Performance of Five Native Atlantic Forest Species Planted in Containers of Different Size for Restoring Degraded Areas in Minas Gerais

Forest restoration in Brazil has gained relevance in the country’s environmental agenda, due to the need for forest recovery of large liabilities of existing forests and participation in several international vegetation restoration agreements. However, forest restoration management faces challenges, it being necessary to create a database of species-level performances to increase the success of these projects. The objective was to evaluate the survival and growth of five Atlantic Forest native species (Anadenanthera macrocarpa; Ceiba speciosa; Cytharexyllum myrianthum; Hymenaea courbaril; and Peltophorum dubium) in plastic bags (1177 cm3) and tubes (180 cm3). Ninety seedlings (18 of each species) were planted per container. Plant performance in the field consisted of evaluating the increase in the diameter and height of seedlings of the native forest species. Diameter at soil level (DSL) and plant height (H) were measured at 42 months after transplanting, and the monthly periodic increments (MPI) of the DSL and H were calculated. Plant survival (SV) of seedlings was affected by the type of container, registering the highest SV rates in those planted in plastic bags. Cytharexyllum myrianthum and H. courbaril presented high SV rates in tubes. The growth rate of the species at 42 months differed according to the containers tested. Cytharexyllum myrianthum presented the lowest SV rates (16.7–27.8%), regardless of the container used in this experiment. Ceiba speciosa was sensitive to the reduction in size of the container, showing low SV in tubes (27%) compared with plastic bags (61%); i.e., this species did not tolerate conditions with root growth restriction. Anadenathera macrocarpa and H. courbaril showed no differences in SV, regardless of the container used. The results assist the production of native species of the Atlantic Forest, reinforcing the need to understand performances in the field at the species level.