Evaluating drivers of forest recovery with a multiscale approach

• Grant number: 19/21920-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)
• Start date: November 01, 2019
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Nature Conservation
• Agreement: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Henrique Santin Brancalion
• Grantee: Laura Helena Porcari Simões
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/18416-2 - Understanding restored forests for benefiting people and nature - NewFor, AP.BTA.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 22/12138-6 - Functional composition of native tree species regenerating beneath eucalyptus plantations, BE.EP.DD

Abstract

In general, forest recovery is expected to take place in degraded areas as a gradual change towards a system that is structurally, compositionally and functionally similar to old growth forests. However, this process is notably variable, reflecting biotic and abiotic factors performing in different spatial scales. Greater understanding of the role of such recovery drivers across spatial scales is crucial for developing restoration strategies because it enables predicting outcomes of management interventions under varied environments. Here, we propose to compare the recovery of Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF) under varied conditions. We hypothesize that local-scale adversities for forest recovery interact with landscape structure and regional features. Therefore, the effect of local-scale drivers might be adequately predicted and/or controlled if surroundings and regional aspects are taken into account. We propose to investigate such relations within the BAF context by analyzing the development of forest recovery in 120 vegetation plots, which will be allocated in 20 sites under forest recovery, comprising four BAF ecoregions. Soil conditions, landscape context, and geographical features will be described for each plot to investigate restoration drivers that influence the variation of forest recovery among ecoregions, among sites from the same ecoregion, as well as within each site. We expect our results to assist strategies of tropical forest restoration by improving the prognosis of recovery trajectories within the domains of BAF. (AU)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

SIMÕES, Laura Helena Porcari. Tropical tree monocultures: \green deserts\ or \nurse trees\ fostering forest succession?. 2024. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC) Piracicaba.