Ecological restoration in pasture areas with direct seeding

Abstract

The use of direct seeding in projects for the recovery of degraded areas has stood out in some regions of the country because of its effectiveness, lower operating costs, and ease of implementation. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the potential of direct seeding the haul in ecological restoration of a deactivated pasture dominated by Urochloa brizantha, here characterized by an invasive weed plant. The experiment consisted of eight treatments resulting from different combinations of seeds (tree and herbaceous cover crops), the use of treatments to break the dormancy of tree species seeds (with and without), and the use of different types of substrates (clay and sawdust). The tested treatments did not affect seedling emergence, survival, or initial growth. The most established species in the study area were Piptadenia gonoacantha, Mabea fistulifera, Dalbergia nigra, and Senegalia polyphylla, which could potentially compose the list of species to be used in forest restoration projects through the use of direct sowing techniques. Plant survival at the end of the evaluation period every three months until the 14 months of experiment implementation corresponded to a density equivalent to 4300 plants per hectare, this result compared to other techniques, shows muvuca as a seeding technique viable direct for the area under study. However, further studies using higher seed densities of cover species are necessary to control the invasive grass Urochloa brizantha effectively.