The primary productivity of planted forests in order to restore forest is affect by species diversity?

• Grant number: 11/21112-6
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): July 01, 2012
• Effective date (End): June 30, 2013
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Henrique Santin Brancalion
• Grantee: Luis Eduardo Bernardini
• Home Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The tropical rain forests are known to show higher levels of species diversity and potential for absorption and retention of biomass above the stem and atmospheric carbon. Given these two remarkable features of these ecosystems, understanding the role of species diversity on primary productivity of forests in the restoration process has direct implications in developing projects focusing on the sale of carbon credits and ecological restoration. In this context, the objective of this study is to assess whether a relation between the ecophysiological parameters linked to photosynthetic radiation intercepted, the light use efficiency and functional physiology of the leaves, with the net primary productivity of wood (WNPP) and the community with different wealth of native tree species. The project will build on the thermodynamic concept of self-organization (Energy Theory of Ecology) and BEF (Biodiversity Ecosystem Functioning). Work will be performed in an experiment carried out in May 2006 at the Experimental Station Anhembi, Anhembi-SP, belonging to the DCF ESALQ / USP. In this experiment, plots were planted 45 x 48 m, with 480 individuals each were studied in a completely randomized, with 20, 60 and 120 species (treatments). In all plots will be evaluated for stem biomass of individuals planted, photosynthetic active radiation intercepted and the area index of vegetation, the transmittance through the canopy, the light use efficiency and specific leaf area index and dry mass leaf all species.