Brazil: Santa Cruz Cabrália

This revegetation and reforestation project is carried out in collaboration with the environmental organization Natureza Bela. It aims to restore a tropical oceanic biome Mata Atlântica in the municipality of Santa Cruz Cabrália on a land of 55 hectares. This project aims to restore a natural biodiversity by reducing the effects of deforestation.

This project has a strong social impact, creating employment opportunities locally, from seed collection to planting and project monitoring.

CHALLENGES

The land is a former sugarcane plantation with low yields due to soil degradation. The land has not been used for 15 years, except for extensive grazing, and no vegetation has returned except for some low grass. Without intervention, the situation will be the same in 100 years. The main issues of this project are measuring the impact of invasive species such as Brachiaria, the choice of species to be planted, and the success rate of the planting.

DEPLOYMENTS

The deployment was carried out in two weeks, combining drone planting with the assistance of a drone pilot and other members of MORFO's scientific team, as well as traditional hand planting carried out by Natureza Bela.

PROJECT MONITORING

Monitoring of the plantation is done at regular intervals, every 6 months at the beginning, then once a year by air. In addition, a local farmer partner conducts weekly monitoring in the field. The success of the plantation is evaluated by taking into account different criteria such as germination rate, survival rate, growth rate and species behavior. Monitoring cycles are defined according to these parameters to evaluate the progress of the plantation.