CLOUD FOREST CONSERVATION OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH ALTERNATIVE MANAGEMENT: COMMERCIAL FOREST PLANTATIONS

Abstract

A forest plantation is a forest crop created artificially and has been used to increase forest production throughout the world, and to obtain different timber and non-timber products generated by it, including the associated ecosystemic services. Some considerations are discussed regarding the importance of establishing them in the cloud forest, as a way to enrich it, by including individuals of the most important species in association with coffee (Coffea arabica L.) growing, or in small intensive cultivation areas that can provide products of high demand and price that help to avoid overexploitation of the natural forest, or their disappearance as a result of the change in land use for more financially profitable activities. Emphasis is made on the need to include individuals of higher quality and growth, managing a broad genetic basis.