Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T19:11:03.989Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ecological outcomes and popular perceptions of urban restored forests in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2017

ANA ELENA MULER ,
PABLO VIANY PRIETO ,
RYAN C. RICHARDS ,
PEDRO H. S. BRANCALION  and
JOÃO MARCELO ALVARENGA BRAGA
ANA ELENA MULER*
Affiliation:
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão 915, 22460-030, Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
PABLO VIANY PRIETO
Affiliation:
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão 915, 22460-030, Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
RYAN C. RICHARDS
Affiliation:
Department of Forest Sciences, ‘Luiz de Queiroz’ College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Avenue Pádua Dias 11, 13.418-900, Piracicaba, Brazil Department of Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, VA, USA Center for Conservation and Sustainability, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC, USA
PEDRO H. S. BRANCALION
Affiliation:
Department of Forest Sciences, ‘Luiz de Queiroz’ College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Avenue Pádua Dias 11, 13.418-900, Piracicaba, Brazil
JOÃO MARCELO ALVARENGA BRAGA
Affiliation:
Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro, Rua Pacheco Leão 915, 22460-030, Jardim Botânico, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*
*Correspondence: Ana Elena Muler email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Ecological restoration is suggested as a tool to mitigate environmental problems caused by urbanization, but its utility may be hampered by conflict between ecological design and neighbouring communities’ needs. We explore this issue by comparing vegetation diversity and structure in a 21-year-old urban reforestation project in Rio de Janeiro city, Brazil, with a nearby reference forest, and we assessed popular perceptions about the project. Overall, density and basal area of canopy trees in the restoration plantation reached 73% and 46%, respectively, of the values found in the reference forest, but ground cover by exotic grasses was substantially higher in the planted forest. Rarefied species richness was similarly high in the plantation forest (59 species) and in the remnant forest (69 species), but species composition was markedly different. The human legacy on restoration diminished with time, reflected in the higher proportion of species and individuals of late-successional, native and not-planted species in the seedling community of the plantation forest. While community perceptions of reforestation were positive and both use and non-use values were reported, interviewees reported little involvement in the development of the project, which could have contributed to synergies between ecological and social outcomes.

Keywords

collaborative projectsecosystem servicesparticipatory restorationpopular perceptionsrestoration monitoringurban restoration
Type
Non-Thematic Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 45 , Issue 2: Thematic section. Humans and Island Environments , June 2018 , pp. 155 - 162
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Supplementary material can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1017/S0376892917000388

References

Alexiades, M.N. & Sheldon, J.W. (1996) Selected Guidelines for Ethnobotanical Research: A Field Manual. New York, NY, USA: The New York Botanical Garden Press.Google Scholar
Aronson, J., Blignaut, J.N., Milton, S.J., Le, Maitre, D., Esler, K.J., Limouzin, A., Fontaine, C., de Wit, M.P., Mugido, W., Prinsloo, P., van der Elst, L. & Lederer, N. (2010) Are socioeconomic benefits of restoration adequately quantified? A meta-analysis of recent papers (2000–2008) in Restoration Ecology and 12 other scientific journals. Restoration Ecology 18: 143–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aswani, S. & Weiant, P. (2004) Scientific evaluation in women's participatory management: monitoring marine invertebrate refugia in the Solomon Islands. Human Organization 63: 301– 319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, A., Gouzerh, A. & Brancalion, P.H.S. (2014) Multi-scalar governance for restoring the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: a case study on small landholdings in protected areas of sustainable development. Forests 5: 599–619.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bendor, T., Lester, T.W., Livengood, A., Davis, A. & Yonavjak, L. (2015) Estimating the size and impact of the ecological restoration economy. Restoration Ecology 23: 209–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blakesley, D., Hardwick, K. & Elliott, S. (2016) Research needs for restoring tropical forests in Southeast Asia for wildlife conservation: framework species selection and seed propagation. New Forests 24: 165–174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brancalion, P.H.S., Cardozo, I.V., Camatta, A., Aronson, J. & Rodrigues, R.R. (2013) Cultural ecosystem services and popular perceptions of the benefits of an ecological restoration project in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Restoration Ecology 22: 65–71.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brancalion, P.H.S. & Holl, K.D. (2016) Functional composition trajectory: a resolution to the debate between Suganuma, Durigan, and Reid. Restoration Ecology 24: 1–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carreiro, M.M., Song, Y.C. & Wu, J. (2008) Ecology, Planning, and Management of Urban Forests. New York, NY, USA: Springer.Google Scholar
Catterall, C.P. (2016) Roles of non-native species in large-scale regeneration of moist tropical forests on anthropogenic grassland. Biotropica 48: 809–824.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Colwell, R.K. (2005) EstimateS: statistical estimation of species richness and shared species from samples [www document]. URL http://viceroy.colorado.edu/estimates/Google Scholar
Crawley, J.M. (2005) Statistics: An Introduction using R. London, UK: John Wiley & Sons Ltd.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Daily, G.C. & Matson, P. (2008) Ecosystem services: from theory to implementation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105: 9455–9456.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dutra, V.F. & Morim, M.P. (2011) Mimosa in Lista de Espécies da Flora do Brasil. Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro [www document]. URL http://floradobrasil.jbrj.gov.br/jabot/floradobrasil/FB18776Google Scholar
Engemann, C. (2005) Consumo de recursos florestais e produção de açúcar no período colonial: o caso do engenho de Camorim. In: As Marcas do Homem na Floresta: História Ambiental de um Trecho Urbano de Mata Atlântica, ed. Oliveira, R.R., pp. 23–33. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Puc-Rio.Google Scholar
Ewel, J.J. & Putz, F.E. (2004) A place for alien species in ecosystem restoration. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 2: 354–360.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fu, B., Wang, K., Lu, Y., Liu, S., Ma, K., Chen, L. & Liu, G. (2004) Entangling the complexity of protected area management: the case of Wolong Biosphere Reserve, southwestern China. Environmental Management 33: 788–798.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Galvão, M.C. (1957) Lavradores Brasileiros e Portugueses na Vargem Grande. Boletim Carioca de Geografia 10: 36–60.Google Scholar
Gelcich, S., Edwards-Jones, G. & Kaiser, M.J. (2005) Importance of attitudinal differences among artisanal fishers toward co-management and conservation of marine resources. Conservation Biology 19: 865–875.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IBGE (2010a) Censo 2010 [www document]. URL http://www.censo2010.ibge.gov.br/sinopseporsetores/Google Scholar
IBGE (2010b) Atlas do Censo Demográfico 2010 – Perfil socioeconômico da população [www document]. URL http://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv64529_cap8_pt2.pdfGoogle Scholar
IBGE (2014) Armazenzinho [www document]. URL http://portalgeo.rio.rj.gov.br/armazenzinho/web/historiasRio.asp#Google Scholar
Jim, C.Y. & Xu, S.S.W. (2002) Stifled stakeholders and subdued participation: interpreting local responses toward Shimentai Nature Reserve in South China. Environmental Management 30: 327–341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lamb, D., Erskine, P.D. & Parrotta, J. (2005) Restoration of degraded tropical forest landscapes. Science 310: 1628–1632.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lortie, C.J. & Callaway, R.M. (2006) Re-analysis of meta-analysis: support for the stress-gradient hypothesis. Journal of Ecology 94: 7–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Martin, P.A., Newton, A.C., Bullock, J.M., Martin, P.A., Newton, A.C. & Bullock, J.M. (2014) Carbon pools recover more quickly than plant biodiversity in tropical secondary forests. Biological Sciences 281: 8–11.Google Scholar
Mascia, M.B. (2003) The human dimension of coral reef marine protected areas: recent social science research and its policy implications. Conservation Biology 17: 630–632.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MEA (2005) Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis. Washington, DC, USA: Island Press.Google Scholar
Melo, F.P.L., Arroyo-Rodríguez, V., Fahrig, L., Martínez-Ramos, M. & Tabarelli, M. (2013) On the hope for biodiversity-friendly tropical landscapes. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 28: 461– 468.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murcia, C., Guariguata, M.R., Montes, E., Escobar, E.M., Moreno, F.H. & Ram, W. (2016) Challenges and prospects for scaling-up ecological restoration to meet international commitments: Colombia as a case study. Conservation Letters 9: 213– 220.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliveira, R.F., Maia, A.A., Penha, T.M.P.A. & Cunha, Z.M.S. (1980) Estudo Sobre a Flora e Fauna da Represa do Camorim e Áreas Circunvizinhas. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Fundação Estadual de Engenharia do Meio Ambiente DIPEC Press.Google Scholar
Oliveira, R.R. & Guedes-Bruni, R.R. (2009) Geografia, história e ecologia: criando pontes para a interpretação da paisagem. Ambiente e Sociedade 12: 49–66.Google Scholar
Oliveira-Filho, A.T. (2006) Catálogo das Árvores Nativas de Minas Gerais – Mapeamento e Inventário da Flora Nativa e dos Reflorestamentos de Minas Gerais. Lavras, Brazil: Editora UFV.Google Scholar
Padilla, F.M. & Pugnaire, F.I. (2006) The role of nurse plants in the restoration of degraded environments. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4: 196–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Podadera, D.S., Engel, V.L., Parrotta, J.A., Machado, D.L., Sato, L.M. & Durigan, G. (2015) Influence of removal of a non-native tree species Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth. on the regenerating plant communities in a tropical semideciduous forest under restoration in Brazil. Environmental Management 56: 1148– 1158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Poorter, L., Bongers, F., Aide, T.M., Zambrano, A.M.A., Balvanera, P., Becknell, J.M., Boukili, V., Brancalion, P.H.S., Broadbent, E.N., Chazdon, R.L., Craven, D., Almeida-cortez, J.S. De, Cabral, G.A.L., Jong, B.H.J. De, Denslow, J.S., Dent, D.H., Dewalt, S.J., Hernandez-stefanoni, J.L., Jakovac, C.C., Junqueira, A.B. et al. (2016) Biomass resilience of Neotropical secondary forests. Nature 530: 211–214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pretty, J. & Smith, D. (2004) Social capital in biodiversity conservation and management. Conservation Biology 18: 631–638.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redford, K.H. & Adams, W.M. (2009) Payment for ecosystem services and the challenge of saving nature. Conservation Biology 23: 785–7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sansevero, J.B.B., Prieto, P.V., de Moraes, L.F.D. & Rodrigues, P.J.P. (2011) Natural regeneration in plantations of native trees in lowland Brazilian Atlantic Forest: community structure, diversity, and dispersal syndromes. Restoration Ecology 19: 379–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simberloff, D., Alexander, J., Allendorf, F., Aronson, J., Antunes, P.M., Bacher, S., Bardgett, R., Bertolino, S., Bishop, M., Blackburn, T.M., Blakeslee, A., Blumenthal, D. & Bortolus, A. (2011) Non-natives: 141 scientists object. Nature 475: 36.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Suganuma, M.S. & Durigan, G. (2015) Indicators of restoration success in riparian tropical forests using multiple reference ecosystems. Restoration Ecology 23: 238–251.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swaine, M.D. & Whitmore, T.C. (1988) On the definition of ecological species groups in tropical rain forests. Vegetatio 75: 81–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Team, R.D.C. (2011) A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing [www document]. URL http://www.r-project.org/Google Scholar
Togashi, H.F., Montezuma, R.C.M. & Leite, A.F. (2012) Precipitação uncidente e fluxo de atravessamento das chuvas em três estágios sucessionais de Floresta Atlântica no Maciço da Pedra Branca, Rio de Janeiro. Revista Árvore 36: 907–917.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
United Nations (2012) World population 2012 [www document]. URL http://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/index.htmGoogle Scholar
Van der Pijl, L. (1982) Principles of Dispersal in Higher Plants. New York, NY, USA: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Viani, R.A.G., Vidas, N.B., Pardi, M.M., Castro, D.C.V., Gusson, E. & Brancalion, P.H.S. (2015) Animal-dispersed pioneer trees enhance the early regeneration in Atlantic Forest restoration plantations. Natureza e Conservacao 13: 41–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vieira, D.L.M., Holl, K.D. & Peneireiro, F.M. (2009) Agro-successional restoration as a strategy to facilitate tropical forest recovery. Restoration Ecology 17: 451–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wortley, L., Hero, J.M. & Howes, M. (2013) Evaluating ecological restoration success: a review of the literature. Restoration Ecology 21: 537–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: Image

Muler supplementary material

Muler supplementary material 1

Download Muler supplementary material(Image)
Image 2.4 MB
Supplementary material: PDF

Muler supplementary material

Muler supplementary material 2

Download Muler supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 122.7 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Muler supplementary material

Muler supplementary material 3

Download Muler supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 129.1 KB
Supplementary material: PDF

Muler supplementary material

Muler supplementary material 4

Download Muler supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 88.4 KB