The Amazon floodplain Demonstration Site:Sustainable timber production and managementof Central Amazonian white-water floodplains

摘要

Within the frame of the UNESCO Ecohydrology Program, the present Demonstration Project aims at the enrichment of degraded varzea forest patches with economically important timber species in the Mamiraua Sustainable Development Reserve (MSDR), western Brazilian Amazon. Enrichment plantations will reduce exploita-tion pressure in the natural environment and will contribute to the conservation of varzea forests and its ecological integrity by introducing alternative sources of income for the inhabitants. We present preliminary results from an interdisciplinary research, including data about the use and the net present values of timber trees in western Brazilian varzea; growth models and management criteria of the most exploited timber species; and germination experiments, which demonstrate that varzea timber species are easy to germinate, without requiring complicate treatments and expensive materials. These data allow for the initialization of timber species reproduction at larger scales, and provide the scientific basis to enrich degraded varzea forests with economically important timber species.