Direct seeding of Brazilian savanna trees: effects of plant cover and fertilization on seedling establishment and growth

Which spatial arrangement of green manure is able to reduce herbivory and invasion of exotic grasses in native species?

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.

Sobrevivência e crescimento de espécies nativas do Cerrado após semeadura direta na recuperação de pastagem abandonada

Considerando que estudos sobre a sobrevivência e o crescimento das espécies nativas via semeadura direta nas savanas brasileiras ainda são escassos, este trabalho acrescenta informações para essa técnica com 36 espécies arbóreas nativas do bioma Cerrado com relação a emergência, sobrevivência e crescimento no campo ao longo de três anos. Assim, 11.550 sementes foram semeadas em 2.520 covas, espaçadas 1 × 1 m, em duas áreas de 5.000 m2 cada, em área de pastagem abandonada em solo do tipo Neossolo Regolítico na Fazenda Entre Rios, Distrito Federal, Brasil. Cada cova recebeu de duas a dez sementes de uma espécie, sem qualquer tratamento de quebra de dormência. A taxa de emergência foi avaliada após 120 dias, e a sobrevivência das emergentes após um, dois e três anos. Além disso, seu crescimento em altura foi avaliado após três anos. Das 36 espécies, quatro apresentaram entre 10% e 20% de emergência e quatro (Copaifera langsdorffii, Hymenaea courbaril, Eugenia dysenterica e Stryphnodendron adstringens) acima de 20% e sobrevivência >80%, após um ano. Nesse mesmo período, 24 das espécies testadas apresentaram taxa de sobrevivência >60%. No geral, a taxa média de sobrevivência dos indivíduos nos três anos foi baixa (53%). Devido ao típico crescimento lento em altura observado para os indivíduos das espécies de Cerrado consideradas (média de 10,8 cm em três anos), na recuperação de áreas similares é importante também levar em conta o plantio de outras formas de vida (herbáceas e arbustivas) de espécies nativas, talvez até em densidades mais elevadas, para ocupar mais rapidamente o solo e assim buscar competir com as gramíneas exóticas.

Resilience and restoration of tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and grassy woodlands

Despite growing recognition of the conservation values of grassy biomes, our understanding of how to maintain and restore biodiverse tropical grasslands (including savannas and open-canopy grassy woodlands) remains limited. To incorporate grasslands into large-scale restoration efforts, we synthesised existing ecological knowledge of tropical grassland resilience and approaches to plant community restoration. Tropical grassland plant communities are resilient to, and often dependent on, the endogenous disturbances with which they evolved - frequent fires and native megafaunal herbivory. In stark contrast, tropical grasslands are extremely vulnerable to human-caused exogenous disturbances, particularly those that alter soils and destroy belowground biomass (e.g. tillage agriculture, surface mining); tropical grassland restoration after severe soil disturbances is expensive and rarely achieves management targets. Where grasslands have been degraded by altered disturbance regimes (e.g. fire exclusion), exotic plant invasions, or afforestation, restoration efforts can recreate vegetation structure (i.e. historical tree density and herbaceous ground cover), but species-diverse plant communities, including endemic species, are slow to recover. Complicating plant-community restoration efforts, many tropical grassland species, particularly those that invest in underground storage organs, are difficult to propagate and re-establish. To guide restoration decisions, we draw on the old-growth grassland concept, the novel ecosystem concept, and theory regarding tree cover along resource gradients in savannas to propose a conceptual framework that classifies tropical grasslands into three broad ecosystem states. These states are: (1) old-growth grasslands (i.e. ancient, biodiverse grassy ecosystems), where management should focus on the maintenance of disturbance regimes; (2) hybrid grasslands, where restoration should emphasise a return towards the old-growth state; and (3) novel ecosystems, where the magnitude of environmental change (i.e. a shift to an alternative ecosystem state) or the socioecological context preclude a return to historical conditions.