Experiment on tree species diversity in a tropical forest
The aim of the project is to identify population-based clinical and molecular determinants of tuberculosis epidemiology and ascertain new evidence of the evolutionary pathway of TB in humans and livestock.
Logged Dipterocarp forests are being replanted with three levels of tree species diversity for the purpose of investigating how forest diversity affects wood production, carbon storage and other ecosystem processes in tropical regions.
The replanting is being carried out using monocultures, low-diversity mixtures similar to those in commercial reforestation areas and using a full mixture of species reflecting the natural diversity of the primary forest.
The aim of the project is to compare community and ecosystem processes in low and in high species diversity plots.
The focus of the analysis is on diversity and wood production (carbon sequestration), biogeochemical and hydrological variables, and levels of biodiversity.
The field research is being carried out at a state-owned research station of the provider country. Samples of tree litter will be collected for biomass quantification. No material, only data, are exported to Belgium (Flanders).