Wetlands are valuable ecosystems because they harbor a huge biodiversity and provide key services to societies. When natural or human factors degrade wetlands, ecological restoration is often carried out to recover biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES). Although such restorations are routinely performed, we lack systematic, evidence-based assessments of their effectiveness on the recovery of biodiversity and ES. Here we performed a meta-analysis of 70 experimental studies in order to assess the effectiveness of ecological restoration and identify what factors affect it. We compared selected ecosystem performance variables between degraded and restored wetlands and between restored and natural wetlands using response ratios and random-effects categorical modeling. We assessed how context factors such as ecosystem type, main agent of degradation, restoration action, experimental design, and restoration age influenced post-restoration biodiversity and ES. Biodiversity showed excellent recovery, though the precise recovery depended strongly on the type of organisms involved. Restored wetlands showed 36% higher levels of provisioning, regulating and supporting ES than did degraded wetlands. In fact, wetlands showed levels of provisioning and cultural ES similar to those of natural wetlands; however, their levels of supporting and regulating ES were, respectively, 16% and 22% lower than in natural wetlands. Recovery of biodiversity and of ES were positively correlated, indicating a win-win restoration outcome. The extent to which restoration increased biodiversity and ES in degraded wetlands depended primarily on the main agent of degradation, restoration actions, experimental design, and ecosystem type. In contrast, the choice of specific restoration actions alone explained most differences between restored and natural wetlands. These results highlight the importance of comprehensive, multi-factorial assessment to determine the ecological status of degraded, restored and natural wetlands and thereby evaluate the effectiveness of ecological restorations. Future research on wetland restoration should also seek to identify which restoration actions work best for specific habitats.

Seedling morphology of 210 species (173 trees and 37 lianas) was studied from a community perspective to identify major patterns of seedling functional types in a Mexican rain forest. Five types of seedlings were distinguished: cryptocotylar with reserve storage or absorption cotyledons (epigeal [CER] and hypogeal [CHR]), phanerocotylar epigeal, either with photosynthetic cotyledons (PEF) or with reserve storage or absorption cotyledons (PER), and phanerocotylar hypogeal with reserve cotyledons (PHR). The most common seedling type was PEF (49.5%), followed by CHR (31.4%), PER (9.5%), PHR (7.2%), and CER (2.4%). Excepting the CER type, seedling type frequencies did not differ between trees and lianas. The PEF seedlings had the lightest seeds, whereas CHR seedlings had the heaviest ones. Pioneer trees showed lighter seeds than persistent trees or lianas in species with PEF but not in species with PER. Pioneer trees (38 species) showed three seedling types and the most common was PEF (82%). Persistent trees (135 species) showed the five seedling types but PEF (43%) and CHR (37%) were the most frequent. Seedling type frequencies differed among dispersal syndrome groups. The animal dispersal syndrome was significantly more frequent in species with CHR. Our results show an evolutionary convergence of seedling types at the community level worldwide and the existence of a phylogenetic inertia in the evolution of initial seedling morphology. A comparison among eight tropical communities indicated on average that PEF is the most frequent type and CER the least common, although the relative frequency of each seedling type differs among communities, particularly between Neotropical and Paleotropical sites.

Resumen: Las selvas húmedas han sufrido una intensa deforestación y degradación debido a las actividades antropogénicas. Grandes áreas antes cubiertas por estos bosques de elevada diversidad actualmente se encuentran transformadas en campos agropecuarios, bosques secundarios, campos degradados abandonados y, en menor proporción, remanentes aislados de selva. La teoría clásica de la regeneración natural en claros resulta insuficiente para el estudio de la sucesión y la restauración ecológica de selvas en los extensos campos deforestados. Se requieren nuevos principios ecológicos que permitan el desarrollo de tecnologías eficientes para la recuperación de selvas en campos degradados. El presente artículo desarrolla un esquema conceptual que considera el nivel de disponibilidad de propágulos de especies nativas y el grado de alteración ambiental (calidad de sitio) como dos ejes determinantes de la capacidad de regeneración de la vegetación de selva en campos degradados. La historia de uso del suelo es un promotor importante del estado de los ejes anteriores al modificar con un cierto nivel de intensidad, extensión y duración al ecosistema original. Nuestro marco conceptual identifica factores clave que es importante considerar en la restauración de campos degradados. Según nu e s t ro modelo, la tasa y la magnitud de la rege n e ración nat u ral (capacidad de rege n e ra c i ó n ) disminuyen con una reducción en la disponibilidad de propágulos (i.e. banco y lluvia de semillas, regeneración de avanzada, meristemos en raíces y tocones) y la disminución de la calidad sitio (por ejemplo, al aumentar la compactación y la fertilidad del s u e l o , y la abu ndancia de plantas exóticas). Dife rentes tipos de uso de suelo reducen dife rencialmente la capacidad de rege n e ra c i ó n de la vegetación nativa. Por ejemplo, predecimos que la capacidad de regeneración en milpas abandonadas (las cuales reducen en mucho menor grado la disponibilidad de propágulos y la calidad de sitio) debería ser mayor que en pastizales ganaderos abandonados. Las predicciones se evalúan con información proveniente de la literatura y de un proyecto de investigación de largo plazo llevado a cabo en la región de La Selva Lacandona (Chiapas), México. Finalmente, se hace una reflexión sobre los costos asociados a la restauración y se ofrecen recomendaciones que pueden ayudar a promover la sucesión ecológica en campos degradados. Palabras clave: Chiapas, degradación, regeneración natural, restauración, Selva Lacandona, selvas, sucesión secundaria.Abstract: Tropical rain forests have suffered intense deforestation and degradation due to anthropogenic activities. Areas once occupied by these highly diverse forests are now conformed by mosaics of agricultural fields, secondary forests, and, to a lesser extent, primary forest remnants. To study tropical rain forest succession and restoration ecology in the extensive abandoned deforested fields, the classic gap regeneration theory proves to be insufficient. These scenarios demand ecological principles that ...

ResumenEn una muestra de 243 infantes (119 niños y 124 niñas), de edades comprendidas entre 36 y 72 meses, pertenecientes a instituciones públicas y privadas, se evaluaron las propiedades psicométricas post adaptación y normalización del Cuestionario de Madurez Neuropsicológica Infantil CUMANIN. Los resultados encontrados permiten indicar que el instrumento posee una buena consistencia interna y es capaz de discriminar entre rangos de edad, obteniéndose rendimientos más altos a medida que la edad avanza. No se encontraron diferencias en puntajes por sexo. Factores tales como nivel socioeconómico y tipo de institución educacional a la que asiste el párvulo determinaron diferencias en los resultados obtenidos. Se concluye que el Cuestionario de Madurez Neuropsicológica Infantil CUMANIN es un instrumento válido y confiable para la evaluación del constructo madurez neuropsicológica en población preescolar.Palabras clave: Madurez Neuropsicológica, Evaluación Neuropsicológica Preescolar, CUMANIN AbstractIn a sample of 243 children (119 males and 124 females) aged between 36 and 72 months, students from public and private institutions, was evaluated the psychometric properties of Child Neuropsychological Maturity Questionnaire CUMANIN, post their adjustment and normalization. These findings can indicate that the instrument has good internal consistency and is able to discriminate between age groups, resulting in higher yields as age advances. There were no differences in scores by gender. Factors such as socioeconomic status and type of educational institution attended by the infant determined differences in the results. We concluded that the Child Neuropsychological Maturity Questionnaire CUMANIN is a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of neuropsychological maturity construct in preschool population.