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- Regeneration and reforestation of degraded grasslands, Uruguay
Regeneration and reforestation of degraded grasslands, Uruguay
Uruguay
last update:
8 months agoProblems
Over 300 years of use for cattle and sheep grazing have severely degraded the soils in the districts of Cerro Largo and Treinta Tres in eastern Uruguay. Natural grasslands are the most representative habitat of Uruguay. Grasslands cover around a quarter of the Earth’s land surface and provide a vital habitat for wildlife, supporting high levels of biodiversity. However, this environment, mainly due to agricultural exploitation, has been degraded and modified over time, leaving only a few pristine areas. About 80% of Uruguayan territory is used for cattle ranching on natural and artificial savanna, and over-grazing with unequal distribution of cattle has degraded the natural vegetation. Uruguay is a small country with a total area of only 18 million hectares and little industrialization. Animal breeding is a longstanding tradition. About 8.6% of Uruguay is forested. According to the World Conservation Monitoring Center, Uruguay has 659 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, 2.3% of which are endemic and 5.6% threatened.
Solutions
Afforestation on degraded extensive grazing land
Author: Ecologi
Located in the heart of Uruguay, this project turns 21,298 hectares of land that have been used for beef cattle grazing for over 300 years into sustainably managed forests. The project generates 56,000 tons of carbon credits per year. In the region, afforestation promotes sustainable wood production and contributes to sustainable rural development. The project area consists mostly of grazing-degraded grassland. Associated with this, there are lowland, humid zones with richer biodiversity and higher conservation values. The forests will be planted on the grazing-degraded zones, and the most valuable areas will be preserved. Planted forests will remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in different carbon pools (living above-ground and below-ground biomass, soil organic carbon, litter, and dead wood). Over the 60-year initial lifespan of the project, this project will sequester 7,644,973 tonnes of CO2 from the atmosphere. Trees planted include Eucalyptus grandis, Eucalyptus, and Pinus taeda, and every 22 years, usable timber products will be harvested. The carbon locked into trees that are removed is not included in the calculations for the total amount of avoided CO2. To achieve its climate goals and preserve its valuable habitats, Uruguay must take measures to preserve the country's forests. It has to keep the balance between the demand of the industry for wood and the climate and environmental protection. Projects like this can help Uruguay successfully master this challenge.
Source: https://ecologi.com/projects/forest-plantation-on-degraded-grassland-in-uruguay
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Timelines
2008
The regeneration and reforestation of degraded grasslands project in Uruguay started to convert 21,298 hectares of degraded grassland into sustainable forest plantations for timber production and carbon sequestration.
2012
The regeneration and reforestation of degraded grasslands project was certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), ensuring that the timber production and sales are balanced with habitat creation.
2014
The project was verified by the Rainforest Alliance, confirming that the project has achieved its expected environmental and social benefits.
2017
Consultations took place in adaptation talks, in which more than 200 representatives from the private and public sectors and science and civil society were involved at the PNA-Agro event in Uruguay. In these discussions, the main consequences of climate fluctuations and climate change, as well as central adaptation strategies for the different production systems for women in rural areas and family farms, were worked out. In addition, workshops on adaptation were held at agricultural schools across the country, involving almost 450 young people.
2020
The project completed its first harvesting cycle of 22 years, producing high-value, long-lived timber products and sequestering significant amounts of carbon dioxide.
2022
The project reached its second verification by the Rainforest Alliance, demonstrating its continued performance and impact.
2024
December
According to studies by the Uruguayan University of the Republic (UDELAR) and UPM, natural grasslands exhibit a remarkable capacity for regeneration after afforestation – planting trees where there were none before – often recovering faster than after intensive agricultural use. Examined various afforestation scenarios to evaluate how vegetation evolves in areas once planted with eucalyptus or pine species. These studies monitored sites and compared regenerated areas with adjacent untouched natural grasslands, The results revealed that, beyond the characteristics of each farm, all show a tendency for the herbaceous vegetation to regenerate differently from that of a re-established natural grassland’s vegetation after agricultural intervention. In the case of agriculture, it was observed that, initially, annual weeds predominate. This is followed by short-lived perennial species and, over time, by long-lived perennial grass species that indicate the final recovery towards a natural grassland similar to its pre-transformation status – a re-established grassland. In contrast, in afforestation, a faster increase in the richness, diversity and cover of native perennial grass species was observed after harvesting, with a low presence of weeds, indicating a quicker recovery compared to agriculture. When comparing re-established, i.e., previously forested, natural grasslands with untouched plots, there are similarities in the amount and diversity of plants, although differences in what types of plants are present. Studies show that these differences tend to decrease over time.
