Restoration

The value of using native tree species in ecosystem restoration is receiving growing recognition among practitioners and policymakers. Native species are well-adapted to local environments and should support native biodiversity and ecosystem resilience to a greater extent than would exotic planting material.

 Bioversity International scientists coordinated the thematic study on 'Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species' as an input to The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN’s (FAO) report on The State of the World’s Forest Genetic Resources. The study reviews the scientific evidence on the role of genetic diversity in maximizing seedling survival and the regeneration potential of future tree generations on the site, as well as in ensuring that restored sites are able to adapt to future biotic and abiotic stresses.

Resources:

• Infographic: Gender matters in forest landscape restoration
• Letter: Forest and landscape restoration severely constrained by a lack of attention to the quantity and quality of tree seed: Insights from a global survey
• Publication: Genetic considerations in ecosystem restoration using native tree species
• Brochure: Safeguarding investments in forest ecosystem restoration
• Factsheet: Importance of genetics in forest landscape restoration
• Blog post: Global environment leaders’ decision calls for attention to genetic diversity in ecosystem restoration
• Blog post: Forest landscape restoration, a solution to global challenges

Abarco or Colombian mahogany (Cariniana pyriformis, Lecythidaceae) is one of the most threatened lowland species of northern South America, and considered critically endangered in Colombia. The tree used to occur at high densities in the northern Colombian lowlands, with up to 40 reproductive trees per hectare, but this is not the case anymore: over 80% of the original populations have disappeared over the past century, due to its popularity in the construction industry because of its exceptional sturdiness. The combination of the tree’s ecological values, silvicultural potential and market value makes it an ideal candidate for restoration and reforestation activities.

Bioversity International is working with the Colombian company Forestpa and the national research institute Alexander Von Humboldt to safeguard the genetic base of the few remaining Colombian abarco populations. The objectives of the project are to characterize the remaining abarco populations at representative sites across the species’ natural distribution and establish a clonal garden of elite individuals from which vegetative planting material can be sourced for use in future restoration and reforestation activities. We expect this project to improve the conservation status of abarco and permit its large-scale sustainable use in Colombia and abroad.

Related resources:

• Blog post: Racing to save Colombian mahogany from extinction