Re-foresting what has been de-forested

Re-foresting what has been de-forested - It can be done!

The orderly scene below is common in this region of Brazil where farming is king and monocrops cut into the mountains are standard farming procedure. However, this all used to be rain forest.

There is proof in Iracambi that the rain forest can grow again in these de-forested regions. However, it is not always clear why a section of land is successful and 200 meters away there is an 80% fail rate.

This is the Iracambi Research Center peeping out among rain forest.

Robin's findings/suggestions:

1) Rest the soil for 4-5 years
2) Plant nitrogen replacing flora
3) Let regrowth happen naturally
AND/OR
4) Plant native species or those which "do no harm" - this is the tricky part

Eucalyptus crop planting -

Photo of Eucalyptus plot

Used to make pulp for paper. Can be harvested 4 or 5 times. Grows well and fairly quickly. About 7 years to first harvest.

Issues include the ability to grow quickly means rapid depletion of nutrients and water. Should not be planted near water as will restrict native species from their fair share.

Medicinal plants -

Palm with fruit related to Acai - difficult to harvest

Dragon's blood trees or Dracaena cinnabari- used for dye and healing wounds/scars among other medicinal uses.

Coffee plantations - Local way of growing as monocrop does most damage to already nutrient poor soils.

Below is a photo of a typical local approach to growing coffee.

Shade grown experimentation as agroforestry or agroecology. Planting peanuts for ground cover to combat African grass and to fix nitrogen in the soil.

In the photo below, the smaller "trees" are actually coffee plants among trees of varying shading abilities. Iracambi is testing types of shade trees in a few plot of land to see how the coffee plants respond.

Map here

Comments

Farmers vs. Rain Forest Conservation

Bauxite Threat Iracambi keeps a constant watch on the threat. A public online map is updated often. Signal Grass aka brachiaria Benefits - high quality for grazing cattle. Also highly requested exported seeds. "Brazil is also the largest exporter of tropical forage seed in theworld, with the main destinations in Latin America (especiallyMexico, Colombia and Venezuela), Africa and Asia. Brachiariaspp. are the most requested species, representing >80% of the total volume exported in 2010." https://www.researchgate.net/publication/289852654_The_value_of_improved_pastures_to_Brazilian_beef_production However, brachiaria grass is a major threat to re-forestation. It takes over and chokes out all other growth in the area. It is also very hardy and extremely difficult to remove. As silly as it sounds, this miracle grass presents a long term obstacle to all other flora. Wildlife Corridors : How to convince the subsidy farmer? ...

The Iracambi Spirit

Water - Collection, filtration, use Compost processes - toilet paper, food scraps, coffee Below is the little kitchen in the center. Tiny bin to the far left is for actual garbage. The cardboard box is paper and plastic recycling. The bin to the right of the stove is compost. There is another cardboard box for cans which are sold at a nice rate. Reuse is common wherever possible. These plastic bags are hung to dry for reuse after washing. Classroom for visiting local school children, workshops for farmers, and computer lab. Wildlife cameras monitor activity Laundry Pick a sunny day to do laundry. This machine is powered by electricity and spins on a timer. You must manually oversee the process of filling and emptying water - first with soap and then two or three times with just water to rinse. Next you must wring each piece well and hand outside to dry. Iracambi past volunteers and locals oft...

What's the deal with the Atlantic Rain Forest?

The Atlantic Rain Forest is the Amazon's little sister. Less known and more intact. Just as important to the world and equally in danger. There is a lot of talk about Amazon biodiversity and the Atlantic Forest shares this quality with the added bonus of higher endemic species present. The biggest threat to the forest is agriculture with coffee, sugar cane, palms (oil and fruit related to acai berry), various root vegetables, and banana as common crops in addition to Eucalyptus (used to make paper). Cattle pasture, logging, and fire are major challenges as well. These human activities cause habitat fragmentation . Important processes such as seed dispersal, gene flow, and migration patterns are cut off. This means biomass reduction and mass extinction for endemic species. Many look to creation of wildlife corridors. More about this in my post "Farmers vs. Rain Forest Conservation". Photo here Iracambi Research Center founders ...

My 21 days At Iracambi Research Center Mapping the Atlantic Rain Forest

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