Evaluation of forest restoration in an area degraded by kaolin mining in the Eastern Amazon
Mining, Recovery of Degraded Areas, Seedling Planting, Soil Fertility, Forest Succession, Remote Sensing.
Concern for restoration of degraded ecosystems has reflected in international commitments signed to minimize and slow climate change and its consequences. In Brazil, It is intended to restore 350 million hectares by 2030, with methodologies aimed at cost-efficiency and maintenance of ecosystem services. In this sense, mining as an important segment in Brazil and Para state economy, makes available several ores, such as kaolin, its extraction negatively impacts with loss of vegetation and soil disruption, needing to develop methodologies that favor restoration. Thus, the study aimed to evaluate the vegetative and edaphic development in a kaolin post-mining area in Ipixuna Pará state. using an area of 0.5 ha, with the opening of six trenches that received three treatments in the pits: AQ (chemical fertilization), AQ + sawdust and AQ + cattle manure with planting of six species (spacing 1.5 m x 6 m). Between the lines were added two more treatments: with and without the addition of sawdust. Forty-eight permanent plots were implemented for litter stock evaluation, natural regeneration, vegetation cover by canopy diameter and unmanned aerial vehicles images, in addition to the chemical and physical attributes of the soil (depths 1-10, 10-20 and 20-40cm). We obtained a survival rate of 97.6%, annual average increment of 5.24 cm.year-1 for above-ground diameter, 2.07 cm.year-1 for total height and litter yield of 12.64 ± 6.46 Mg ha-1 (rows) and 8.35 ± 3.56 Mg ha-1 (planting). In the VANT overflight, it was observed that the vegetation cover is well developed, without phytosanitary problems and in the soil attributes there was no difference between treatments. From these results, considering the age of the experiment, the results are above expectations.