Restauração ecológica: monitoramento legal e estratégias de seleção de espécies frente a eventos climáticos extremos

Abstract

This thesis investigates key challenges to the success of ecological restoration in the context of climate change, integrating two complementary dimensions: the assessment of monitoring in restored areas and the selection of species that are more resilient to extreme climatic events. In the first chapter, the study critically analyzed the capacity of the monitoring model established by SMA Resolution No. 32/2014 to adequately represent the ecological condition of restoration projects when results are aggregated at the project level. Based on data from 12 projects distributed across 453 polygons in the Promissão Reservoir region, along the Tietê River (São Paulo State, Brazil), the study demonstrated high spatial heterogeneity in the legal indicators and highlighted the risk of masking critical areas, which may compromise the evaluation of legal compliance. In the second chapter, the thesis investigated how functional traits of plant species, such as leaf thickness, the presence of trichomes, and crown shape, influence frost tolerance in restoration areas, providing support for the selection of species better adapted to adverse climatic conditions. Taken together, the results show that restoration effectiveness depends both on monitoring criteria that are more sensitive to ecological variability and on the incorporation of species-selection strategies capable of increasing the resilience of restored plantings to extreme events. The thesis therefore contributes to the technical and scientific advancement of ecological restoration, with practical implications for planning, monitoring, and the formulation of public policies in Brazil.