EVALUATION OF DIRECT SEEDING AND SEEDLING PLANTING OF TWO NEOTROPICAL TREE SPECIES WITH THE USE OF NATURAL INPUTS

ABSTRACT Direct seeding of native tree species could be a low cost alternative for forest restoration. The paper aimed at evaluate direct seeding of two species from Southern Brazil, Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi and Citharexylum solanaceum Chamisso, comparing with seedling planting. The effects and costs of forest topsoil and forest litter addition were also evaluated in the direct seeding. The experiment was accomplished during 2009/2010. The treatments of direct seeding were CONTROL - control without seeding, TSEED - only seeding, TLITTER - seeding with forest litter cover, TTOPSOIL - seeding with forest topsoil, TBOTH - seeding with forest litter and with forest topsoil, LTCONTROL - control with forest litter and forest topsoil. The species C. solanaceum did not germinate at field. The species S. terebinthifolius had higher germination in the TBOTH, either at 30 days (21.6%) and 360 days (9.0%), which correspond to a density of 9,000 plants · ha-1 after 360 days. The litter singly contributed less to the survival than the forest soil, however a synergic effect between the two inputs was observed. The TBOTH presented a higher growth (42 cm of plant height at 360 days). The costs of direct seeding with inputs (singly or combined) were higher than the conventional seedling planting in relation to the area unity. However, the cost of direct seeding without addition of inputs was higher considering the cost per survivor seedlings. Planted seedling of S. terebinthifolius reached 88.5 cm of height after 360 days. Seedlings of S. terebinthifolius generated by direct seeding reached the average of 5.1 and 42.0 cm of height in the TSEED and TBOTH treatments, respectively.