Preliminary Results Of Using Green Manure Species As A Cost-Effective Option For Forest Restoration

Reducing costs of implementation and maintenance of restoration activities is crucial for a project's success. In order to achieve it, direct seeding and the use of green manure species have been proposed as potential alternatives. Here, we compare some preliminary results on seedlings performance and cost on four restoration techniques including these alternatives in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. In 16 plots, we established: (1) conventional seedling planting of 20 native species (2x3m spacing between plants), (2) direct seeding of Senna alata among the seedlings of the 20 native species; (3) direct seeding of Cajanus cajan among seedlings of the 20 native species and; (4) direct seeding of Leucaena leucocephala in the inter-row of the 20 native species seedlings. A year later seedling performance (survival and growth) resulted similar among these four techniques. However, costs of using Senna and Cajanus were consistently lower, mainly during the maintenance phase due to the reduction of fertilization and individual protection needs. Introducing green manure species by direct seeding may be a useful strategy to complement and eventually replace planting seedlings of other high-growth rate species to rapidly cover the soil surface. This approach may partially reduce some financial costs, particularly at the early stages of projects. Other strategies should be evaluated to complement our results.