Profile: Kristin Saltonstall
Fire fuels invasive grass
October 19, 2012
Panama’s infamous canal grass rises from the ashes of fire much faster than trees, complicating reforestation efforts.
Panama’s infamous canal grass rises from the ashes of fire much faster than trees, complicating reforestation efforts.
Drawing on 30-plus years of research in the Panama Canal Watershed, Smithsonian scientist Jefferson Hall releases an illustrated publication that will improve reforestation and help successfully restore forests with 64 species of Neotropical trees.
Smithsonian marine biologist Ross Robertson suspects that the regal demoiselle hitched a ride to the Gulf of Mexico on an oil rig. Its outstanding success in its new habitat raises questions about its impact in the Gulf.
Initial results from a massive study comparing marine organisms sampled along the Pacific coast from Alaska to Panama with samples from the Atlantic show that the success of invaders is lopsided.
The Guna, Emberá and cattle-ranching communities of eastern Panama share the same threatened landscape but have been divided for generations over territorial disputes. A series of filmmaking workshops and film festivals have brought some members of the community together in ways not previously considered possible.
STRI took a gamble on a carbon offset program in partnership with an indigenous community in eastern Panama. Ten years later, it has successfully met offset goals, empowered women, built environmental stewardship capacity, created a long-term research platform and offered hope for a community’s threatened forest-based traditions.