Affiliation:
1. Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais do Estado de São Paulo Laboratório de Ecologia e Hidrologia, Floresta Estadual de Assis Caixa Postal 104 19802‐300 Assis São Paulo Brazil
2. Instituto de Biologia, Programa de Pós‐Graduação em Ecologia Universidade Estadual de Campinas Caixa Postal 6109 13083‐865 Campinas São Paulo Brazil
Abstract
Water‐related ecosystem services are the most expected benefits from ecological restoration worldwide, because they directly improve the quality of life of human populations around and downstream the restored areas. However, the poor comprehension of how the vegetation drives the hydrological processes has resulted in some major ecological disasters. Dib et al. (2023) tried to “shed light on the complex relationship between forest restoration and water‐related ecosystem services.” However, while mentioning the decrease in water yield and highlighting the great benefits to water quality generally observed after forest restoration, they (1) overstated the contribution of planting forests to increase rainfall, and (2) omitted the substantial losses due to rain interception by the canopies when explaining the forest–water relationships. This reply aims to complement or rectify the arguments from Dib et al. (2023), clarifying some hydrological issues which are crucial for restoration planning and implementation.
Subject
Nature and Landscape Conservation,Ecology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics