In the global context, the term “forest restoration” gained prominence with the launch of the initiative called “Decade of Restoration, carried out by the World Agriculture Organization, in 2020”.

Since then, terms such as “environmental restoration”, “ecological restoration”, “forest restoration”, or even “plantation forestry” have been used for different situations. Conceptually, these terms have been well explored in the relevant literature.

“Environmental restoration” aims to recover degraded ecosystems and improve hydrological regulation, soil protection and promotion of biodiversity. It is used to “rebuild” ecosystem functions and services in mined areas, degraded aquatic habitats and mangroves, or areas after fires. “Ecological restoration” seeks to restore natural conditions close to their original state. It involves reintroducing native species, restoring natural habitats and natural ecological processes, and can be applied in areas degraded by human activities and suppressed springs.

“Forest restoration”, as a segment of ecological restoration, focuses on restoring forest structure, ecological functions, biodiversity, biogeochemical processes, soil protection and associated ecosystem services. “Forestry”, in turn, is the practice of planting, managing and harvesting trees for commercial purposes. “Forest restoration” and “planted native tree forestry” can promote more sustainable rural development.

In this article, we want to specifically address what we call socio-productive forest restoration, which integrates forest restoration with socioeconomic benefits, that is, the social bias is added to promote the creation of jobs, the improvement of the living conditions of local communities with the strengthening of regional economies.

Embrapa's knowledge and technologies in the Amazon can support the socio-productive approach to environmental adaptation of rural establishments, highlighting the selection of native species, planting systems, management of anthropized forests and topoclimatic zoning of species to indicate the most suitable planting areas.

Some species native to the Amazon have shown suitability in different production systems. A classic example is Brazil nuts, an excellent species for homogeneous plantings in full sun, mixed plantings associated with other forest species or in agroforestry systems.

Its wood is suitable for the timber industry, but its main use is fruit production, especially because it is a species protected by law. Other species, such as paricá, tachi-branco and quaruba-trudeira also have potential in different contexts, such as reforestation, agroforestry systems and enrichment of natural forest management areas.

The choice of a native species planting system is closely linked to the success of its use. With the lack of domestication for most species, it is observed that some are more suitable for homogeneous plantings in full sun, while others excel in shade or agroforestry systems. Some examples of successful socio-productive forestry highlight the enormous potential of both species and production systems.

For mixed plantations in full sun, an energy-timber forestry production system was designed based on the Brazil nut, andiroba, paricá and tachi-branco species to provide returns every 6 years, with wood harvests reaching up to 670 cubic meters per hectare, including intermediate thinning and final cutting. In addition, seed and oil production also contributes to optimizing revenue.

Capoeira enrichment, or planting under shade, was tested with forest species of economic value, planted in alternating rows. With different survival and growth rates, the most relevant results were observed for fava timbaúba, tatajuba and morototó. If planted together, these species can produce between 200 and 230 cubic meters per hectare, at 27 years of age.

Agroforestry systems are applicable to different production scales. In a family farming area in the region of Santarém, Pará, annual crops and perennial fruit trees were planted with the species freijó and Brazilian mahogany. At 27 years old, the volume of wood was 131 cubic meters per hectare for freijó and 21 cubic meters per hectare for mahogany.

Furthermore, the area displays a diverse floristic composition made up of planted species and accompanying natural regeneration. These results are relevant for socio-productive forest restoration in family farming areas.

In the management of anthropized natural forests in the Eastern Amazon, there is a unique and innovative experience on a business scale, focused on the system of enrichment and densification of forestry clearings and harvesting criteria for trees with a diameter at breast height greater than or equal to 25 centimeters.

Exploration planning and the introduction of new species into the industrial wood market made it possible to design economically viable harvest cycles of up to 30 cubic meters per hectare, every 10 to 12 years, despite being a period shorter than that established by current legislation.

This management method maintains the diversity of the forest and provides economic returns in shorter periods of time, contributing to the conservation of the standing forest.

Topoclimatic zoning helps identify the most suitable areas for planting different species and is already available for the tachi-branco and paricá species. It was also found that the ipê and parapará species have great plasticity, and can be planted from the rainiest Amazon (areas in blue on the climate map) to regions with less frequent rainfall (deforestation arc).

The challenges of forestry of native species in the Amazon are proportional to the magnitude of the region. After 45 years of Embrapa research in the Amazon, the results can guide investments.

However, to reach a pilot-commercial scale it is necessary to overcome barriers, such as the availability of seeds and the production of quality seedlings, financing and credits compatible with the time scale of the production systems, as well as training and technical assistance, among others.