Brazil’s forest restoration, biomass and carbon stocks: A critical review of the knowledge gaps

Gardon, Fernando Ravanini; Santos, Rozely Ferreira dos; Rodrigues, Ricardo Ribeiro

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2020.117972

Cited by 22 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 93 publications

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“…We highlight this idea on account of the increasing weight of recommendation in the literature that tropical forest restoration be focused on passive, rather than active, restoration (e.g. Chazdon and Uriarte, 2017;Meli et al 2017, but see Reid et al 2018;and Gardon et al 2020). Our results ground the recommendation of active restoration on sites that are too far from old-growth forests (i.e.…”

Section: Implications For Restoration Practicessupporting

confidence: 65%

Restoring tropical forest composition is more difficult, but recovering tree-cover is faster, when neighbouring forests are young

et al. 2020

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Neighbouring forests constitute biological sources that enable the succession from species-poor systems, such as tree-plantings, to highly diverse forests. However, old remnants are becoming rare in tropical agricultural landscapes. ObjectiveWe were interested in if, and how, spontaneous regeneration under tree-plantings reflects the age and the amount of the neighbouring forest cover. We anticipated that older forests promote a compositionally broader recovery in neighbouring tree-plantings, because older forests likely include disturbance-sensitive species, particularly within least deforested landscapes. MethodsWe studied twenty-seven restoration sites implemented as tree-plantings in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We quantified the effects of age and amount of neighbouring forest cover on structural and compositional characteristics of the regeneration community (dbh<5cm). We used two landscape groups (presence, or absence, of forests older than 30yrs.) with a similar areal range of forest cover, enabling the disentanglement of forest age from forest amount effects on regeneration community responses. ResultsSurprisingly, we found that greater forest cover correlated with denser and more species-rich regeneration communities only when neighbouring forests were young. This pattern was promoted by non-vertebrate dispersed species. Besides, regeneration communities in tree-plantings near to young forests had lower seed-mass and relative abundances of forest-specialists, compared to communities found near old forest patches. ConclusionRegeneration is likely denser in landscapes of vast young-forest coverage. However, small-seeded and habitat-generalist species, frequently related to disturbance tolerance, tend to be dominant if old-growth forests are far away. This biased seed source appears to preclude the restoration of typical historic tropical forest composition.

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Section: Implications For Restoration Practicessupporting

confidence: 65%

Restoring tropical forest composition is more difficult, but recovering tree-cover is faster, when neighbouring forests are young

et al. 2020

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“…Among forest attributes, time since the beginning of restoration (forest age) and plant community composition play a relevant role in aboveground biomass stocks for ecosystem restoration. While fast-growing species present a higher contribution during the early years, the contribution of slow-growing species is significant at later stages of succession, as pointed out by Gardon et al (2020).…”

Section: Dynamics Of Natural Regenerationmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Biomass accumulation can also be a main driver of plant community changes during tropical forest succession (Lohbeck et al, 2015). The studied secondary forests were highly productive, possibly owing to the coexistence of species that ensure a greater complementarity and facilitation among species in regenerated forests and the consequent efficiency in the use of available resources (Gardon et al, 2020). Among forest attributes, time since the beginning of restoration (forest age) and plant community composition play a relevant role in aboveground biomass stocks for ecosystem restoration.…”

Section: Dynamics Of Natural Regenerationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dynamics of Natural Regeneration: Implications for Landscape Restoration in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Siminski

Zambiazi

Santos

et al. 2021

Front. For. Glob. Change

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This study aimed to understand post-agricultural natural forest regeneration in the Southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest and its possible role as a cost-effective, passive approach to forest restoration. The study characterized vegetation structure, floristic composition, and the dynamics of secondary forest chronosequences. Data were collected from 159 plots (10 × 10 m each) across forest remnants in Santa Catarina State, covering forest ages that ranged from 2 to 60 years of regeneration after swidden agriculture. Only areas with no signs of degradation were sampled in order to provide a description of vegetation characteristics that could be used to identify and monitor natural regeneration. A total of 11,455 woody plants were identified and classified into 334 species representing 71 families. As the succession process unfolds, the continuous turnover of species makes forests more diverse and structurally complex. Floristic similarity among forest types is observed during the early stages of succession, but decreases over time. Pioneer species dominate young secondary forests, representing about 40% of the basal area up to 10 years of regeneration. Shade-tolerant species start colonizing the sites at early ages; however, they become more important structural elements only after 30 years of succession. The observed patterns of forest structure and species diversity largely conform to the post-agricultural succession seen in many tropical forests. The high species diversity found in this study highlights the importance of natural regeneration as a strategy to restore ecosystems. Floristic data can be used as a reference for choosing suitable species for active restoration, as well as contributing to the design of integrated restoration strategies. We herein reinforce the potential of natural regeneration as part of large-scale restoration programs, which would be particularly attractive to family farmers by the low cost of supplies and labor.

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“…and, although the first steps toward this goal are ongoing (i.e., formally delimiting and registering areas to be permanently assigned as legal reserves in each property in a standardized database-the Rural Environmental Registry System-CAR in Portuguese; Brancalion et al, 2016;Oakleaf et al, 2017), actual TDF restoration initiatives are still limited. Recent reviews indicate a large knowledge gap on TDF restoration in Brazil, given that only 4-5% of the studies on this subject were conducted in this ecosystem (Gardon et al, 2020;Guerra et al, 2020).…”

Section: Trends In Lccmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biophysical and Socioeconomic Factors Associated to Deforestation and Forest Recovery in Brazilian Tropical Dry Forests

Espírito-Santo

Rocha

Leite

et al. 2020

Front. For. Glob. Change

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The determination of land cover changes (LCCs) and their association to biophysical and socioeconomic factors is vital to support government policies toward the sustainable use of natural resources. The present study aimed to quantify deforestation, forest recovery and net cover change in tropical dry forests (TDFs) in Brazil from 2007 to 2016, and investigate how they are associated to biophysical and socioeconomic factors. We also assessed the effects of LCC variables in human welfare indicators. For this purpose, we used MODIS imagery to calculate TDF gross loss (deforestation), gross gain (forest recovery) and net cover change (the balance between deforestation and forest recovery) for 294 counties in three Brazilian states (Minas Gerais, Bahia, and Piauí). We obtained seven factors potentially associated to LCC at the county level: total county area, road density, humidity index, slope, elevation, and % change in human population and in cattle density. From 2007 to 2016, TDF cover increased from 76,693 to 80,964 km2 (+5.6%). This positive net change resulted from a remarkable forest recovery of 19,018 km2 (24.8%), offsetting a large deforested area (14,748 km2; 19.2%). Practically all these cover changes were a consequence of transitions from TDF to pastures and vice-versa, highlighting the importance of developing sustainable policies for cattle raising in TDF regions. Each LCC variable was associated to different set of factors, but two biophysical variables were significantly associated both to TDF area gained and lost per county: county area (positively) and slope (negatively), indicating that large and flat counties have very dynamic LCCs. The TDF net area change was only associated (negatively) to the humidity index, reflecting an increase in TDF cover in more arid counties. The net increase in Brazilian TDF area is likely a result from an interplay of biophysical and socioeconomic factors that reduced deforestation and caused pasture abandonment. Although the ecological integrity and permanence of secondary TDFs need further investigation, the recovery of this semi-arid ecosystem must be valued and accounted for in the national forest restoration programs, as it would significantly help achieving the goals established in the Bonn agreement and the Atlantic Rain Forest pact.

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Brazil’s forest restoration, biomass and carbon stocks: A critical review of the knowledge gaps

Cited by 22 publications

References 93 publications

Restoring tropical forest composition is more difficult, but recovering tree-cover is faster, when neighbouring forests are young

Restoring tropical forest composition is more difficult, but recovering tree-cover is faster, when neighbouring forests are young

Dynamics of Natural Regeneration: Implications for Landscape Restoration in the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Biophysical and Socioeconomic Factors Associated to Deforestation and Forest Recovery in Brazilian Tropical Dry Forests

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