Diagnóstico da taxa de sobrevivência e de crescimento de espécies nativas da Caatinga em projetos de restauração

Abstract

The semi-arid region of Northeast Brazil has serious degradation problems caused by the extraction of its natural resources and the indiscriminate use of soils for agriculture and livestock. This work studied the survival rate, frequency, growth and deciduousness of seedlings planted in 3 degraded areas of the Caatinga biome. These areas are located in Pernambuco, Ceará and Piauí and have soils with different usage histories. Monitoring of the areas took place between November 2017 and lasted until October 2020. The seedling survival rate was 96%, higher than that obtained in some previous studies. Of the 450 seedlings sampled, three species were more frequent in the plantations, Astronium urundeuva, Anadenanthera colubrina and Libidibia ferrea, corresponding to 17.1%, 12.4% and 9.3% of frequency, respectively. These results collaborate to affirm the high plasticity of these species. In the analysis of deciduousness and growth, it was seen that the loss of leaves, as well as rainfall, influences the growth of seedlings. Qualitative and quantitative surveys of plantations in forest restoration areas, especially in the Caatinga, are of paramount importance to understand which management techniques are appropriate for this biome. The fact that we are in the decade of the Restoration, according to the United Nations (UN), makes these results relevant to demonstrate the success of the recovery of degraded areas in the Caatinga biome, which has an extensive anthropic area. The information obtained in these activities serves as a basis for the protection and recovery of this biome.