Supporting decisions for forest landscape restoration and forest-based economy

• Grant number: 22/07415-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Effective date (Start): August 01, 2022
• Effective date (End): July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Technology and Use of Forest Products
• Principal Investigator: Pedro Henrique Santin Brancalion
• Grantee: Nathalia Cristina Costa do Nascimento
• Host Institution: Instituto de Estudos Avançados (IEA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 20/06694-8 - BIOTA SYNTHESIS - Nucleus of Analysis and Synthesis of Nature-Based Solutions, AP.BTA.NPOP

Abstract

Tropical forests hold ecosystems of huge wealth in biodiversity and provide a great diversity of ecosystem services critical to human well-being. However, these are regions where deforestation and forest degradation are historically more intense. The Atlantic Forest, for instance, has a great diversity of soils, relief, and vegetation that together generate habitats for unique species. The biome has about 3% of the endemic plant species and more than 2% of the vertebrate species endemic to the whole terrestrial surface, being one of the most important biodiversity hotspots in the world. However, it is estimated that it is the Brazilian biome with the smallest remaining original forest, presenting a great demand for forest restoration initiatives. Forest restoration contributes to increasing habitat cover for biodiversity, protecting soil, providing hydrological services, mitigating climate change, supporting pollination of agricultural crops, strengthening the livelihoods of local communities, and promoting social and economic development. Currently, there is a growing awareness of the importance of forest restoration and the understanding that its actions go beyond the recovery of ecosystem functions, but also have a strong socioeconomic component that implies the development of alternative economic activities with enormous potential to provide a wide variety of ecosystem services to human populations.For this reason, understanding different stakeholder perspectives on restoration becomes crucial for the development of instruments capable of supporting decision-making processes and pointing out alternatives and opportunities for the success of forest restoration initiatives. In this context, the Biota Síntese project has forest restoration in the state of São Paulo as one of its main challenges (challenge 2). The project aims to develop syntheses of academic knowledge and the harmonization of databases capable to support the creation of instruments to encourage and plan forest restoration initiatives. The objective of this post-doctorate is to carry out a survey of data and thematic databases and their subsequent harmonization and improvement in order to provide quick, clear, and interactive information to planners of restoration actions; to carry out interactive analyzes with other work fronts of the Biota Síntese project that involve solutions based on nature in different contexts, and explore alternatives that allow the creation of data-sharing software with users from different sectors of society. (AU)