To the average person it may sound like a contradiction, but a scientific study that has just been published in Journal of Applied Ecology The study found that the prevalence of forests in scientific studies and on social media can be an obstacle to achieving international ecosystem restoration goals – a topic to which the UN has dedicated the decade leading up to 2030. The reason: the lack of interest in open ecosystems, which the authors call the biome awareness disparity (BAD), hinders adequate technical knowledge about non-forest biomes and their inclusion in projects and public policies.
“What became evident through our analysis is that there is a disparity in awareness of biomes, a concept that can be defined as a failure to recognize the importance of all biomes in conservation and restoration policy,” explains Lívia Carvalho Moura, from ISPN, and one of the authors of the study. “This disparity leads to tree-centered restoration approaches, which are inadequate for many open, species-rich biomes that provide essential ecosystem services to a large portion of the world's population,” she adds.
Authored by a group of 14 scientists from Brazil, Australia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States, the research analyzed nearly a thousand scientific studies, as well as more than 50 tweets from partner institutions of the United Nations Decade on Restoration, which together have 12,3 million followers, and more than 45 tweets from the largest science and environmental media outlets worldwide. The analysis focused on the tropical and subtropical regions of the Global South because most areas targeted by global restoration initiatives are located at lower latitudes.
The results showed 9,6 times more tweets about forests than about open biomes. A similar disparity was found in the analysis of scientific studies: about 70% of restoration studies focus on tropical forests. Restoration in tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, in turn, accounts for only 8,9% of the restoration studies analyzed. The overexposure of forests becomes even more evident when we remember that they occupy 42,9% of the planet's tropical belt, while non-forest biomes extend over 57,1% of that region.
According to the report, these disparities in knowledge undermine the chances of successful restoration due to knowledge gaps in the restoration of open biomes. On the other hand, the abundance of knowledge about forests can lead to biases in the selection of criteria for projects and public policies, with the inclusion of exclusive conditions or conditions in which forests have a natural advantage.
Another problem detected by the study is the overemphasis on tree planting. More than half of the studies conducted in open biomes reported tree planting as the main restoration action, suggesting the incorrect application of forest-centric techniques. Unlike tropical forests, open biomes are threatened not only by tree loss but also by increases in tree cover (i.e., woody invasion). The authors acknowledge that reforestation efforts are important and have their place, but warn that open biomes should receive similar attention to conserve biodiversity, climate mitigation potential, and human livelihood benefits.
“Although all terrestrial biomes are undergoing human-induced environmental changes, large-scale restoration initiatives focus primarily on forests and tree planting, even though all biomes, not just forests, are of great importance for biodiversity, human livelihoods, and the climate,” explains Lívia. “For the goals of the United Nations Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to be met, it is essential that scientists, environmental policymakers, and the public recognize that an overemphasis on forests and trees will leave behind many ecosystems, along with the people who depend on them for their livelihoods,” she warns.
In sub-Saharan countries, India and China, agroforestry and afforestation in non-forest biomes are being widely implemented, despite robust evidence of the detrimental consequences of this tree planting on the ecological and sociocultural dynamics of the region. Tree plantations can result in a reduction in net carbon sequestration or an increase in net emissions compared to original land cover types such as grasslands or peatlands. Decades of tree planting and afforestation in India and China have had little positive effect on forest extent and rural livelihoods.
The Brazilian Cerrado is another good example of what this failure to recognize the importance of all biomes in conservation and restoration policy can entail. Although it is the second largest biome in Brazil, only 8,21% of its territory is legally protected by conservation units, even though it is the cradle of eight of the country's 12 main hydrographic basins. This makes the Cerrado function as a huge water reservoir, irrigating 40% of the national territory. It is also the most biodiverse savanna in the world, and yet only 54,5% of its territory is still covered by native vegetation. The discrepancy between forest and savanna even marked the Forest Code, which provides for the conservation of only 20% of Cerrado properties, compared to 80% in the Amazon.
The report also points to ways to overcome the biome awareness disparity through education, vocabulary change, increased mapping of open biomes, and reducing disparities in policy, action, and knowledge.
Photo: ISPN archive/André Dib