Can reproductive traits contribute to the success of ecological restoration?

Direct sowing has been proposed as an alternative to planting seedlings because of its low cost. However, there are still few works with direct seeding that aim to select species that best respond to the technique. Therefore, we carried out a direct sowing study with native tree species of the Semideciduous Seasonal Forest in Southern Brazil (Serra do Sudeste, State of Rio Grande do Sul).Errata. Organizador: Giselda Duriga

Impacto do rendimento de corte e da densidade de plantio na rentabilidade da silvicultura em pequenas propriedades em Santa Cruz do Sul-RS.

A adoção de uma densidade de plantio mais racional por parte de muitos pequenos produtores ainda representa um desafio aos extensionistas silviculturais na região de Santa Cruz do Sul - RS. Vários estudos foram realizados buscando demonstrar a melhor alternativa de diversos espaçamentos na região, mas questões relacionadas à perda de rendimento nas operações de colheita ainda são raros, assim como o potencial impacto de uma capacitação em colheita florestal para estes pequenos agricultores. Assim, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o impacto do aumento da densidade de plantio e do rendimento da operação de corte no retorno econômico de um sistema de produção florestal recomendado para pequenos produtores da região de Santa Cruz do Sul/RS. Foram utilizadas técnicas de entrevistas e painel com especialistas para o delineamento do modal recomendado, e utilizados os indicadores de viabilidade econômica Valor Anual Equivalente (VAE), Taxa Interna de Retorno (TIR), Relação Benefício/Custo (B/C) e Custo Médio Ponderado de Produção (CMPP). A produção de eucalipto na pequena propriedade mostrou-se viável economicamente, a densidade de plantio recomendada de 1.667 plantas por hectare apresentou os melhores resultados econômicos. O rendimento de corte teve impacto significativo no aumento do retorno econômico da atividade e a consideração da perda de rendimento nas operações de colheita devido ao aumento do espaçamento foi fundamental para evitar interpretações equivocadas dos resultados

Markedly Divergent Tree Assemblage Responses to Tropical Forest Loss and Fragmentation across a Strong Seasonality Gradient

We examine the effects of forest fragmentation on the structure and composition of tree assemblages within three seasonal and aseasonal forest types of southern Brazil, including evergreen, Araucaria, and deciduous forests. We sampled three southernmost Atlantic Forest landscapes, including the largest continuous forest protected areas within each forest type. Tree assemblages in each forest type were sampled within 10 plots of 0.1 ha in both continuous forests and 10 adjacent forest fragments. All trees within each plot were assigned to trait categories describing their regeneration strategy, vertical stratification, seed-dispersal mode, seed size, and wood density. We detected differences among both forest types and landscape contexts in terms of overall tree species richness, and the density and species richness of different functional groups in terms of regeneration strategy, seed dispersal mode and woody density. Overall, evergreen forest fragments exhibited the largest deviations from continuous forest plots in assemblage structure. Evergreen, Araucaria and deciduous forests diverge in the functional composition of tree floras, particularly in relation to regeneration strategy and stress tolerance. By supporting a more diversified light-demanding and stress-tolerant flora with reduced richness and abundance of shade-tolerant, old-growth species, both deciduous and Araucaria forest tree assemblages are more intrinsically resilient to contemporary human-disturbances, including fragmentation-induced edge effects, in terms of species erosion and functional shifts. We suggest that these intrinsic differences in the direction and magnitude of responses to changes in landscape structure between forest types should guide a wide range of conservation strategies in restoring fragmented tropical forest landscapes worldwide

The program for biodiversity research in Brazil: The role of regional networks for biodiversity knowledge, dissemination, and conservation

The Program for Biodiversity Research (PPBio) is an innovative program designed to integrate all biodiversity research stakeholders. Operating since 2004, it has installed long-term ecological research sites throughout Brazil and its logic has been applied in some other southern-hemisphere countries. The program supports all aspects of research necessary to understand biodiversity and the processes that affect it. There are presently 161 sampling sites (see some of them at Supplementary Appendix), most of which use a standardized methodology that allows comparisons across biomes and through time. To date, there are about 1200 publications associated with PPBio that cover topics ranging from natural history to genetics and species distributions. Most of the field data and metadata are available through PPBio web sites or DataONE. Metadata is available for researchers that intend to explore the different faces of Brazilian biodiversity spatio-temporal variation, as well as for managers intending to improve conservation strategies. The Program also fostered, directly and indirectly, local technical capacity building, and supported the training of hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. The main challenge is maintaining the long-term funding necessary to understand biodiversity patterns and processes under pressure from global environmental changes