Effects of landscape structure in watersheds under forest restoration on the health of stream ecosystems

• Grant number: 24/17451-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Silvio Frosini de Barros Ferraz
• Grantee: Alessandro Domingues da Silva
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/03478-0 - Ecohydrological functions of restored forest at Atlantic Forest biome (HIDROFLORES), AP.TEM

Abstract

Forest biomes have historically been occupied by agriculture and urbanization, resulting in small, disturbed and isolated forest patches (Dean, 1996). As forest protection regulations have been enforced, forest restoration has been observed in riparian areas (Lira et al., 2012; Teixeira et al., 2009). However, riparian forest restoration often consists of a mosaic of different forest features (Lira et al., 2012), which lacks a clear understanding of their functionality and structural benefits for hydrological processes and the stream ecosystem. Thus, this project aims to characterize the micro-catchments and riparian vegetation strip in the study area, and to understand the relationship of these landscape parameters with the stream ecosystem.