Research Summary
Las Casas de la Selva, Patillas, Puerto Rico — The World Resources Institute estimates that each year 13.7 million hectares of tropical forest are cut down, with drastic consequences for biodiversity and local economic sustainability. Dr. Mark Nelson and the staff at Las Casas de la Selva are testing ways to harvest rainforest trees by mimicking nature. The project staff cuts long, three-meter-wide slots through the forest, each line separated by 10 meters of intact rainforest, as if a canopy tree had fallen in the rainforest. They plant tree seedlings in each line, and then harvest the trees years later with minimal disturbance to the surrounding forest. Two decades of research are being evaluated to see which planting sites are working best, what crops, both hardwood, and other plants of ethnobotanical use, can be utilized and what their impact is on the surrounding forest.
Meet the Scientists
Dr. Mark Nelson
Institute of Ecotechnics
Welcome to "Las Casas de la Selva," a tropical rainforest enrichment project on the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. By joining us this year, you will help assess the results of 21 years of research into the sustainable use of tropical rainforest land. The project is physically demanding, as the site is on steep slopes and in some places the undergrowth is thick. But at the end of the day, you will come home to a comfy tent, a shower, a good meal, and a magical evening listening to the Coqui calling through the night.
Dr. Mark Nelson was a founding Director of the Institute of Ecotechnics and has worked for several decades in closed ecological system research, ecological engineering, the restoration of damaged ecosystems, desert agriculture and orchardry and wastewater recycling. He is Chairman and CEO of the Institute of Ecotechnics, Vice Chairman of Global Ecotechnics Corporation and Vice-President for Wastewater Recycling Ecosystems for the Biosphere Foundation. He served as Director of Space and Environmental Applications for Space Biospheres Ventures, which created and operated Biosphere 2, the 3.15 acre materially-closed 6 facility near Tucson, Arizona – the world’s first laboratory for global ecology. Mark was a member of the eight-person crew for the first two-year closure experiment within Biosphere 2. He is a deputy organizer of the life science sessions on Closed Ecological Systems for COSPAR (the International Committee on Space Research of the ICSU). His educational background includes a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering Sciences from the University of Florida. His M.S. is from the School of Renewable Natural Resources, University of Arizona, and his B.A. in Philosophy/Pre- Med Sciences is from Dartmouth College.