NON-TIMBER FOREST PRODUCTS INTEGRATED WITH NATURAL FOREST MANAGEMENT, RIO SAN-JUAN, NICARAGUA

In the Atlantic lowland tropical rainforests of the Rio San Juan region, Nicaragua, we are conducting applied vegetation community analyses within an attempt to integrate non-timber forest products with natural forest management. Two long-term sampling plots were evaluated: one primary tropical rainforest plot before and 1 yr after selective logging, and another plot 9 yr after selective logging with and without Hutchinson Liberation Silviculture treatment (in which selected young tries are released from competition for light). The purpose of the study was to evaluate changes in community ecology variables with logging, damage, regeneration, and silviculture, both for useful plant species and for the plant community as a whole, and to evaluate the potential for incorporating non-timber forest product management with silvicultural management, One year after logging there was an increase in species (from 19 +/- 5 to 33 +/- 10 species/10 m(2)) and density (from 42 +/- 19 to 120 +/- 60 plants/10 m(2)) due to establishment or increase of secondary species (vines, grasses, balsa, cecropia) and to seedling regeneration after logging. The more severe the logging damage the more severe were the effects on some variables, particularly increased densities of vines and secondary species. Forest plots 9 yr post-harvest appeared to be returning to pre-harvest levels of species (28 +/- 6 species/10 m(2)) and density (76 +/- 21 plants/10 m(2)). Hutchinson Liberation Silviculture, while promoting growth of desired timber, did not significantly affect either non-timber forest products or the basic physiognomy of the forest. These results are contrasted with other silvicultural systems, particularly the Hartshorn Strip Clearcut, in which regeneration was dominated by resprouts and the proportion of vines was even higher. Hutchinson Liberation Silviculture provides the potential for simultaneous management of non-timber forest products, and moreover, nontimber forest product management holds the potential for significantly reinforcing silvicultural management.