How a seed mix can help save native forests

An aerial view showing the Amazon rainforest near the municipality of Paragominas in Brazil’s Para state. While overall deforestation has declined in Brazil in the past few years, the problem persists. — AFP

Muvuca, in Brazilian Portuguese, means a “chaotic mix”. In agriculture, it’s a method to restore the forest around headwaters of rivers and streams by planting a mix of seeds from dozens of native species, to copy the variety of nature. 

It promotes the growth of native vegetation – expanding an area’s ability to capture carbon – and also prepares these new forests for climate change, because the mix includes seeds from areas that are already adapted to a hotter world.