Revegetation through seeding or planting: A worldwide systematic map
Metadatos
Mostrar el registro completo del ítemEditorial
Elsevier
Materia
Reforestation Sowing Seedling Nursery Forestry UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration
Fecha
2023-03-21Referencia bibliográfica
A. Lázaro-González et al. Revegetation through seeding or planting: A worldwide systematic map. Journal of Environmental Management 337 (2023) 117713[https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2023.117713]
Patrocinador
Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovacion y Universidades/FEDER RTI 2018-096187-J-100 RYC 2020-029407-I; Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain (MICINN) TED2021.130976 B.I00; Consejeria de Economia, Conocimiento, Empresas y Universidad de la Junta de Andalucia/FEDER P18-RT-1927; Universidad de Granada / CBUAResumen
Roughly 2 billion ha of land are degraded and in need of ecological restoration worldwide. Active restoration
frequently involves revegetation, which leads to the dilemma of whether to conduct direct seeding or to plant
nursery-grown seedlings. The choice of revegetation method can regulate plant survival and performance, with
economic implications that ultimately feed back to our capacity to conduct restoration. We followed a peerreviewed
protocol to develop a systematic map that collates, describes and catalogues the available studies on
how seeding compares to planting in achieving restoration targets. We compiled a database with the characteristics
of all retrieved studies, which can be searched to identify studies of particular locations and habitats,
objectives of restoration, plant material, technical aspects, and outcomes measured. The search was made in
eight languages and retrieved 3355 publications, of which 178 were retained. The systematic map identifies
research gaps, such as a lack of studies in the global South, in tropical rainforests, and covering a long time
period, which represent opportunities to expand field-based research. Additionally, many studies overlooked
reporting on important technical aspects such as seed provenance and nursery cultivation methods, and others
such as watering or seedling protection were more frequently applied for planting than for seeding, which limits
our capacity to learn from past research. Most studies measured outcomes related to the target plants but avoided
measuring general restoration outcomes or economic aspects. This represents a relevant gap in research, as the
choice of revegetation method is greatly based on economic aspects and the achievement of restoration goals
goes beyond the establishment of plants. Finally, we identified a substantial volume of studies conducted in
temperate regions and over short periods (0–5 y). This research cluster calls for a future in-depth synthesis,
potentially through meta-analysis, to reveal the overall balance between seeding and planting and assess whether
the response to this question is mediated by species traits, environmental characteristics, or technical aspects.
Besides identifying research clusters and gaps, the systematic map database allows managers to find the most
relevant scientific literature on the appropriateness of seeding vs. planting for particular conditions, such as
certain species or habitats.