The Environmental Research Institute of the Amazon (IPAM) presented this Thursday (21), during the COP29in Baku, an unprecedented study that evaluates the impacts of forest restoration on agriculture and the environment. According to research, recovering between 2% and 10% of the local landscape helps prevent crop failures and increases productivity. In the case of soybeans, the increase can reach 10 bags per hectare in the restored areas.
The research is part of the Galo project – an acronym in English for Global Assessment from Local Observations –, which investigates the relationship between agriculture and the preservation of natural vegetation in the Amazon and Cerrado biomes.
The study analyzed data since 1985 and found that, even in areas restored with secondary forest, there is no full recovery of services such as evapotranspiration, which means not being able to maintain the water cycle.
According to Ludmila Rattis, a researcher at IPAM and the Woodwell Climate Research Center, climate regulation, especially temperature, is not fully restored either.
However, the researchers highlighted that restored forests play a relevant role in improving agricultural efficiency, as in the case of soybeans, as demonstrated by the study.
“More forests mean more productivity. In the case of soybeans, an increase of approximately 10 bags, or 600 kilos, per hectare is achieved in the restored area,” says Rattis.
Despite the benefits, he warns that restoration does not replace the preservation of primary forests. “The first thing we must do is protect primary forests, which are irreplaceable,” he said.
The study was signed by researchers André Andrade, Bianca Rebelato and Elisângela Rocha, as well as Ludmila Rattis.
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