forest in bracken dominated pastures: the role of nurse shrubs

Bracken (Pteridum arachnoideum) is an invasive fern inhibiting or slowing forest succession worldwide. To overcome arrested succession effective restoration interventions are necessary.

Cutout of a column graphic and soft in the background text pages.
© Tarin Toledo

In this study we evaluated the effects of pioneer nurse shrubs on the establishment of late-successional tree species, and their combined effects on bracken dominance in abandoned pastures of former cloud forest in Mexico.
After two years plantings with shrubs and trees reduced bracken cover by > 60% and bracken live rhizome biomass by > 50%. Single shrub species treatments were more effective than the mixture.
The results support the use of cuttings of the pioneer shrubs Tithonia diversifolia or Sambucus nigra separately, rather than in combination, and the inclusion of mid- to late-successional trees, to assist recovery of degraded cloud forest areas where succession has been stalled by bracken.

  • Toledo-Aceves T, López-Barrera F, Vásquez-Reyes V, Günter S (2022) Restoration of tropical montane cloud forest in bracken dominated pastures: The role of nurse shrubs. Forest Ecol Manag 508:120055, DOI:10.1016/j.foreco.2022.120055
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