Telling the Wood from the Trees: Ranking a Tree Species List to Aid Urban Afforestation in the Amazon

Daniela C. Zappi, Juliana Lovo, Alice Hiura, Caroline O. Andrino, Rafael G. Barbosa-Silva, Felipe Martello, Livia Gadelha-Silva, Pedro L. Viana and Tereza C. Giannini
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Daniela C. Zappi: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Botânica, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, Caixa Postal 04457, Brasília 70919-970, DF, Brazil
Juliana Lovo: Departamento de Sistemática e Ecologia, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, Caixa Postal 5065, Cidade Universitária, João Pessoa 58051-970, PB, Brazil
Alice Hiura: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Caroline O. Andrino: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Rafael G. Barbosa-Silva: UFRA/MPEG Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Coord. Botânica, Belém 66077-830, PA, Brazil
Felipe Martello: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil
Livia Gadelha-Silva: UFRA/MPEG Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas, Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Coord. Botânica, Belém 66077-830, PA, Brazil
Pedro L. Viana: Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi, Coord. Botânica, Belém 66077-830, PA, Brazil
Tereza C. Giannini: Instituto Tecnológico Vale, Belém 66055-090, PA, Brazil

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 3, 1-16

Abstract: The vast Amazonian biome still poses challenges for botanists seeking to know and recognize its plant diversity. Brazilian northern cities are expanding fast, without considering the regional biodiversity, and urban plantings of almost exclusively exotic species are taking place. It is paramount that the correct identity of such trees is ascertained before procurement of the seeds and young plants, as the use of popular names may lead to importation of plant material from elsewhere, with potential introduction of invasive species. The abundant local diversity also leads to the need to score the most suitable species within a given region. Following the preparation of authoritatively named floristic lists in Southeastern Pará state, we proceeded to score and rank the most suitable trees for urban planning using different characteristics such as size, ornamental value, ecologic role, resilience and known methods of propagation. From an initial 375 species list, 263 species were ranked according to their suitability for street and urban area plantings and visualized using a Venn diagram. A final list with the 49 of the highest-ranking species was further analysed regarding their pollination and phenology period and two types of dissimilarity analyses were provided to aid practitioners in matching and choosing groups of species. Different local vegetation types mean that similar floristic lists must be used to extract cohorts of suitable plants to increase the urban richness in the eight Brazilian states that are included in the Amazonian biome.

Keywords: Aichi targets; Carajás; floristic list; Principal Coordinates Analysis; selecting species; tree planting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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