Dendrochronology applied to the evaluation of forest restoration in the Atlantic Forest biome: growth, nutrition, biomass and carbon in the tree stem wood

• Grant number: 23/08463-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: February 28, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Mario Tommasiello Filho
• Grantee: Gabriela Morais Olmedo
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). 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

Abstract

The Atlantic Forest (AF) biome is considered a hotspot, presenting expressive biodiversity, endemism and being key to important ecosystem resources, such as environmental quality and carbon sequestration. However, the AF is currently highly threatened by urbanization and land conversion activities. Restoration strategies present themselves as potentials to convert these environmental problems in the biome. However, there are some knowledge gaps in restoration ecology that can be addressed by obtaining accurate and historical tree life data. Dendrochronology, as a discipline that studies the history of trees through the anatomical, physical and chemical parameters of the growth rings, provides key information about the growth rates, carbon fixation and nutrition of trees. Therefore, the present thesis project aims to prospect on the potential of applying dendrochronological techniques in restoration ecology studies in AF. The project comprises four main chapters that include (i) a literature review on the demands of restoration in the AF and how the discipline of dendrochronology can contribute to these issues; (ii) verification of the dendrochronological potential of twenty species used in restoration plantings; (iii) analyses considering different dendrochronological proxies for monitoring plantations under different conditions and (iv) for evaluating restoration methodologies with different objectives, in relation to environmental predictors. The project will provide a new point of view for restoration ecology, allowing pioneering and fundamental discussions to achieve global conservation goals in the AF.

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

BOVI, RENATA CRISTINA; ORTEGA-RODRIGUEZ, DAIGARD RICARDO; HORNINK, BRUNA; OLMEDO, GABRIELA MORAIS; ASSIS-PEREIRA, GABRIEL; TOMAZELLO-FILHO, MARIO; COOPER, MIGUEL; BERNARDINO, ANGELO FRAGA; FERREIRA, TIAGO OSORIO. Tree rings of Terminalia catappa Linn. and climate variability in a tropical South American estuary. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, v. 358, p. 11-pg., 2024-09-12. (18/22914-8, 23/07753-6, 23/08463-1, 23/14668-5, 20/11502-0)

OLMEDO, GABRIELA MORAIS; DE OLIVEIRA, JULIANO MORALES; TOMAZELLO-FILHO, MARIO. What do tree-growth archives tell us about anthropogenic pressures and their mitigations in the Atlantic Forest?. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS, v. 33, p. 20-pg., 2025-01-01. (23/08463-1)

OLMEDO, GABRIELA MORAIS; DE OLIVEIRA, JULIANO MORALES; TEIXEIRA, MAYCON DA SILVA; MORES, GUILHERME JOSE; ENGEL, VERA LEX; TOMAZELLO-FILHO, MARIO. On the meaning of community-level tree-growth signal in a tropical forest restoration. DENDROCHRONOLOGIA, v. 91, p. 9-pg., 2025-06-01. (23/08463-1)