Forest Management Scientific Research Team:
  1. Verginia Wortel: Head Forest Management department/Applied Ecologist; verginia.wortel@celos.sr.org
  2. Mayra Esseboom: NTFP specialist; m.esseboom@gmail.com
  3. Anwar Helstone: Agroforestry specialist; anwar.helstone@celos.sr.org
  4. Luciano Doest: Assistant Researcher NTFPs; luciano.doest@celos.sr.org
Objective Research Program Department of Forest Management

The Department of Forest Management conducts applied research on systems, methods and techniques of management, protection, and sustainable use of forest and other (semi)natural areas and for the use of products and services originating from these areas.

Thematic areas:

  1. Forests and human well-being,
  2. Agroforestry (Sustainable landscapes and food),
  3. Climate change,
  4. Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation

 A. Forests and human well-being

    1. Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs):

Research objectives:

  1. Description of and research of NTFPs and in particular from which oils are produced in Suriname (ecology, sustainable extraction, etc.)
  2. Preservation and protection of Traditional Knowledge concerning NTFPs (Intellectual property rights, etc.)
  3. Exploring NTFP market and mapping developments
  4. Marketing of NTFPs

                 2. Wetlands research:

In collaboration with the Foundation for Forest Management and Production Control a Mangrove Biodiversity Monitoring System was established and is embedded in the National Forest Monitoring System (NFMS).  As mangrove ecosystems are known to be one of the most complex, unique but also vulnerable ecosystems in the world, it is important to increase our knowledge of these ecosystems. We investigate the carbon storage in mangrove forests as well as in soils. This will, among other things, support the reporting to UNFCCC (REDD+), CBD. In addition, to improve the overall monitoring through GIS/RS and on the ground monitoring, we also include monitoring the health of the mangrove ecosystem through assessment studies of water quality, litterfall and soil nutrients and heavy metals. Improved knowledge will help us better combat and mitigate the effects of climate change in our coastal zone, and improved, wetland management.

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Mangrove Tree measurements

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Mangrove wetland

B. Agroforestry (Sustainable landscapes and food)

The main objective is to work towards the Transformation of Traditional Agricultural Practices into Innovative Agro-ecosystems in Indigenous and Maroon Communities in Suriname. Working area includes the Marchallkreek Community, Matta, and communities in the Upper Suriname River i.e., Pikin Slee and surrounding communities.

With this in mind, emphasis is placed on:

  1. Climate change and shifting cultivation
  2. Small-scale tree planting in communities
  3. Adaptation of technology and knowledge and 'social change'
  4. Capacity strengthening of local communities in setting up nurseries and simple and sustainable agriculture businesses
C. Cimate Change

Allometry

The Government of Suriname is one of our most important stakeholders and a need identified was the validation of local and pantropical allometric equations for their reporting obligations to the UNFCCC. The evaluation of the accuracy of allometric comparisons in different geographical locations is important, because the relative error may be very small in some locations but may be very large in others. It is important to consider which model works best for Suriname, especially how we as a country want to implement the REDD+ mechanism. It is our intention to develop national allometric equations for estimating biomass and commercial volume.

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Weighing of tree foliage and branches

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Weighing of tree parts for the validation of the pantropical allometric models

D. Sustainable Forest Management and Rehabilitation

CELOS Management System (CMS) (Sustainable Forest Management): determining the long-term consequences of selective logging and wood cultivation treatments in our tropical forest on biomass, carbon stocks, commercial wood volume and tree diversity, by using data from our Permanent Sample Plots (PSPs) in the Kabo area (Tibiti, West-Suriname). In addition, this data will support us in developing and enhancing our forestry policies (logging cycle, maximum permissible timber harvesting, etc.).

By re-measuring the PSPs, we also investigate 1) the effect of selective logging (different harvest intensities) on tree diversity and composition in relation to time, 2) the effect of harvest intensity on the shift of tree diversity and composition over time, 3) the resilience of our tropical forest against climate change.

The PSPs are part of the Tropical Monitoring Forest Observatory network (TmFO) and ForestPlots.net. TmFO is a network (https://www.tmfo.org/) of permanent sample plots established in managed forests around the tropics. In this network we look at the recovery rates of timber, carbon stocks and tree diversity along gradients of logging intensity and environmental conditions. ForestPlots.net (https://forestplots.net/en)  consists of partners that are dedicated to understanding the lives of trees and ecosystems. Measurements of individual trees in hundreds of locations using standardized techniques allows the behavior of tropical forests to be measured, monitored, and understood.