From farm to forest: Factors associated with protecting and planting trees in a Panamanian agricultural landscape

Abstract

The small forest patches of tropical dry forest that remain on the Azuero peninsula of Panama represent part of one of the most critically endangered forest types worldwide and one that has been almost entirely eliminated in Panama. In a productive agricultural and cattle-ranching landscape, trees outside the forest are essential to increasing the connectivity of the landscape, the survival of native species, and the ecosystem services provided by these remaining small forest patches. Based on surveys conducted with land managers from Los Santos province, Panama, we conclude that farmers in this region protect and plant trees on their productive land for different reasons. While farmers protect trees for a wide range of reasons (including timber, fruit, animal fodder, shade and water protection), they plant them primarily for timber and fruit, both uses that produce a tangible economic benefit. Land managers from Los Santos also plant trees in a more diverse and specified set of places than those in which they protect them. Six tree species are commonly used for live fences in Los Santos, and many live fence owners allow trees useful for timber or animal fodder to grow near the fence. Cooperative live fence management may be a feasible way to increase landscape connectivity in the highly fragmented landscape of the region. Our results indicate that the reasons why land managers in Los Santos plant trees are very distinct from the reasons why they protect trees within their productive land. These differences in reasons for protecting and planting trees have important implications that should inform the approaches of programs hoping to increase regional forest cover. Projects promoting natural forest regeneration encourage farmers to protect trees on their land and may be successful through emphasizing intangible ecosystem services such as low-cost water protection strategies. In contrast, projects that promote the planting of trees must demonstrate their tangible economic benefits to land managers.