Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
Today, we’re traveling to the Atlantic Forest, the second-largest rainforest in Brazil. Right now, it’s only 10% of its original size, but governments and nonprofits are working to change that.
One of our reporters, Ashley Junger, helped out with one of these projects over the summer. She’s here to tell us what she learned.
Ashley Junger: Hi, Megan!
*Sounds of the Amazon rainforest, bird calls*
Megan Hall: So tell us about this work you did over the summer!
Ashley Junger: I traveled to the Ecological Reserve of Guapiacu, also known as REGUA, about two hours away from Rio de Janeiro, for a project with my other job: Earthwatch Institute, a non-profit that pairs volunteers with scientists to conduct environmental research around the world.
Megan Hall: That sounds fun!
Ashley Junger: You know it! I worked with Manoel Muanis, a Brazilian scientist leading a restoration project in the Atlantic Rainforest. 500 years ago, it covered almost the entire east coast of Brazil, but land clearing, population growth, and deforestation made it almost disappear.
Megan Hall: So, you’re trying to grow it back?
Ashley Junger: That’s the plan! As Manoel said:
Manoel Muanis: “We need plants a lot of trees”
Ashley Junger: Manoel is not alone in this goal. A coalition of governments, companies, and the scientific community are all working together to reforest an area as big as the state of New York!
Megan Hall: I’ve always wondered, why don’t trees just grow back on their own?
Ashley Junger: Well, there is a natural process where eventually a mature forest comes back, but a lot of the land that used to be the Atlantic Forest is so degraded that trees won’t come back without some help.
Megan Hall: Why is that?
Ashley Junger: In some cases, the animals that spread the seeds are gone. In others, deforested land is too hot and dry for seeds that evolved to sprout on the shady rainforest floor.
Megan Hall: So what are people doing to help?
Ashley Junger: Well, REGUA collects seeds of native trees from the surrounding forest, starts growing them in their nursery, and then plants the seedlings in degraded areas. Afterwards, they monitor the saplings for a few years to make sure they’re growing properly.
Megan Hall: And they’re doing all of this so the trees can trap carbon from the atmosphere?
Ashley Junger: They’re definitely interested in the climate benefits, but that’s not the only focus. Manoel’s colleague, Julian Nicolas Wilmer, says-
Julian Nicolas Wilmer: The greatest value is not on carbon itself, but on the biodiversity. Because if you do not have biodiversity the microbes, the insects, everything, even the greatest restoration effort will be fated to failure.
Ashley Junger: In other words, they want to rebuild the entire ecosystem of the forest- not just plant trees.
Megan Hall: How can they tell if they’re on the right track?
Ashley Junger: That’s the part I helped with! To find out whether the replanted forests match the biodiversity and ecosystem of the original forests, I helped trap and track small mammals.
Manoel Muanis: For small mammals, we are using recapture methodology, which is basically with each animal that we capture we tagged with your individual number and then release.
Ashley Junger: Once the small mammals are tagged, researchers can count how many individuals are in the forests, and whether they’re sticking around.
Megan Hall: But how do small mammals tell you if a forest is supporting biodiversity?
Ashley Junger: If the number and diversity of small mammals in the newly reforested areas match what they’re finding in undisturbed, old-growth forests, then that’s a sign that the ecosystem is recovering well.
Megan Hall: Cool! Is there a way I can help?
Ashley Junger: Many of these types of tree-planting initiatives around the world are looking for volunteers. But if you don’t have the time or money to travel, you can still play an important role. Julian says:
Julian Nicolas Wilmer: I think is the duty of everyone to think of this issue. And think, what you can do for both planting trees and for restoration programs.
Ashley Junger: So figure out the way you can make the biggest impact. Whether that’s going to the Atlantic Forest yourself and getting your hands dirty or donating to support a reforestation project.
Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, or, as they say in Brazil, obrigada Ashley!
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Possibly is a co-production of The Public’s Radio and Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society and Climate Solutions Initiative.
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