RESEARCH
We host long-term and new research projects in collaboration with scientists from various universities, as well as smaller projects led by graduate students on a broad range of topics. The Islas Project is a long-term, large scale study testing low-cost methods to restore forest cover. We collaborate with Global Experiments Network (GEN) of the Crowther Lab of the Swiss university ETH Zürich to test how to best select tree species for restoration based on their functional traits. We also experiment with novel methods for restoring highly degraded soil, such as by adding nutrient-rich agricultural waste and restoring critical elements of the soil microbiome.
Selected Publications
from research using sites at LLFS
Assisted restoration interventions drive functional recovery of tropical wet forest tree communities. LK Werden, S Zarges, KD Holl, CL Oliver… - Frontiers in Forests and Global Change, 2022.
Coffee pulp accelerates early tropical forest succession on old fields. RJ Cole, RA Zahawi - Ecological Solutions and Evidence, 2021
Applied nucleation facilitates tropical forest recovery: Lessons learned from a 15‐year study. KD Holl, JL Reid, RJ Cole, F Oviedo‐Brenes… - Journal of Applied Ecology, 2020
Ant–scale mutualism increases scale infestation, decreases folivory, and disrupts biological control in restored tropical forests. AJ Kulikowski - Biotropica, 2020
The landscape genetic signature of pollination by trapliners: evidence from the tropical herb, Heliconia tortuosa. F Torres-Vanegas, AS Hadley, UG Kormann, FA Jones… - Frontiers in Genetics, 2019
Leaf litter arthropod responses to tropical forest restoration. RJ Cole, KD Holl, RA Zahawi, P Wickey, AR Townsend - Ecology and Evolution, 2016
Seed dispersal limitations shift over time in tropical forest restoration. JL Reid, KD Holl, RA Zahawi - Ecological Applications, 2015
Testing applied nucleation as a strategy to facilitate tropical forest recovery. RA Zahawi, KD Holl, RJ Cole, JL Reid - Journal of Applied Ecology, 2013
Direct seeding of late-successional trees to restore tropical montane forest. RJ Cole, KD Holl, CL Keene, RA Zahawi - Forest Ecology and Management, 2011
Seed rain under tree islands planted to restore degraded lands in a tropical agricultural landscape. RJ Cole, KD Holl, RA Zahawi - Ecological Applications, 2010