How do we monitor degraded areas recovery projects?

Abstract

Areas undergoing forest restoration need to be monitored to achieve ecosystem services. This work was carried out to evaluate the establishment of the riparian forest area in the restoration process, after 18 years of intervention, through temporal analysis of the landscape, biotic and soil indicators. Moreover, a temporal analysis of the landscape, biomass and Gross Primary Production (GPP) was carried out, via geoprocessing, at five-intervals within the period from 2002 to 2020, as well as biotic indicators (seed rain, seed bank, seedlings), and edaphic indicators from 2019 to 2020. The seed rain presented 1,197 propagules, belonging to 27 different species. The soil seed bank showed higher density in the rainy season (21.3 seeds/m2), 25 seeds, seven species, and only one botanical family recorded. In the seedling bank, 1,193 seedlings were reported, belonging to 28 botanical families, in which 57% of the individuals are arboreal-shrubby of the forest. Edaphic conditions improved compared to the initial project implementation. In 2010 using the temporal analysis of the landscape, the planting area was 100% covered with dense vegetation. For biomass and the GPP is a linear increment over time. The successional stage of the area is advanced, with a significant representation of secondary and climax species. The monitoring favored understanding the dynamics of the restoration environment and conservation.