Monitoring Ecosystem Health in a Tropical Restoration Site: Insights from Multi-Proxy Tree-Ring and Wood Traits Analysis

• Grant number: 25/09011-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: January 19, 2026
• End date: September 18, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Mario Tommasiello Filho
• Grantee: Gabriela Morais Olmedo
• Supervisor: Stephane Ponton
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Unité Mixte De Recherche Silva, Site De Nancy, France
• Associated to the scholarship: 23/08463-1 - Dendrochronology applied to the evaluation of forest restoration in the Atlantic Forest biome: growth, nutrition, biomass and carbon in the tree stem wood, BP.DR

Abstract

Worldwide, there is a growing effort in restoration ecology, especially in regions with significant biodiversity, such as the Atlantic Forest biome. However, there are still knowledge gaps in the development of indicators to evaluate long-term restoration success and ecosystem health. Tree-ring studies offer a promising approach to evaluating restoration success by providing annual insights into tree growth dynamics, wood density, and dendrochemical composition-parameters essential for long-term monitoring of restoration progress. Despite their potential, dendrochronological and dendrochemical studies remain scarce in Atlantic Forest restoration sites. This project aims to further explore their applications by developing biogeochemical series of native Atlantic Forest trees from a restoration experiment. Specifically, the study will (i) characterize the chemical composition of tree rings in native species commonly used in restoration efforts, (ii) investigate physiological mechanisms such as resource allocation and drought resilience in both planted and naturally regenerating species, and (iii) employ a multiproxy approach-integrating tree-ring width, density, and chemical profiles-to analyze the interactions between these traits and their response to abiotic factors. By analyzing how different species respond to soil nutrient availability over time, this study will provide empirical data to refine the criteria for selecting species best suited for ecosystem recovery. Furthermore, tracking key nutrient levels over time will offer preliminary insights into fertilization strategies that may enhance forest productivity and resilience. The chemical analyses will be conducted using the XRF Itrax Multiscanner for chemical profiles and LA-ICP-MS for element distribution images among the species. This proposal is a collaboration with Dr. Stéphane Ponton at UMR Silva, a joint research institution between AgroParisTech, INRAE and the Université de Lorraine (Champenoux, France).