Zurich Forest Project news

Water

This year we received almost three times the amount of rainfall during the same period as the year before! And although any and all rain is always welcome, dealing with the impact of these irregularities is quite a challenge.

El Niño and its impact

El Niño is traditionally associated with drought. Between August and early September, Brazil displayed signs of abnormal convective activity associated with the development of deep clouds. Consequently, the rainy season made an early appearance at the Zurich Forest Project.

Brazil’s risk of losing biodiversity

Deforestation and consequently the loss of biodiversity, are enormous risks Brazil is facing. In the first five months of this year, deforestation decreased by 42% in the Atlantic Forest. However, this risk is an ongoing concern. The country is home to over 116,000 animal species and more than 46,000 known plant species.

Tree nursery: The heart of Instituto Terra

The nursery is its own department with few different sections such as germination beds, shade house, growth and rustification area. This picture shows the shade house. Inside the shade house there is an automated irrigation system installed. This systems provides multiple times a day water to the plantules.

Discovering Brazil's Roots: The Pau-Brasil Tree

Did you know that Brazil is named after a tree called the pau-brasil? The name "brasil" comes from the Portuguese word "brasa," meaning ember or glowing coal, which refers to the tree's bright red wood. This was highly valued during colonial times for making furniture, dyes, and musical instruments. Today, the tree is protected, and efforts are being made to preserve it and its ecosystems – including by Instituto Terra!

The sounds of biodiversity

A healthy and biodiverse forest has a rich sound coming from it thanks to the different creatures that live there and can be heard at different times of the day and night. A degraded forest is far less noisy. Thanks to the falling cost of recording devices and the emergence of artificial intelligence, capturing and analyzing a forest’s soundscape has become possible. Find out more and listen to the Zurich Forest Project here.

Capturing the splendor and fragility of the Amazon rainforest

Instituto Terra founder Sebastião Salgado spent seven years documenting and celebrating the indigenous people and the diverse landscapes of the increasingly fragile Amazon rainforest in his native Brazil. Aided by the National Indigenous People Foundation (FUNAI), and even the Brazilian Air Force, the result is a breathtaking show, accompanied by an original soundtrack of the rainforest’s natural sounds by Jean-Michel Jarre. Click here to find out more.

Bees are vital to maintaining biodiversity

They may be small, but bees play a big role in protecting people and planet. They’re good for biodiversity and good for business. Plus, the bees in the Zurich Forest Project are stingless, so they’re safe to handle too! Find out more about this incredible species here.

Driving positive change

Instituto Terra is driving change in many areas – including gender equality. Co-founded by Lélia Salgado and her husband Sebastião, she’s been a driving force. Furthermore, research by the Brazilian Senate found that 70% of women with children struggle getting back into work after childbirth. At Instituto Terra, three traditionally male led departments have female leaders and 58% of female employees are also mothers. This is equality in action!

Snakes at the door

The Zurich Forest Project is very biodiverse and home to many species. This ‘friendly’ snake was found living next to the Instituto Terra offices and is thankfully not venemous. It’s an endangered reptile that eats other snakes, including but not limited to, the Jararaca which is a very dangerous viper.

Planting decisions

The Zurich Forest Project is built in a Private Reserve of Natural Heritage (PRNH) – the first of its kind in Brazil. It has a unique landscape, mixing flat soil based land with steep slopes of hard rock. This requires strategic planning with regards to which trees to plant. Not only that, it’s also necessary to consider what the land was used for previously, as that also affects how different tree species grow. It’s quite a challenge!

A late start is not a problem

This planting season in the Zurich Forest Project started a few weeks late due to a delayed rainy season. This meant the team at Instituto Terra had to perform some emergency irrigation. Nevertheless, it did not deter the team from planting a further 220,294 seedlings, covering 83 different species of trees! We’re hopeful those seedlings will soon be covering even more of the once baron land of the Atlantic Forest.

Photo © Leonardo Merçon

A hotspot for biodiversity

Brazil occupies almost half of South America and, according to the Environmental Ministry of Brazil, is the country with the greatest biodiversity in the world! There are more than 116,000 animal species and more than 46,000 plant species known in the country, spread across six terrestrial biomes and three major marine ecosystems. The Atlantic Forest is one of those very important biomes — considered a global hotspot for biodiversity!

Photo © Leonardo Merçon

Two approaches to capturing carbon

Planted forests, like The Zurich Forest, play an critical role in capturing carbon. Like humans, forests grow rapidly when trees are young, which is also when it captures most of its carbon from the atmosphere. Keeping a grown forest standing also keeps carbon stocks out of the atmosphere. Brazilian law obliges farmers to keep at least 20% of their land covered by forest, hence the importance of both of these approaches.

Let's celebrate together!

After a year of hard work and dedication on the Zurich Forest Project, we’re closer to restoring part of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. There are still many more trees to be planted as our work on reforestation continues. But we’re happy to make progress in the right direction. Check out our website which tells the story of everything that has happened in the past 12 months!

Let's unite with nature

Instituto Terra Board member and former Environmental Minister of Brazil, Izabella Teixeira, spoke recently at COP 27 in Egypt. She told delegates gathered there that, “if you want to have a better life, we need to unite with nature.” In response to her speech, on Instagram there was a response that said: ‘I'm small, but big, when it comes to nature.’ We can all make a big difference by doing small things!

Strategically planning the Zurich Forest

Every year at Instituto Terra, a planning meeting takes place, during which it’s decided which tree species will be planted. For Environmental Restoration purposes, this only includes native species, because they know the environment best. Over the past 30 years, the team has worked with up to 300 different tree species. And just like any other strategy, it is subject to change, sometimes even after seedling production has already begun!

Photo © Leonardo Merçon

The class of 2022

This year’s students at Instituto Terra have been learning about the importance of native bees. Close to the nursery, where seedlings grow, is a bee neighbourhood which helps with pollination of the Zurich Forest. It’s a popular place for visitors, particularly school trips. The Instituto Terra students are responsible for looking after the bees, even travelling to local schools to teach children about the bees, sometimes using puppet shows to spark curiosity!

Educating the next generation

Passing on knowledge to the next generation about restoration is fundamental at our Zurich Forest partner Instituto Terra. For the past 17 years, they have been delivering a program that teaches young agricultural technicians in the Doce River Valley region their method of restoration. So far, nearly 200 students have gone through the program, with some of them going on to become Instituto Terra employees.

Achieving balance

Balance is something each of us seeks in our lives. Nature is exactly the same. It seeks balance between all of the species that co-exist together. It’s very good at healing itself. Sadly, when the balance is thrown due to human intervention, such as deforestation or pollution, nature has a much harder time healing itself. Our forest partners Instituto Terra have launched their latest campaign for balance called #ReforestToTransform.

Photo © Leonardo Merçon

#ReforestToTransform

We have reached a point in the planet’s state of existence where active reforestation is necessary to bring back ecological equilibrium to the world. In September, Instituto Terra launched their latest campaign #ReforestToTransform. Its aim is to transmit the message to the world that now, more than ever, we must act and do so with a purpose. We want to reforest so that true transformation happens.

Effecting real change

After years of cattle farming, the land at Instituto Terra is hard and dry, making it almost impenetrable to water. In arid areas, the rainy season takes longer to arrive. Rainfall is then suppressed because less water is available meaning evaporation and transpiration is not occurring. Each tree planted in The Zurich Forest will bring a little more rain each season. With one million trees planned, we hope to drive real climate change!

Photo © Leonardo Merçon

Working with integrity

A symbolic act one year ago is a constant reminder to the team at Instituto Terra to let their integrity shine through every day. Each employee planted a seedling in a selected area to represent this commitment. Much like a seedling is closely monitored and cared for after it is planted, they take this commitment very seriously, performing a daily self-check-in to ensure that integrity is the basis of all actions taken at Instituto Terra.

Preparing for planting season

Preparation is key to maximizing the short rainy season when it arrives. This means digging holes in the ground where young seedlings will be planted and performing routine maintenance on the Zurich Forest roads so the Instituto Terra team can get around safely. A field worker will dig 300 holes per day. The soil is often so hard they will go through several steel drill bits in the process – it is back breaking work!

Nurturing trees and people

The Instituto Terra team takes their own well-being very seriously. They recently held their annual health and safety week, where a range of topics covering physical health, such as how to avoid injuries while working in the Zurich Forest, to the importance of positive mental health practices are discussed. This annual event has been going for the past 17 years, proof that Instituto Terra is a nurturing environment that enables both people and trees to grow!

Fight fire with fire

Winter is the dry season in the Doce River region, which means not only is there no rain for the plants and less food for the animals, but also a big risk of fires spreading. Despite our best efforts, sometimes we have to literally fight fire with fire. ‘Counterfire’ is where we light up the tall grass in the opposite direction of the original fire. That way, both fires meet in the middle, consuming each other.

The forest that sleeps

Trees need water and sun for photosynthesis - the process by which plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create oxygen and energy in the form of sugar. When winter arrives and with it the drought, an incredible thing happens. The Zurich Forest sheds its leaves to save energy – think of this as hibernating! Sadly, the animals that live in the forest need to adapt or migrate in order to survive.

Photo © Petit Philippe

A balanced ecosystem

The beauty of nature is how unbelievably balanced it is when an ecosystem functions properly. To achieve balance in the Zurich Forest, we work mainly with two groups of trees. The first group is fast growing, with a 20-year lifespan, providing cover to create a better environment for its successors. The second group takes longer to grow, has a lifespan of centuries and needs much less direct sunlight. The Zurich Forest needs both groups to create a sustainable environment.

Photo © Petit Philippe

First things first

Seedling production is such a vital part of the reforestation process. In the nursery, the ideal amounts and types of species are prepared for planting. A variety of species in the two main groups are produced to ensure The Zurich Forest is robust and long lasting. The Instituto Terra Environmental Department adjusts the quantities of each species several times, sometimes even multiple times a month – they take their responsibility very seriously!

Maintaining the forest floor

In mature or ‘natural’ forests it’s hard to see the floor from above due to the density of trees.
We hope The Zurich Forest will one day be like that. For now it is full of clearings, allowing trees space to grow and for new ones to be planted to eventually take up the space. This requires lots of maintenance to ensure where sun and rain hit the exposed soil, the forest floor doesn’t become overgrown with brachiaria.

Photo © Philippe Lemarchand

Bees in the Zurich Forest

The Narrow Stingless Bees are one of the many native bee species of the Atlantic Forest. In fact, all of the Atlantic Forest’s native bees are stingless. They differ from traditional stinging bees in several ways. They gather in smaller swarms, produce lower quantities of liquid honey which needs to be pasteurized and are under constant threat due to their docile nature.

Photo © Flávio Jota de Paula

The Zurich Forest is growing

120,388 seedlings were planted in The Zurich Forest between October 2021 and February 2022, with a 97% rate of survival!
Survival is not guaranteed so this is an important key performance indicator for the project.
Furthermore, with no significant difference in survival rate of the various species, the correct plants seem to have been chosen.
Watch this space to follow their progress (along with more new ones of course!)

Using data to protect the Zurich Forest

Data has a critical role in the growth of The Zurich Forest.
The team at Instituto Terra have to carefully manage several KPIs.
Plant height has a big impact on survival rate because it’s only the strongest seedlings can survive the Brazilian dry season.
Data really does make both the world, and The Zurich Forest, go round!
We’re excited to bring you more exciting statistics as the Zurich Forest grows.

Photo © Leonardo Merçon

Our tree of the month - Ingá Branco

Native to Brazil and reaching about 20 meters in height, this tree belongs to the leguminous family, which means it can fix nitrogen, improving soil fertility.
It grows quickly and provides cover for other species so it is often used for shading coffee plantations and urban afforestation.
As it adapts well to dry forests, it was one of the main species chosen for the Zurich Forest Project. In the 2021/22 planting cycle, 5,550 seedlings of this species were planted.

Seed colecction

Collectors go around the Fazenda Bulcão reserve, finding species bearing fruit, and collect fruits and seeds from them. It’s the crucial first step in seedling production at Instituto Terra. In February, almost 33,000 seeds from six species were collected. In total, they weighed 138 kilograms. The collectors also visited the mother trees (the biggest, oldest ones) in the forest to check and collect the ripe fruits and processed the seeds for production.

Let's celebrate the International Day of Forests

The United Nations has proclaimed 21 March the International Day of Forests to celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests.
Forest sustainable management and their use of resources are key to combating climate change, and to contributing to the prosperity and well-being of current and future generations. Forests also play a crucial role in poverty alleviation and in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Here are seven of their best kept secrets.

Our tree of the month

It’s tall, it’s broad and it’s very long-lived. We’re talking about Jequitibá-rosa (Cariniana legalis) a semi-deciduous tree, which can grow 50 meters, and is one of the largest trees in the Southeast of Brazil.
It is widely used for reforestation due to its rapid growth, reaching 3.5 meters after two years of planting.
This planting season (October 2021-January 2022), 547 seedlings of this species were planted in the Zurich Forest Project.

Vigilance keeps pests and weeds at bay

At Instituto Terra, the planted areas require constant monitoring - weeding, pest control and fertilisation.
The material collected from weeding is spread around the base of the planted tree to retain moisture, to protect the soil from sun and rain, and to make it difficult for other invasive plants to germinate.
The application of slow-release fertilizers at the base of the seedlings is another major task while the plants need constant protection from leaf-cutting ants.

Turning over a new leaf

When seedlings develop their first sets of leaves, they need to be transplanted to have more room to grow.
It’s a delicate process removing seedlings from the sand so as not to damage their roots.
In a nursery, where they are protected from extremes of weather, they are transferred one by one to plastic tubes with a substrate.
Within a few weeks, the first signs of success will be apparent – several new leaves. The seedling is ready for planting.

When the rain falls

Between October and February, all eyes are on the sky around Instituto Terra. When will the rains come and how much will fall?
During the rainy season, teams of workers will plant seedlings, day in day out, in the moist soil where they have the best chance of surviving.
Last year the rain arrived early and the first day of planting was on October 19.
In total, 120,388 seedlings were planted this season at Fazenda Bulcão.