The first large-scale indoor tropical garden with Brazilian native tree species: Challenges and lessons

This commentary reports the challenges faced and lessons learned during the formation of the first large-scale tropical garden inside a building with native tree species in Brazil. This garden, set entirely over cement slab, is inside the Albert Einstein Education and Research Center (AEERC) - Campus Cecilia and Abram Szajman in Sa similar to o Paulo city, and comprises 11 tree species, ten of which are native to the Atlantic Forest. The indoor environment, in the shape of an atrium, is controlled and isolated from the external environment, which imposes a unique and new habitat for those tree species, especially considering that this garden is shared with people during their daily activities. Over one year, we followed the growth and development of 95 trees and noticed that the acclimation potential varied among species as well as the susceptibility to pest and disease outbreaks and low temperature (due to an imbalance in the air conditioning system), which were identified as the main limiting factors. Among the species monitored, Lafoensia glyptocarpa was the most sensitive to mites, aphids and mealybugs, and effective and rapid phytosanitary management was crucial for maintaining a healthy garden. Aspidosperma polyneuron, Eriotheca candolleana, Holocalyx balansae, Poecilanthe parviflora and Euterpe edulis were the species with the most acclimation potential to the new environment, which was based on leaf area development. On the other hand, poor acclimation was observed for Calycophyllum spruceanum, which was replaced two years after the initial planting. As an important lesson, continuous monitoring of both plants and the environment is needed to enhance our knowledge and management of indoor tropical gardens.