How can molecular ecology contribute to forest restoration?

Abstract

The advance of scientific knowledge in various areas of molecular ecology has allowed the adoption of new strategies, particularly in forest restoration. The fusion of multidisciplinary areas and the implementation of management methodologies in order to get better results in forest restoration are current realities. In order to review the main ideas about the role of molecular techniques in the service of ecology restoration, this paper outlines how forest recovery can benefit from genetic and genomic plant population studies. The next challenges in conservation genetics can be brought by the quest for more efficient forest restorations from the point of view of biodiversity as well as the ecological ynamics as a whole. It is believed that in the coming years we will observe integrated strategies in molecular ecology with specific methodologies for restoration in tropical forests.