Seedling maintenance is an important step in the forest restoration process. It is not enough just to plant, a series of care is needed after planting.

One of the forest restoration projects carried out by Copaíba is the project “Restoration of riparian forests of springs and water courses in the Rio do Peixe basin”, contract FEHIDRO 292/2014 (MOGI code 417).

This project aims to “Contribute to the restoration of riparian forests of springs and direct tributaries of the Rio do Peixe, collaborating in the conservation of water courses and the associated ecosystem”. It is being carried out on the Fazenda Santo Antonio property, in the Lavras de Baixo neighborhood, in Socorro/SP.

There are 127,500m2 of riparian areas that are being recovered. The surroundings of ten springs and the banks of eight tributary streams of the Rio do Peixe today already have a new forest in formation. 12,600 seedlings of trees native to the Atlantic Forest were planted.

But for the success of the planting carried out in May 2015 to be guaranteed, the seedlings need to be cared for. And it is exactly at this stage that the project finds itself.

All seedlings are crowned. The grass that grows in the planting lines is cleared and the leaf-cutting ants that often attack the seedlings are also controlled. Seedling care usually takes no more than two years after planting. Soon these areas will follow by themselves, without receiving any more intervention from Copaíba.