Look downthere is a gapthe need to include soil data in Atlantic Forest restoration

Author(s):Show less -

Mendes, Maiara S. ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Latawiec, Agnieszka E. ^{[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]} ; Sansevero, Jeronimo B. B. ^{[3, 6]} ; Crouzeilles, Renato ^{[1, 2, 7]} ; Moraes, Luiz F. D. ^{[3, 8]} ; Castro, Ana ^{[1, 2]} ; Alves-Pinto, Helena N. ^{[1, 2, 7]} ; Brancalion, Pedro H. S. ^[9] ; Rodrigues, Ricardo R. ^[10] ; Chazdon, Robin L. ^{[11, 2]} ; Barros, Felipe S. M. ^[2] ; Santos, Juliana ^{[1, 2]} ; Iribarrem, Alvaro ^{[1, 2]} ; Mata, Stella ^[3] ; Lemgruber, Luisa ^{[1, 2]} ; Rodrigues, Aline ^{[1, 2]} ; Korys, Katarzyna ^{[1, 2]} ; Strassburg, Bernardo B. N. ^{[1, 2, 7]}

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] Pontificia Univ Catolica Rio de Janeiro, Dept Geog & Environm, Rio Conservat & Sustainabil Sci Ctr, BR-22453900 Rio de Janeiro - Brazil

^[2] Int Inst Sustainabil, Estrada Dona Castorina 124, BR-22460320 Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[3] ENBT, Rua Pacheco Leao, 2040 Solar Imperatriz, BR-22460036 Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[4] Agr Univ Krakow, Fac Prod & Power Engn, Inst Agr Engn & Informat, Balicka 116B, PL-30149 Krakow - Poland

^[5] Univ East Anglia, Sch Environm Sci, Norwich Res Pk, Norwich NR4 7TJ, Norfolk - England

^[6] Fed Rural Univ Rio de Janeiro UFRRJ, Dept Environm Sci, Rodovia BR 465, Km 07, BR-23890000 Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[7] Univ Fed Rio de Janeiro, Programa Posgrad Ecol, BR-68020 Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[8] Brazilian Agr Res Corp, Embrapa Agrobiol, Rodovia BR 465, Km 7, BR-23891000 Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[9] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Queiroz, Dept Ciencias Florestais, Ave Padua Dias 11, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[10] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Queiroz, Dept Ciencias Biol, Ave Padua Dias 11, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[11] Univ Connecticut, Dept Ecol & Evolutionary Biol, Storrs, CT 06269 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: RESTORATION ECOLOGY; v. 27, n. 2, p. 361-370, MAR 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

Consideration of soil quality indicators is fundamental for understanding and managing ecosystems. Despite the evidence regarding the importance of soil for provision of local and global ecosystem services, such as water regulation and carbon sequestration, soil remains an under-investigated and undermined aspect of the environment. Here we evaluate to what extent soil indicators are taken into account in restoration. We focused on the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a highly fragmented biome and a global biodiversity hotspot. We conducted a systematic literature review and we showed that the majority (59%) of the studies on restoration did not consider any soil indicator. Studies that demonstrated the importance of soil indicators most commonly reported soil pH (71%, n = 44), followed by potassium content (66%, n = 41) and phosphorus (64.5%, n = 40), while the least reported indicator was water retention (6.5%, n = 4). Only 40% of the retrieved studies included information about reference sites or project baseline information. We complement our literature review with a case study on restoration in two areas of the Atlantic Forest. We found a relation between soil indicators such as soil organic matter, nitrogen, sodium and sand content, and aboveground indicators, confirming a necessity to include soil screening in restoration. Moreover, we found that prior to restoration none of these soil indicators were analyzed. This study highlights the gap that exists in soil data in restoration in studies on the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We urge scientists and practitioners to include basic soil analysis to maximize the successful outcomes of restoration. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/50718-5 - Ecological restoration of riparian forests, native forest of economic production and of degraded forest fragments (in APP and RL) based on restoration ecology of reference ecosystems in order to scientifically test the precepts of the New Brazilian Forest Code
• Grantee: Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants