Please cite this article in press as: Garen, E.J., et al., The tree planting and protecting culture of cattle ranchers and small-scale agricultural- ists in rural Panama: Opportunities for reforestation and land restoration. Forest Ecol. Manage. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.10.011 ARTICLE IN PRESS G Model FORECO-12400; No. of Pages 12 Forest Ecology and Management xxx (2010) xxx–xxx Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Forest Ecology and Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/foreco The tree planting and protecting culture of cattle ranchers and small-scale agriculturalists in rural Panama: Opportunities for reforestation and land restoration Eva J. Garen a,* , Kristin Saltonstall a , Mark S. Ashton b , Jacob L. Slusser c , Shane Mathias c , Jefferson S. Hall a a Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Balboa, Ancón, Panamá, Panama b Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, 370 Prospect Street, New Haven, CT 06511, USA c United States Peace Corps, Panamá American Embassy, Edif. 104, 1er piso, Ciudad del Saber, Clayton, Panamá, Panama article info Article history: Received 22 June 2010 Received in revised form 7 October 2010 Accepted 9 October 2010 Keywords: Agroforestry Fruit trees Live fences Multipurpose trees Native species Plantations Tropical dry forest abstract To examine the opportunities available for designing diverse tree planting and land restoration initiatives in agricultural landscapes that contain tropical dry forests, the tree planting and protecting practices of cattle ranchers and small-scale agriculturalists were examined in two study sites in rural Panama. Ninety- nine tree species were identified that they utilize, plant, or protect on their land, the majority of which are native to Panama. The farmers had diverse reasons for maintaining trees, including improving the envi- ronment, providing food and shade for cattle, and generating a source of wood for construction, furniture, and firewood. Most of the trees mentioned in the study provide multiple uses and values and the majority of farmers wanted to plant additional trees. Some differences in species preferences and motivations for planting and protecting trees were seen between sites, thereby suggesting that land restoration and tree planting projects should be site specific. Our data indicate that there are ample opportunities to increase native tree cover in our study sites and highlight the need to incorporate farmer input into project design, implementation, and evaluation as a necessary and continuous feature throughout projects. © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction High rates of deforestation and forest fragmentation through- out Mesoamerica pose significant threats to the region’s remaining biodiversity and to rural livelihoods. Agricultural production has been the primary driver of these trends, and recent efforts to inten- sify agro-industrial systems are further reducing tree cover, habitat diversity and forest connectivity (Barrance et al., 2003; Harvey et al., 2008). Approximately 80% of Mesoamerica’s native vegetation has been converted to agriculture and current deforestation rates are predicted to exacerbate forest fragmentation and biodiversity loss (Harvey et al., 2008). While there are a number of protected areas throughout Mesoamerica, most are located within agricultural matrices and are vulnerable to an array of adverse impacts, includ- ing contamination by agrochemicals, hunting, and unsustainable or illegal logging (Boffa et al., 2005; De Fries et al., 2005; Harvey et al., 2008; Barrance et al., 2009). Much of the region’s forests and biodiversity also are scattered throughout agricultural landscapes outside of formal protected area networks and hence exposed to further degradation (Brooks et al., 2004; Rodrigues et al., 2004; * Corresponding author. Tel.: +507 203 906 6939. E-mail address: eva.garen@yale.edu (E.J. Garen). Dudley et al., 2005; Hayes and Ostrom, 2005; Barrance et al., 2009; Jenkins and Joppa, 2009). While most of Mesoamerica’s forest types are threatened by deforestation and fragmentation, the region’s tropical dry forests have been particularly vulnerable to these trends (Gordon et al., 2003a,b; Barrance et al., 2003, 2009). Mesoamerica’s tropical dry forests contain a large number of endemic species with severely restricted natural ranges (Janzen, 1988), but they also contain tree species that have been highly important for local livelihoods for centuries (Barrance et al., 2009). Current threats to these forests include smallholder agriculture, cattle, fire, timber extrac- tion, commercial agriculture, and tourism development, making Mesoamerica’s dry forests among the most threatened worldwide (Barrance et al., 2003; Miles et al., 2006). Approximately 4.3% of Central America’s tropical dry forests currently are located within protected areas, while the remainder exist as small and vulnera- ble forest remnants and diffuse matrices of trees outside the forest, including within agroforestry systems on farms, in fence-rows and home gardens, and around settlements (Janzen, 1988; Barrance et al., 2009). These scattered remnants that exist outside protected areas are there primarily because they are valued and protected by local people (Barrance et al., 2009). In light of these trends, efforts are emerging to conserve bio- diversity in agriculture landscapes by supporting and promoting 0378-1127/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2010.10.011