Priority areas for restoring ecosystem services to enhance human well‐being in a dry forest

• Published in: Restoration ecology Vol. 29; no. 7
• Main Authors: Costa, Thayná L. da S. Rabêlo, Mazzochini, Guilherme G., Oliveira‐Filho, Ary T., Ganade, Gislene, Carvalho, Adriana R., Manhães, Adriana P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Malden, USA Wiley Periodicals, Inc 01.09.2021; Blackwell Publishing Ltd
• Subjects: Biodiversity; caatinga; Dry forests; Ecological function; ecological restoration; Ecosystem restoration; ecosystem service demand; ecosystem service supply; Ecosystem services; Ecosystems; Environmental degradation; Environmental restoration; Food; Foods; Geographical distribution; habitat destruction; Habitat loss; human population; Human populations; humans; Indigenous plants; Indigenous species; livelihood; Local population; Medical sciences; Medicine; Municipalities; Native organisms; Natural resources; Plant reproduction; Plant species; Pollination; Population density; prioritization; risk; Service restoration; social welfare; Supply & demand; supply balance; Tropical climate; Tropical forests; Wood; Zonation
• ISSN: 1061-2971; 1526-100X
• DOI: 10.1111/rec.13426

Habitat destruction reduces biodiversity and affects ecosystem functioning, putting at risk the provision of ecosystem services (ESs) essential for human well‐being. Ecological restoration using native species with multiple uses may offer a long‐term supply of natural resources for vulnerable human populations. We selected priority areas for restoration in the Brazilian Seasonally Dry Tropical Forest (Caatinga), targeting areas with high ES demand but low supply. We estimated the supply and demand for three ESs: (1) food/medicine, (2) wood production, and (3) pollination. We estimated ES supply using maps of the potential geographical distribution of 194 native plant species used by the local population as a means of livelihood. For ES demand, we used maps of population density, rural municipalities, wood productivity, and crops dependent on pollination. We used a large‐scale prioritization tool (Zonation) to select two scenarios for each ES: (1) ES supply‐only and (2) ES supply + ES demand, selecting only nonvegetated areas. To select priority areas, where the potential occurrence of species (ES supply) corresponds to areas of high demand for the same services, we overlapped the maps of the two scenarios for each ES. The highest percentage of scenario overlap occurred for food/medicine ES (45%), whereas pollination showed the lowest percentage of overlap (10%), indicating little similarity between potential ES supply and demand areas. Our study shows the importance of including ES in ecological restoration opportunities, taking into account the vulnerable human population in dry regions and their demand for natural resources.