Search

Collecting and transplanting wild seedlings and mature plants have been used in restoration projects to reduce costs and increase conservation of local genetic material. We review the published literature on restoration projects that used transplanted seedlings and mature plants for ecological restoration. Searching the Web of Science platform using five keywords for articles published in 1945–2023 resulted in 621 articles, with only 51 (9%) of them relevant to the topic. We categorized these 51 publications by ecosystem type, the number and growth forms of species, plant survival rate, as well as the time and cost of transplantation. Forests and wetlands were the most researched ecosystems, and most articles studied tropical forests and the southeastern region of Brazil. Nearly half of the studies (44%) used trees for transplantation, and 73% focused on only one species. In wetlands, mainly aquatic herbs were transplanted (38%). Survival was highest in wetlands (lakes) and lowest in temperate and tropical forests, regardless of the number of species or growth forms. Only three articles (7%) included costs or the time frame of the process of transplantation or monitoring. Despite having few published studies, this practice has high potential for the ecological restoration of tropical and temperate forests. Seedlings and adult plants from natural regeneration can be transplanted to complement or even replace conventional methods of planting nursery seedlings and direct sowing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides enabling economic activity, the domestication of indigenous species in situ configures a strategy for the conservation of genetic resources in Agroforestry Systems (AFSs), as well as an ecological restoration strategy. Successful productivity and restoration through AFSs require active intervention with agroecological practices, e.g., the use of green manure. We evaluated how planting different green manure species in consortium with Guavira influences its reproductive period, growth, and productivity in different spatial arrangements. Guavira, Campomanesia adamantium, is a shrub that is native to the Brazilian Savannah and has fruticulture potential. To evaluate growth, we measured plant height and canopy cover and to evaluate fruit yield, we monitored reproductive phenology among different treatments. Guavira grows better in less dense areas with Crotalaria breviflora and Cajanus cajan rather than with Canavalia ensiformis. In all inter-row spacing of Guavira and green manure species, the reproductive phases were highly seasonal, with flowering and fruiting lasting for 2 and 4 months, respectively. Guavira plants that grew in consortium with green manure in different inter-row spacing presented different flowering times, but this difference was not reflected in fruit production. Fruiting and growth appear to be affected by inter-row spacing, as well as by the species used in the consortium. Thus, these variables must be considered carefully when implementing an agroforestry system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Transplantation of natural regenerating seedlings was an effective technique. • Collect seedlings in low areas and transplant them to areas of high topography. • Protection from herbivory proved essential at sites with high densities of herbivores. • Shelter in seedlings was more economical and led to greater survival in the field. Transplantation of naturally regenerating seedlings (hereafter wildlings) has great potential as a restoration tool as it involves the use of acclimatized individuals and preservation of local and endemic genotypes. When successfully used, this technique has the added benefits of increasing structural and compositional diversity, preserving local and endemic genotypes, and reducing ecological restoration costs. In wetland ecosystems, flooding is an abiotic filter that may hinder success of restoration efforts. We hypothesized that transplanting "ecologically toughened" wildlings from low-lying, flooded areas into restoration areas of higher relief and lower frequency of flooding, would be a successful strategy. In this study, we transplanted wildlings from periodically flooded areas upslope to test the effect of topographic position (where they were collected and outplanted), and protection against herbivory on seedling survival and growth. The experimental design included two collection times and planting areas (high and low topography), two seedling height, use of protection against mammalian herbivory, and four species that represent different functional types. We also evaluated the costs involved. The best experimental outcome for the four study species (most abundance floodplain species) was found with small seedlings (10–39 cm) collected at low relief and outplanted to higher elevations, with protection against herbivory. Even under unusually extreme flood events (high flooding over 7 months) the tree legume Inga vera has emerged with the highest survival rate. The costs of transplantation are lower (USD 739 ha−1) than those found in previous studies and the use of protection against herbivory was also considerably low (USD 2484 ha−1). That said, these estimated costs are on an experimental scale and do not represent large-scale operations, which could reduce and improve cost-benefits significantly. In remote places such as the Pantanal, the lack of nursery infrastructure, high associated costs of seedling production and vulnerability to herbivory are the main challenges for restoration. Hence, wildling collection can be a useful strategy to overcome such obstacles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Atlantic Forest is the biome with the highest number of papers on ecological restoration. • Pantanal, Pampa and Caatinga are the least studied in terms of ecological restoration. • In all biomes, most of the studies are related to monitoring. • The number of species used in restored areas is limited. • It is necessary to include different life forms, restoration techniques and studies using reference areas to measure success. The Bonn challenge aims at the restoration of 350 million hectares of degraded ladscapes by 2030. In Brazil, the restoration goal for 2030 is 12 million hectares. Despite the great demand for ecological restoration across the whole of Brazil, there have been no analyses of the studies carried out in different biomes. In addition, conservation efforts must cover all biomes, so that different regions can take advantage of the many benefits of restoration. Our aim was to identify advances and gaps in current restoration knowledge in order to guide future efforts in Brazil. Our bibliometric survey in the Web of Science using 23 keywords related to restoration generated a total of 530 papers, of which 291 were included in the analysis. The papers were published in 121 scientific journals between 1988 and 2018, with the largest number of papers in 2016. The Atlantic Forest was the biome with the highest number of studies, as it is one of the most threatened tropical forest regions in the world and maintains the largest number of research institutions and receives the highest level of funding support in the country. Regarding the types of studies, temporal monitoring was more frequent in the Amazon, Cerrado, Caatinga, and Pampa, while the monitoring at one point in time was more frequent in the Atlantic Forest. From the studies examined, 31% used a reference area for comparing restoration success. The most studied organisms were plants (81%), and among them, trees were the most frequent, followed by fungi, birds, invertebrates, mammals, and reptiles. The pre-restoration degradation differed among biomes, with deforestation for logging the most cited in the Amazon, agriculture, and livestock in the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado, logging and cattle ranching in Caatinga, and livestock in the Pampa and Pantanal. In general, active/assisted natural succession was the most frequent restoration process: planting seedlings more readily occurred in the Amazon, Atlantic Forest, and Caatinga, whereas natural regeneration in the Cerrado and Pantanal and sowing in Pampa. The studies varied among the age of restoration (>1 to 67 years for active restoration and >1 to 120 years for passive/unassisted natural succession), and the number of species planted (1 to 121 species). We identified an important regional knowledge gap for the Pantanal, Caatinga, and Pampa, as well as the need to include reference areas, evaluate different restoration techniques (besides planting seedlings), and the inclusion of other taxa and life forms in biodiversity studies apart from trees. We also identified the need to expand research to assess landscape metrics, prioritization, legislation, and public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of using green manure for ecological restoration has grown so significantly that there is a shortage of seeds for purchase on the market. Nonetheless, there is very little literature available demonstrating the effects and benefits commonly cited for green manure for addressing important environmental filters, such as herbivory and invasive grasses. Our objective is to determine which spatial sowing arrangement including green manure promotes the lowest rates of herbivory on native species and decreases cover by invasive grasses in ecological restoration. We experimentally tested three sowing configurations of green manure intercropping with native species: T1 the lowest herbivoy rate for both native and green manure, mixture of native and green manure species in the same row, T2, alternating rows of green manure and native species, and T3, rows of native species intercropped with a 2 m wide strip of green manure. We found that (1) green manure species experience greater damage from herbivory than do native species, with average values ranging from 1.8 times higher values in green manure than natives in T1, 2.9 times in T2, and 2.7 times in T3 (when sown in rows and in broader strips, green manure and native species attract more herbivorous insects than if they were sown together [muvuca]); and (2) when green manure and native species are planted mixed in the same row they produce greater soil cover, and thus limit invasion by undesired species. The use of green manure has been identified as an alternative method for overcoming the environmental filters of herbivory and invasive grasses in restoration areas. Considering the demand for information that supports the use of green manure for purposes of ecological restoration, the novel results of the present study fill a void and should prove to be of great interest to researchers and practitioners. In addition, the presented results provide information on efficient and low‐cost restoration techniques that are necessary for the activity to gain scale, enabling countries to meet the large restoration targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Restoring fauna is a fundamental objective of ecological restoration. For organisms that depend on vegetation structures (e.g., hunting support), such as spiders, this can be difficult, especially in early stages of intervention. Multifunctionality in restoration practices occurs when one action can achieve more than one objective. Given the complexity of restoration actions and the general scarcity in resources worldwide, this property can play a key role. Therefore, we sought to study the multifunctionality of using seedling shelters to support Araneae recolonization, through the addition of structural complexity (e.g., wire mesh structures as spider webs support). We evaluated the presence of Araneae , the percentage of shelter covered by webs and elements of structural complexity (height and number of leaves,) in 32 seedlings of four tree species that had been in the restoration process for about one year. To determine the relationship between structural complexity and Araneae abundance, we used a Generalized Additive Model (GAM). We observed spiders (95.5% Araneidae) on all monitored structures (seven on average), and an average of 5% of the shelters' area covered by webs. The variation in spider abundance in shelters was correlated to seedling height and number of leaves. The taller the seedling, the fewer spiders it had, and higher spider abundance was found when seedlings had from 25 to 30 leaves. The spatial characteristics of seedlings inside screens is a condition of the quality/availability of the shelter as a resource for spider colonization. Therefore, our results indicate a possible multifunctional property of seedling shelters in improving microhabitat structure for orb-weaver spiders, as well as preventing herbivory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In ecological restoration, one of the main challenges is to develop new methods, techniques, and incentives that both favour and reduce maintenance costs in restoration projects. Besides, post-planting maintenance is often neglected hampering seedling survival over time owing to alien grasses, which compete strongly with native plants for resources. To solve these issues, recently, an innovative technology called Nucleário has been developed in Brazil. Aiming to hinder alien competition filters, the Nucleário also attempts to condition a better microenvironment, reducing drought stress through the water storage tank, decreasing temperatures, which facilitates the survival and growth of seedlings in areas under restoration. Another method used to decrease alien grasses, which is inexpensive, is seedling crowning using cardboard lowing maintenance needs in restored areas. Cardboard has similar functions to Nucleário , such as protecting soil against loss of water and nutrients and reducing competition with invasive exotic grasses. Therefore, comparing them also with traditional manual weeding (i.e., clean-weeded crown by hoe), we aimed to verify which technique is most cost-efficient for seedling crown maintenance of Dipteryx alata Vog., which is an indigenous tree species with high economic value owing to its nuts. We tested three techniques in areas under restoration in the Cerrado, in the Environmental Protection Area "Córrego Guariroba" located in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. We monitored seedlings submitted to the three methods in the wet and the dry periods for biotic (competition with exotic grasses, herbivory, and growth) and abiotic (moisture and soil temperature) indicators. We observed that the Nucleário was the treatment that maintained the highest soil moisture, resulting in a larger canopy area. However, these effects do not reflect increases in the survival rate, diameter, and height of the seedlings. None of the treatments was effective in reducing herbivory. Nucleário was the most effective treatment in reducing the competition of seedlings with invasive grasses. Cardboard presented an implementation value 21.5 times lower than Nucleário and 1.2 times than manual crowning. Given the high purchase price, the Nucleário 's cost-benefit ratio was very high compared to the crowning of cardboard and the manual weeding, which discourages us from recommending it for this species with high survival rates. Its project can be revised to decrease herbivory rates, as well as its efficiency tested in the short and long term in different ecosystems and species, particularly species susceptible to water stress. • Dipteryx alata is a Cerrado native tree appreciated for its nuts and had high rates of seedling survival in all treatments. • Nucleário enhanced soil moisture content in dry season, enlarged D. alata crown area, and reduced alien grass competition. • Cardboard was the most cost-effective maitenance technique and presented an implementation value 21.5 times lower than Nucleário and 1.2 times than manual crowning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]