02893naa a2200253 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400390006010000200009924501420011926000090026152020740027065000270234465000220237165300200239365300110241365300230242465300340244765300360248165300180251770000230253570000260255877300550258421648582024-08-20       2024    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d7 a10.1016/j.ecoleng.2024.1073152DOI1 aNAKASATO, M. V.  aWaterline distance effects in the recovery of forest structure and soil organic matter 12 years after restoration.h[electronic resource]  c2024  aEfforts to restore tropical forests can result in large unpredictability in their trajectories, mainly due to spatial variation in abiotic conditions and plant resource availability. With the construction of a small hydroelectric power plant, a 70-ha forest restoration was conducted in 2008 within the boundaries of seasonal semideciduous forest in southeastern Brazil. This study described the spatial variation of the restored ecosystem after 12 years by simultaneously evaluating the direct influences of distance from the water body (waterline distance) and soil moisture, and the indirect influence of these factors mediated by the forest structure on accumulated litter and soil organic matter (SOM). These effects were estimated in the area under restoration and in forest remnants (considered as reference sites) (Model A), or in the area under restoration alone (Model B). Data on forest structure included density of individuals, total basal area, tree average diameter, average trunk volume index and stratification. Tree density decreased with increasing waterline distance both in the restoration area and in the forest remnants. Consequently, the sites closest to the reservoir formed denser and more stratified forests. Waterline distance and soil moisture content were correlated with each other, but each variable had independent effects of on the amount of litter and SOM. Wetter sites with denser and more stratified forest had greater amounts of accumulated litter and soil organic matter, but only in Model A, which included both the restored area and the forest remnants. In addition, higher basal area values contributed weakly to greater amounts of accumulated litter. Thus, our study suggests that the trajectory and speed of recovery of some ecosystem processes were determined by the waterline distance and soil moisture. Furthermore, the restoration implementation in the period of just 12 years was sufficient to detect the effect of these actions on the litter accumulation and a substantial increase in the amount of soil organic matter.  aEcological restoration  aSpatial variation  aForest remnants  aLitter  aRestored ecosystem  aSeasonal semideciduous forest  aSmall Hydroelectric Power Plant  aSoil moisture1 aSOUZA, A. L. T. DE1 aBERNARDI, A. C. de C.  tEcological Engineeringgv. 206, sep. 2024, 107315.