Nucleating Techniques in Forest Restoration of a Degraded Area in a Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest, Brazil

Abstract

The nucleator techniques have specific and very particular functions, helping the reoccupation of some animals in the area, besides the natural succession. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of the nucleator techniques of artificial perches and branch windrowing for the establishment of forest restoration in a seasonally dry tropical forest, Brazil. The research was conducted at Experimental Farm Cachoeira de São Porfírio, municipality of Santa Luzia, Paraíba, Brazil, in the period from August 2017 to July 2018. Two nucleator techniques were used, the artificial perches and branch windrowing. For both, the randomized block design was employed, with five treatments composed of the spacing between the structures that composed the respective techniques (5x5m; 10x10m; 15x15m; 20x20m and control treatment), in four repetitions. For the artificial perches the number of seeds and excreta were evaluated, and for the branched perches the height of the branches and their decomposition over time was evaluated. in addition, the water content and temperature of the soil in the experimental area were also analyzed. The artificial perches provided insertion of seeds distributed in three botanical families and excreta to the degraded area, thus incorporating organic matter and enriching the seed bank of the experimental site. The largest site. The largest number of excreta was obtained on perches with greater distance between them, proving that the spacing of 15x15m is the most suitable. The volumes of branches were altered throughout the experimental period, with a faster decomposition of the branches in the control treatment compared to the other treatments, and their cover provided lower temperatures compared to soil exposed to full sun. Both techniques have high potential for forest restoration in degraded areas in seasonally dry tropical forests.