Interference and weed effect on seedlings of four seasonal forest tree species
| Grant number: | 16/07498-2 |
| Support type: | Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate |
| Effective date (Start): | September 01, 2016 |
| Effective date (End): | April 30, 2017 |
| Field of knowledge: | Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering |
| Principal Investigator: | Pedro Henrique Santin Brancalion |
| Grantee: | Nino Tavares Amazonas |
| Supervisor abroad: | David Forrester |
| Home Institution: | Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil |
| Local de pesquisa : | University of Freiburg, Germany |
| Associated to the scholarship: | 14/02070-9 - Challenges and opportunities of the use of eucalyptus as a commercial pioneer species in forest restoration, BP.DR |
Abstract The high cost of restoring tropical forests is, nowadays, the greatest obstacle to achieving large scale restoration. In order to overcome this barrier, we developed and implemented restoration plantings that included Eucalyptus grown with mid- to late-successional native tree species. The aim was to create favorable conditions for the regeneration of native species while simultaneously generating income by exploiting Eucalyptus as a commercial pioneer species, which shall be replaced by the native species after it is harvested. This project abroad aims to bring new approaches and analyses to this research, as well as filling some gaps within the original project. To better evaluate our experiments we will use tree-level approaches and neighborhood indices to better understand the stand-level dynamics. We will examine interactions relating to light, water and nutrients, and lastly, we will parameterize and test a forest growth model that has been specifically designed for mixed-species forests and that will be used to examine the effects of biotic and abiotic factors (e.g. species combinations and droughts) on growth and forest functioning and that can be used as a tool by land managers to apply. At the end of this research, we will have covered the main aspects and approaches of the effects of competition on tree growth using data from our restoration experiments and have developed a management tool for its practical application. (AU) | |