Rogelio Sotolongo Sospedra

Actions for the Restoration of the Biodiversity of Forest Ecosystems in Cuba

Human will and interests have used landscapes without limits for different purposes, usually for the economic benefit of a minority [1]. Nowadays, the Earth is threatened daily by the degradation of its ecosystems due to fragmentation. One of the main consequences is biodi‐ versity loss. Despite the economic progress and conservation actions carried out in many countries, the planet is losing genuine tropical forest, which is distributed mainly in the “low and middle income countries”. The reasons are diverse: inappropriate use of extractive practices in forestry related to wood and non-wood products, land use change when clearing the forest for agriculture and cattle ranching, tourism development, and others. These reasons have facilitated the introduction of new species that then behave as invasive species [2], which usually produce strong competition with local species, reducing biomass and the forest’s productivity.