Pine invasion in SC worsens effects of climate change – 11/04/2023 – Environment

Cutting down trees is generally an act associated with the destruction of the environment, not its preservation. It is no surprise that UFSC (Federal University of Santa Catarina) professor Michele Dechoum encounters curious and, at times, critical looks as she removes invasive trees from the dunes of Florianópolis.

“I’ve already received threats. People arrive taking photos and filming, saying they’re going to report it to the city hall. But, after we explain what we do, most of the time they support it”, says Dechoum, who coordinates Leimac (Laboratory of Invasive Ecology Biological, Management and Conservation) at UFSC.

Since 2010, the professor has organized community actions on the beaches and parks of Florianópolis alongside forestry engineer Silvia Ziller, from the Hórus Institute. Each volunteer can cut, on average, 200 to 300 trees during each visit. So far, more than 420 thousand trees have been removed in the joint efforts coordinated by them.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, the actions seek to protect the restinga from the invasion of pine, eucalyptus and casuarina trees. These species cause erosion in the frontal dunes, which are the city’s main protective barrier against storm surges. This occurs because, under the shade of these temperate trees, the restinga’s native plants do not survive.

Without the defense of the restinga, Florianópolis should be more affected by the progressive rise in sea level, according to researcher Marina Hirota, professor of meteorology at UFSC. Extreme weather events, such as cyclones and intense storm surges, which have become increasingly common due to climate change, can also cause greater damage if there are invasive species in coastal vegetation, explains Hirota.

A projection for the year 2100 indicates that 13.4% of the territory of Florianópolis will be affected by rising sea levels, according to the scenario estimated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Despite the importance of tourism for Santa Catarina’s economy, the adaptations necessary to achieve the so-called coastal resilience do not have much space in the budget. This year, the funding allocated to the environment and climate in the state’s LOA (Annual Budget Law) is R$118 million, which represents 0.25% of the total. In the city of Florianópolis, R$39 million must be allocated to the Municipal Environment Secretariat this year.

According to Dechoum, who organizes voluntary actions, much of the work that should be done by governments is now in the hands of citizens.

One example is sandboard teacher Marcelo Osvaldo da Silveira, who has been teaching in the dunes of Lagoa da Conceição for 11 years.

“Having worked there for a long time and having this contact with the sea, I can already see that the undertow has been digging deeper and deeper into the dunes and that the restinga vegetation as we know it has been disappearing”, says Silveira, who organized a WhatsApp group to set up joint efforts.

The risks that foreign species bring to Santa Catarina are also known to the authorities. In 2016, the state government created a program for the management and control of invasive exotic species, and Florianópolis City Hall has, since 2012, a municipal law that determines the replacement of all pine, eucalyptus and casuarina trees with native species within ten years.

A decree that succeeded the law also determined that, from 2020 onwards, inspections should notify the owner of land with the species and impose a fine of R$100 per specimen not removed.

Both deadlines, however, were not met, and there are still thousands of these trees on the island. So far, notifications have only affected public land, but even these areas still have a huge presence of invasive species.

The biggest example is the Rio Vermelho State Park, with 40% of the territory of more than 1,500 hectares covered by non-native trees, mainly pine trees.

When contacted, the IMA (Environmental Institute) of Santa Catarina said that the delay “was caused in particular by the pandemic” and that it is preparing a bidding notice “for the sale of wood with economic value, removing other exotic species with no commercial value and preparation and execution of the park’s environmental restoration project.

The city hall, when questioned about the failure to meet the deadline in the areas of its responsibility, responded, through Floram (Municipal Environment Foundation of Florianópolis), that “it has been acting diligently in the process of removing exotic species and replacing them with native ones” . The withdrawal was hampered by the pandemic, but it is a priority, the municipal administration also said.

Another missed deadline is the review of the state’s List of Invasive Alien Species, published for the first time in 2010. It should be updated every two years, according to a resolution from Consema (State Environmental Council). The most recent edition available, however, is from 2016. The IMA stated that there is no plan for a new publication.

Historic invasion

The pine arrived in Florianópolis in the 1960s thanks to mistaken public policies. Rio Vermelho Park, previously an area of ​​degraded restinga, was the scene of experimental planting of these trees from 1963 onwards, following a state decree.

Furthermore, pine seedlings were distributed free of charge at city hall events, and many residents planted the species in their backyards to try to keep the dunes away from their properties. As pine seeds can travel up to 60 km with the wind, many trees also appeared in other conservation areas, such as the Dunas da Lagoa da Conceição Municipal Natural Park.

The park’s landscape has been altered in recent years by volunteers who removed thousands of pine trees from the dunes. The first joint efforts took place there and today there are few examples left.

In some areas of the dunes, the sandbank has already recovered on its own. However, in other parts, it was necessary to plant seedlings of native species.

“As we did not find seedlings in any commercial nursery, we had to form a partnership with the municipal nursery to develop them as part of a university research project. Today some volunteers look for the seedlings in the south of the island, with their own cars, and bring for the planting efforts”, says Dechoum.

On Joaquina beach, to care for the recently restored sandbank areas, Leimac researchers rely on the volunteer work of a surf school. On-site instructors help to fence and mark areas with seedlings.

A resident of the Costa de Dentro region since the 1980s, retired Eugênio Luiz Gonçalves volunteers in the joint efforts that take place in his neighborhood. For him, community actions are important, but public authorities should lead the initiatives.

“The tourist who comes here wants to see nature, and where will he see it? Where there is preserved restinga. If there is nothing, he will travel to another place”, argues he, who is president of the Costa de Dentro Community Council.

_{The report was produced with the support of Internews and the Earth Journalism Network.}