The Los Tuxtlas Restoration Experiment
Los Tuxtlas is a region in Veracruz, Mexico touted as the northern edge of neotropical rainforests.
Like other tropical forests, deforestation has been a significant issue here and is driven by the demand for cattle pasture.
The Los Tuxtlas Restoration experiment was established in 2006 by Drs. Henry F. Howe and Cristina Martínez-Garza to investigate
how restoration design and initial species composition influenced restoration success.
The experiment is composed of 24 (30 x 30m) fenced plots separated by 35 m of actively grazed pasture on a hillside gradient.
Plots belong to three treatments: (i) plots planted with animal-dispersed trees, (ii) plots planted with wind-dispersed trees,
and (iii) unplanted plots to simulate natural succession.
The main hypothesis is that plantings with animal-dispersed species will attract more dispersal agents, enhancing seed rain, eventually seedling establishment, ultimately accelerating ecological succession.
Studies from the Los Tuxtlas Restoration Experiment
This table contains the bibliographic information for all published studies originating from the Los Tuxtlas Restoration Experiment. Studies in which I am an author are highlighted in blue. Click on a study to read the abstract.
| Authors | Year | Title | Journal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Martínez-Garza et al. | 2009 | Seed rain in a tropical agricultural landscape | Journal of Tropical Ecology 25:541-550. |
| Howe et al. | 2010 | Early seed fall and seedling emergence: precursors to tropical restoration | Oecologia, 164:731-740. |
| Tobón et al. | 2011 | Soil responses to restoration of a tropical pasture in Veracruz, south-eastern Mexico | Journal of Tropical Forest Science 23: 338-344. |
| de la Peña-Dómene et al. | 2013 | Early recruitment dynamics in tropical restoration | Ecological Applications 23: 1124-1134. |
| Martínez-Garza et al. | 2013 | Are functional traits good predictors of species performance in restoration plantings in tropical abandoned pastures? | Forest Ecology and Management 303: 35-45. |
| Martínez-Garza et al. | 2013 | Drought mortality of tree seedlings in an eroded tropical pasture | Land Degradation & Development 24: 287-295. |
| de la Peña-Dómene et al. | 2014 | Roles of birds and bats in early tropical-forest restoration | PloS one 9:e104656. |
| Popoca-Ortega | 2016 | Lluvia de semillas en parcelas de restauración ecológica en la selva tropical de Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, México | Bachelor Thesis, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos |
| de la Peña-Dómene et al. | 2016 | Restored connectivity facilitates recruitment by an endemic large-seeded tree in a fragmented tropical landscape | Ecology 97: 2511-2517 |
| Guzmán-Luna & Martínez-Garza | 2016 | Performance of 15 tropical tree species recruited or transplanted on restoration settings | Botanical Sciences 94: 757-773. |
| Howe | 2017 | Fruit-eating birds in experimental plantings in southern Mexico | Journal of Tropical Ecology 33: 83-88 |
| Howe & Davlantes | 2017 | Waxing and waning of a cotton rat (Sigmodon toltecus) monoculture in early tropical restoration | Tropical Conservation Science 10: 1940082917704772 |
| Davlantes & Howe | 2018 | Keel-Billed Toucans (Ramphastos sulfuratus) on the ground in a tropical forest restoration experiment | The Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130: 770-773. |
| de la Peña-Dómene | 2018 | Plant attributes that drive dispersal and establishment limitation in tropical agricultural landscapes | Forests 9: 620. |
| Caughlin et al. | 2019 | Demographic costs and benefits of natural regeneration during tropical forest restoration | Ecology Letters 22: 34-44. |
| Cabrales Sanchez & Martínez-Garza | 2019 | Caracterización de la lluvia de semillas en áreas bajo intervención de restauración de 8 años en los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, México | Research Poster |
| Beltrán & Howe | 2020 | The frailty of tropical restoration plantings | Restoration Ecology 28: 16-21. |
| Beltrán et al. | 2020 | Effects of a recalcitrant understory fern layer in an enclosed tropical restoration experiment | Neobiota 59: 99-118. |
| Li et al. | 2021 | Planting accelerates restoration of tropical forest but assembly mechanisms appear insensitive to initial composition | Journal of Applied Ecology 55: 986-996. |
| Guzmán et al. | 2021 | Rodent suppression of seedling establishment in tropical pasture | Oecologia 195: 813-824. |
| Beltrán | 2021 | Planting composition effects on tropical forest restoration [Doctoral Dissertation] | Doctoral Dissertation, University of Illinois, Chicago. |
| Rivas-Alonso et al. | 2021 | Large trees in restored tropical rainforest | Forest Ecology and Management 498: 119563. |
| Rivas-Alonso | 2021 | Gremios tróficos de aves y murciélagos en parcelas de restauración ecológica en los tuxtlas, Veracruz, México [Doctoral Dissertation] | Doctoral Dissertation, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Morelos. |
| Beltrán et al. | 2022 | Return of forest structure and diversity in tropical restoration plantings | Ecosphere 13: e4099. |
| Zagal-García et al. | 2022 | Photographic capture of medium-sized mammals in ecological restoration experimental plots in a cattle pasture landscape in Los Tuxtlas, Veracruz, Mexico | Acta Botánica Mexicana 129: e9151. |
Most of these studies can be found through GoogleScholar with the provided information but feel free to contact me if not.
Other Studies
This table contains the bibliographic information for my other publications not associated with the Los Tuxtlas Restoration Experiment.
| Authors | Year | Title | Journal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beltran & Tepos-Ramirez | 2019 | Microlophus delanonis (Hood Lava Lizard). Cannibalism. | Natural History Notes 50: 787-788. |
| Nieto Guzmán et al. | 2023 | Functional seed traits as predictors of germination and seedling growth for species with potential for restoration in Caquetá, Colombia | Trees 37: 947-961. |
| Obando Guzmán et al. | 2023 | Pattern of litterfall production throughout a tropical humid forest chronosequence | Ecosystems 26: 1753-1765. |