The growth time of native Amazonian tree species has been considered real challenge to reforestation in the region. Some types, such as the golosa, begin to produce flowers at the age of 25. The shortening of the development period, given the current need for environmental recovery, has been the focus of some researches.

Some studies produced in Pará have shown promising results, such as the analysis carried out by the Graduate Program in Biodiversity and Biotechnology of the Bionorte Network (PPG-Bionorte) at the Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), where techniques have been used for applying hormones to seedlings and for shading. The results indicate a decrease of an average of 20 years in the growth interval of the studied plants.

Other species targeted by the research are camu-camu, taperebá, jatobá, muiracatiara, ipê, orelha de macaco, mahogany tree, cupuaçu, jenipapo, amarelão, ucuuba, Pará rubber tree and andiroba. The lack of information regarding the biology of these species that are fundamental for the culture, balance, and economy of the Amazon are among the challenges to the success of reforestation.

The application of brassinosteroids, a kind of hormone related to cell expansion, has accelerated the growth process of camu-camu by up to 50%. In taperebá, researchers noticed a difference in the diameter, registering an accelerated growth of 30%. The shading technique, also used in the research, worked well for species such as jenipapo.

Future

Professor Emil Hernández, responsible for the study, affirms the success of the project can guarantee “significant benefits for the future of forest restoration in the Amazon”. It can also help to recover degraded areas, reduce deforestation, and generate employment and income. "The project can also be beneficial for biodiversity and local communities. The trees under study are important for the fauna and flora of the Amazon”, he highlights.

Reforestation needs to recover deficits in biome

The most recent survey released by Instituto do Homem e Meio Ambiente da Amazônia (Imazon) [The Amazon's Man and Environment Institute], since December 2023, has found that the degraded areas of the region reached 1,050 square kilometers, which represents an increase of 1.6% when compared to the same period in 2022. Pará was responsible for 89% of this total. In this sense, techniques such as reforestation can be effective.

In a scenario in which 15% of the Brazilian Amazon has already been deforested – a factor that contributes to climate change – and another even larger area has been degraded for illegal exploration, according to Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária (Embrapa)[Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation] , the forest recovery technique through reforestation, it needs to contribute to all the losses that the biome has recorded.

Joice Ferreira, a researcher at Embrapa, says that more than planting species of flora, the practice should also make it possible for fauna to be recovered in these places since many types of animals were lost in the process of destruction of the environment. "Along with this recovery, there will be a safety zone, both to prevent the extinction of species and to recover ecosystem services,” she says.

Rainfalls

A crucial indicator seen as the key to success of the initiative is the increase in average rainfall since rain reduction is a factor of concern among scientists. “When we talk about climate change, it is important to consider the recovery of services. For example, rainfalls. We know that rains are reduced about 200 km away from a deforested area”, says Ferreira.

"Reversing this rain loss, there will be more evapotranspiration, it will produce more rain, increase pollinators and, as a result, increase food production. So it will be beneficial for agriculture itself. Rain is important for agricultural production, which depends on agriculture. For this reason, restoration techniques are highly beneficial, along with reducing deforestation. This is very important, " concludes the researcher.

Management

One of the research lines  Embrapa has developed looking forward to the restoration of the Amazon rainforest is natural regeneration with management. The technique consists of letting the deforested area grow on its own but with some control. "You take out the competing plants, control the ants, and do some land enrichment. We have a working group that does just that part”, details Joice Ferreira.

The researcher lists four fronts of Embrapa's research: "forest regeneration without management, forest regeneration with management, total planting area and agroforestry systems [type of planting that generates income and benefits in the bioeconomy]. They all have different techniques. For example, in full planting you sow seeds or you can plant seedlings”.

Mining company works with agroforestry systems

Agroforestry Systems (AFS), one of the reforestation techniques used in the Amazon, combines the planting of tree species with agricultural crops, simultaneously or sequentially . The action promotes, in addition to ecological benefits for the territory, the generation of economic funds.

In the southeastern region of Pará, the mining company Vale has guaranteed incentives for the local community. The goal is to recover and protect more than 20,000 hectares of the Pará Amazon rainforest by 2030. The main species planted in the region is cocoa. Gustavo Luz, executive director of Fundo Vale, an initiative that promotes the action, points out that about 60 thousand tons of cocoa will be produced per year through the development of plantations in the area, benefiting 2 thousand producers.

“We focus on agroforestry systems with cocoa as a keystone species. We aim to recover around 20 thousand hectares through this. We understand that agroforestry business is the way to deliver the best combination of environmental impact with social impact. So, it is possible to recover forests while generating income and generating a positive social impact on the territory. This is the origin and priority focus of the projects,” says Luz.

Income

Agroforestry systems accept several combinations between species cycles. For example, in the case of cocoa, the maturation time of the trees is longer than in the cassava plantation. Luz ponders that this could be an attraction for producers. “This is the challenge of forest restoration. Short-cycle species, such as cassava and bananas, are already capable of generating income".

The executive director of Fundo Vale says that the challenge encountered for the success of the project is to introduce new knowledge in the communities. "Usually, the producer is from a low-productivity livestock area, but this is an activity in which he already has a domain, a knowledge. So getting him to accept to leave an activity he has a domain for a new activity is the main challenge,” he says.

Currently, according to Aimex, only 1.4 million hectares of forest have a concession for private use. If it goes to 18 million, the expectation is that there will be an increase in demand for wood from the state.

Forest management is an option for the timber sector

The timber sector has opted for a different system to combine sustainability with income generation. In Pará, the trade balance of timber exports totals 200 million dollars (about R$ 1 billion). According to the Association of Timber Exporting Industries of Pará (Aimex), this value has the possibility of increasing, counting on sustainable management to deal with this demand.

While reforestation is, according to the Instituto Brasileiro de Florestas (IBF) [ Brazilian Institute of Forestry], the action of recovering a deforested area through the planting of new trees, forest management can be conceptualized as the application of a series of biological, technical and economic information in the control of forest operations, according to Embrapa. In practice, there is a combination of production with conservation of various environmental products and services.

Deryck Martins, President of the entity, explains that reforestation is not a very viable technique for the sector at the moment, since biological features of native species are still poorly known. However, logging companies can maintain an already-dominated production chain that does not harm the environment by managing. "The management predicts that you will have the same quantity and quality of wood in that area,” he points out.

Security

Preservation is another factor that contributes to the segment opting for forest management. According to Martins, the more they use areas through management, the lower the risks of illegal practices developed in the territory. “There is the difficulty of keeping these forests intact. People will cut down to make a plantation field, for real state speculation, to put trees on top,” he says.

"People deforest places where there is no management or Conservation Units. So forest management has this great possibility of blocking. It becomes a blockade against deforestation. You can see that management projects slow deforestation. If there is no economic valuation for these areas, there will hardly be enough police and military force to prevent it from being deforested,” adds Deryck  Martins.

Growth

Aimex estimates that the sector will gain economically if practices such as forest management are widely spread in Pará. Currently, according to the association, only 1.4 million hectares of forest have a concession for private use. If this value reaches 18 million, the expectation is that there will be an increase in demand for wood from the state - which today stands at 6 million cubic meters.

"Sustainable management is a reality. Today, companies work with certified areas, with forest concessions and we believe that this is the reality of the sector. However, we see the possibility of increasing this market, because we see many forest areas that have not yet been destined, that lack a management plan, and lack to be included in the concessions,” says Martins.

Why is reforestation so important?

→ Extraction of CO2 from the atmosphere: plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and release oxygen (O2), which is very important for the breathing of all living beings.

→ Control of global warming: according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), CO2 represents more than 70% of all greenhouse gases (GHG), which are responsible for global warming. Removing CO2 has benefits.

→ Preservation of biomes: reforestation helps to restore the elements that make up biomes.

→ Conservation of local fauna: reforestation doesn't just prevent the disappearance of tree seedlings and other plants. Alongside the forests, there is a rich animal life, many species of which are not yet known and catalogued by humans.