FOREST RESTORATION METHODS FOR ATLANTIC FOREST

The Atlantic Forest is one of the world's biomes known not only for its high biodiversity but also for being one of the most threatened on the planet. The forest restoration of degraded areas in this biome should promote the reestablishment of ecological processes and plant succession. Thus, monitoring and evaluation of forest restoration projects become fundamental for advancing scientific and technological knowledge, which can support new proposals and guide decision-making.

In this context, a study was conducted by master's student Valéria Hollunder Klippel with the aim of evaluating different methods of forest restoration in a Tabuleiro Forest, through the manipulation of floristic composition and silvicultural practices.

After three years of implementing the experiment, it was observed that silvicultural treatments aiming to reduce weed competition contributed to greater growth of tree vegetation. The results also indicate that weed competition is one of the major issues observed in the forest restoration process. C4 grasses (Brachiaria decumbens) directly compete with trees for growth resources such as water, nutrients, and light, as well as potentially exerting allelopathic effects.

Other treatments, where either pioneer species were planted or a cocktail of different native species was used, showed a higher influx of individuals and basal area (considering individuals with DBH ≥ 5 cm). The highest leaf area index (LAI), an indicator of restoration success, was observed in the treatment where, in addition to planting pioneer species, a leguminous plant (Sesbania grandiflora) was introduced, proving to be an alternative for quickly shading the area to be restored. Furthermore, the implementation of plantings for the recovery of degraded areas with the presence of leguminous species results in better quality senescent material and a low C/N ratio. These data reinforce the thesis that these species are important in forest restoration projects.

More details can be found in the student's complete dissertation on our website and in the articles: Comunicata Scientiae and Revista Arvore