Tropical Trees and Landscapes

Our current focal area of research is on forests, trees and poverty alleviation. A major feature of the programme is that almost all research activities are defined and implemented as part of development programmes.  The new and existing research activities of the programme embrace the following three elements:

• Domestication, use and conservation of tree species for production of agroforestry crops e.g. fruits, food, bio-fuels and medicines; for forest plantations and for restoration of tropical forests and landscapes.
  
  
• Development of recommendations domains for cultivated agroforestry trees, forest plantations and landscape restoration  under current and changing climates based on studies of adaptation and natural vegetation development.
  
  
• Improvement of input supply systems of seed and seedlings of tropical tree species, improved varieties and sources to agroforestry smallholders, and for forest plantation and landscape restoration purposes.

Major research projects

• Harapan Rainforest - Restoration of Harapan Rainforest at Jambi, Sumatra in Indonesia, 2012-2018. Supported by Danida. Contact Søren Moestrup.
  
  
• Decentralized Tree Seed Supply in S.E. Sulawesi - Knowledge dissemination of decentralized tree seed supply - the development of a model and testing in practice, 2014-15. Supported by GBHF. Contact Søren Moestrup
• Flores II - Sustainable and Integrated Management of Mbeliling Forest, Flores, Indonesia. Phase II, 2011-2015. In collaboration with DOF. Supported by Danida. Contact Søren Moestrup.
  
  
• Tree seed supply with the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF), 2008-2018 (http://www.worldagroforestry.org/tree-diversity). Contact Lars Graudal.
• Allanblackia stuhlmannii - a new oil plant species in East Africa, Supported by GBHF 2016-2017. Contact Lars Schmidt.
  
  
• Trees with polyploidy: better adaptation to extreme growing conditions? Supported by GBHF 2016-2017 in collaboration with ISRA Senegal (Adja Diallo supported by ISF). Contact Anders Ræbild.
  
  
• PATSPO - Provision of Adequate Tree Seed Portfolios to enhance Productivity and Resilience of Forest Landscape Restoration in Ethiopia 2017-2021 (with ICRAF), see https://ign.ku.dk/english/news/2017/the-university-of-copenhagen-contributes-to-the-largest-global-restoration-of-forests-and-forest-landscapes-in-history/. Supported by NICFI. Contact Lars Graudal or Søren Moestrup.
  
  
• Rethinking the Breeding of Tropical Perennial Crops in Agroforestry Systems: the case of Arabica Coffee (BREEDCAFS). Supported by EU. Contact Anders Ræbild.
  
  
• The vegetation map for Africa, see https://ign.ku.dk/english/news/2017/new-map-of-life-on-earth-shows-how-we-can-halt-the-worlds-sixth-great-extinction/, and https://ign.ku.dk/english/news/2015/the-right-tree-for-the-right-place-in-africa/; and the website http://www.vegetationmap4africa.org/. Supported by the Rockefeller Foundation and other donors. Contact Jens-Peter Barnekow Lillesø or Lars Graudal.
  
  
• Climate smart cocoa systems for Ghana, CLIMCOCOA (FFU), 2016-2020 with ICRAF and University of Ghana. Supported by Danida. Contact Anders Ræbild.
  
  
• Domestication of Jatropha curcas for oil production on smallholder farms in the Sudano-Sahelian region with focus on Mali, 2009-2015. Supported by Danida; two PhD studies still in progress. Contact Jon K. Hansen or Lene R. Nielsen.
  
  
• TEAKNET, The International Teak Information Network, see http://teaknet.org/, and the Global Teak Study, http://www.iufro.org/publications/series/world-series/article/2017/06/21/world-series-vol-36-the-global-teak-study-analysis-evaluation-and-future-potential-of-teak-reso/. Supported by FAO and IUFRO. Contact Lars Graudal.
  
  
• Forest Landscape Restoration, see https://ign.ku.dk/english/news/2017/the-university-of-copenhagen-contributes-to-the-largest-global-restoration-of-forests-and-forest-landscapes-in-history/, and http://www.iufro.org/science/special/spdc/. Supported by IUFRO. Contact Palle Madsen, Jens-Peter Barnekow Lillesø or Lars Graudal.

IGN present some of our results of the research on species, seeds and planting in the form of computerbased tools.

As a supplement to our ordinary publication series, we have chosen to present some of our work in a more interactive way, where users have the opportunity to 'browse' the material and identify issues of their particular interest.  

• Potential Natural Vegetation of South-Western and Central Kenya 
  A tool for the selection of indiginous tree species.
   
• Useful Tree Species for Africa
  This tool enables you to select useful tree species for planting anywhere in Africa using Google Earth.
   
• Vegetation and climate change in Eastern Africa
  A high resolution digital vegetation map for land use planning, natural resource management and conservation of biodiversity in Eastern Africa (VECEA).
  
  
• Gmelina arborea trials
  The website is a compilation of published articles, results and assessments from 27 of these trials.