The Terrestrial Ecosystem Restoration and Synecology Research Program
(SIRECO/UCR) is dedicated to the study of terrestrial ecosystems by
developing applied research. Approved in February 1992, it
offers interdisciplinary research related to:
i) the study of natural ecosystems in order to quantify the
interactions between plants and the environment,
ii) classification and ordination of plant communities in
functional ecological units,
iii) the establishment of ecological restoration of abandoned
sites with the participation of local communities,
iv) restoration of degraded areas to productive and
sustainable ecosystems,
v) restoration of deforested land to natural forest.
SIRECO/UCR incorporates a multidisciplinary team from different
faculties and research institutes within the University of Costa
Rica, in order to increase the effectiveness and development
impact of its ecosystem projects. It also offers the possibility
of joining efforts with other institutions to promote research
and the development of new knowledge.
Two examples of the kind of projects approved by SIRECO/UCR
include:
Restoration Project of Picagres River Watershed. Project
duration: 15 years. Project establishment and first year
financing: Goverment of Germany (Forestry and Agriculture
Development Program MIRENEM-MAG-GTZ). Institutional
collaboration: Ministry of Natural Resources (Subregional office
in Puriscal).
The main objective of this project is to provide local farmers
with technological packages that will promote better land use.
Various restoration strategies of old and overused pasture land
are being tested. The behavior of about 35 variables (soil, soil
biota, and above ground biota) are being tested. Also, a landscape
monitoring has been undertaken. The research team is composed of
fifteen scientists from different disciplines.
Classification of Environments and Land Use Plan of the Golfito
National Wildlife Refuge. This project is supported by the North
Central Forest Experiment Station, USDA Forest Service, St. Paul,
MN. and the UCR. The main objective of this project is to
develop a land use plan for the Refuge for scientific and
academic work, and ecoturism possibilities within the Refuge. An ecosystem
classification methodology based on Holdridge Life Zone System is being
tested and compared to a phytogeographic system. A floristic and faunistic
reconnaissance, as well as, soil classification has been undertaken.
The research team is formed by a geographer, biometrician, taxonomist,
zoologist, edaphologist, and arquitect.
SIRECO/UCR supports the graduate programs in forest ecology,
geography, and natural resources at the UCR. It counts with
several possibilities for field work, amongst them, the Golfito National
Wildlife Refuge, the San Ramon Reserve Forest, and many other land that
is under the administration of the University of Costa Rica.
Because the task of restoration of degraded land to productive ecosystems
is a must nowadays, and having little information on technological
knowledge to achieve such goals in the tropics, a pooled effort, without
distinctions of nationalities, is necessary and urgent to develop that new
knowledge in order to use, in a wise manner, the limited productive land
available. In this way, SIRECO/UCR is willing to cooperate with any
organization in the world that has similar objectives.
For further information, Please contact:
Dr. Edgar E. Gutierrez E.
SIRECO/UCR Coordinator
Escuela de Estadistica
Universidad de Costa Rica
San Jose, Costa Rica
INTERNET & BITNET e-mail: EGUTIERR@UCRVM2.BITNET
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