Rafaela Pereira Naves

In restoration science, evidence reviews play a crucial role in summarizing research findings in practice and policy. However, if unreliable or inappropriate methods are used to review evidence, decisions based on these reviews may not accurately reflect the available evidence base. To assess the current value of restoration reviews, we examined a sample of meta‐analyses and narrative syntheses (n = 91) with the Collaboration for Environmental Evidence Synthesis Assessment Tool (CEESAT), which uses detailed criteria to assesses the method of policy‐relevant evidence synthesis according to elements important for objectivity, transparency, and comprehensiveness. Overall, reviews scored low based on this standard: median score 16 out of 39, modal score 15, and mean 16.6. Meta‐analyses scored higher than narrative syntheses (median 17 vs. 5, respectively), although there were some outlier narrative syntheses that had high scores, suggesting that quantitative synthesis does not solely reflect the reliability of a review. In general, criteria spanning the more fundamental review stages (i.e., searching for studies and including studies) received low scores for both synthesis types. Conversely, criteria comprising the later stages of the review (i.e., critical appraisal, data extraction, and data synthesis) were generally well described in meta‐analyses; thus, these criteria achieved the highest individual CEESAT scores. We argue that restoration ecology is well positioned to advance so‐called evidence‐based restoration, but review authors should elucidate their conceptual understanding of evidence syntheses and recognize that conducting reliable reviews demands the same methodological rigor and reporting standards used in primary research. Given the potential of evidence reviews to inform management, policy, and research, it is of vital importance that the overall methodological reliability of restoration reviews be improved.

There has been an increase in the area of secondary tropical forests in recent years due to forest restoration in degraded areas. Recent analyses suggest that the success of passive forest restoration is highly uncertain and needs to be better understood. This study aimed to investigate the behavior of saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ks) and some hydrophysical soil attributes between agricultural land uses, restored forests, and a degraded forest fragment. The areas evaluated are located in the municipality of Rio Claro, São Paulo, Brazil, under different types of land use: (i) two areas in the process of passive forest restoration: one of 18 and another of 42 years (NR18 and NR42); (ii) a degraded forest fragment (FFD); (iii) pasture (P), and (iv) sugarcane (SC). The hydraulic soil conductivity characterization was performed using the Beerkan method. Dry soil bulk density (BD), total porosity (Pt), macroporosity (Mac), microporosity (Mic), penetration resistance (PR), mean aggregate diameter (MWD), and soil organic carbon (OC) were also determined. The comparative analysis of the hydrophysical attributes of the soil superficial horizon in agricultural land uses (P and SC), restored forests (NR18 and NR42), and a degraded forest (DFF) confirms that the recovery of soil hydrological functioning in ongoing forest restoration processes can be a relatively slow process. In addition, the intensity of previous land use leaves footprints that can affect passive restoration areas for decades after agriculture abandonment, increasing the time for the recovery of Ks and soil hydrophysical attributes.

Brazil has been committed to fulfill international restoration goals and to enforce environmental legislation that will require private landowners to undertake ecological restoration of 21 million hectares of degraded and deforested landscapes. To support a broad range of restoration practices, a consolidated supply chain able to represent regional plant diversity is essential. This study investigated the restoration species pool in native plant nurseries in São Paulo state, southeastern Brazil and evaluated their geographic distribution, similarity of their plant stocks and the proportion of species represented from regional floras. Despite the lack of technical assistance and the large presence of non-native species (126 species, average 7.5 species/nursery), we found still more impressive native species richness in plant nurseries (561 species, average 86.4 species/nursery) from both the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado domains, representing 38 to 44% of regional floras. There was a huge bias toward tree and shrub species (96.6%) and absence or underrepresentation of other growth forms, as well as of savanna specialists, animal-dispersed and threatened species. The great dissimilarity of species offered in the nurseries surveyed underscores the importance of regional seed collection practices. Effective assistance and capacitation are essential to address issues related to misidentification of species, underrepresentation of most functional plant groups, and the presence of non-native species, as well as to support the supply chain, currently undergoing market downturn. Author contributions: ‘CYV and RRR conceived and designed the research. CYV performed data compilation; CYV and RPN analyzed the data; CYV and RAGV led the writing of the manuscript; all authors contributed to the drafts and gave final approval for publication. Implications for practice: Plant nurseries collecting propagules from the surrounding vegetation provide an adequate – but limited – restoration species pool, with very dissimilar plant stocks available among plant nurseries. Plant nurseries concentrate their production on shrub and tree species and sub-represent other growth forms and some functional groups such as animal-dispersed and threatened species. The diversity of the restoration species pool is the basis to support a broad range of restoration practice, being essential to boost restoration initiatives that complement and support the conservation of remaining diversity in human modified landscapes. Effective assistance and capacity building should be provided to address issues related to misidentification, underrepresentation of functional groups and the presence of exotic and invasive species, as well as to support the supply chain, currently under market downturn

Estudos em ecologia são na maior parte observacionais, sendo de interesse que as variáveis em questão apresentem padrões que possam ser descritos por funções de probabilidade. Os parâmetros das distribuições de probabilidade podem ser usados como assinatura dos processos ecológicos que ocorrem nas florestas. Em ecologia de florestas tropicais, poucas variáveis apresentam os mesmos padrões em diferentes áreas. Seriam essas variáveis pertinentes para estudo de áreas em processo de restauração? Em campo, instalamos 90 parcelas em três áreas (duas em processo de restauração e um ecossistema de referência). Todos os indivíduos com CAP ≥ 10 cm foram medidos e identificados. Avaliamos as distribuições empíricas das variáveis densidade, diâmetro a 1,30 m de altura do solo, abundância de espécies e origem; e ajustamos a distribuições teóricas. Para a variável densidade, a melhor distribuição para oito anos foi Poisson; para 12 anos, binomial negativa e para ecossistema de referência não houve distinção entre essas distribuições; os melhores modelos foram os que consideraram cada área com própria estimativa dos parâmetros. Para a variável abundância de espécies, a melhor distribuição para 12 anos foi log-series; para o ecossistema de referência, foi poisson log normal; e para oito anos não houve distinção entre essas distribuições; os melhores modelos foram os que consideraram cada área com própria estimativa do parâmetro. A distribuição weibul teve bom ajuste para as três áreas para a variável DAP, mas cada área tinha suas estimativas para os parâmetros. As áreas em processo de restauração apresentaram elevada proporção de espécies de origem exótica. A abordagem de ajuste e seleção de modelos para as variáveis acima mencionadas tem grande potencial para área de ecologia da restauração.

Foi realizado o levantamento florístico e fitossociológico na porção mais extensa de mata no Parque Florestal Municipal São Francisco de Assis, na cidade de Varginha, sul de Minas Gerais. A área tem cerca de 10 ha e é cortada por um pequeno córrego. Foram lançadas 25 parcelas de 20m x 20m e medidos e cadastrados todos os indivíduos arbóreos com DAP > 5cm. Foram encontrados 1568 indivíduos que, juntos, somaram área basal de 23,65 m², sendo registrados 102 espécies, 72 gêneros e 42 famílias no levantamento fitossociológico e 111 espécies, 77 gêneros e 43 famílias no levantamento florístico. As famílias com maior número de espécies foram Myrtaceae, Fabaceae e Melastomataceae. As espécies de maior valor de importância foram Casearia arborea, Copaifera langsdorffii, Tachigali rugosa e Myrcia splendens. Os resultados encontrados são os esperados para as Florestas Estacionais Semideciduais da região.