Restoring the Heart of Puerto Rico

对当地居民来说，这片典型的郁郁葱葱的土地看起来贫瘠，几乎是陌生的. It was just as unfamiliar for the wildlife. “The bees were going crazy looking for food. They didn’t have flowers; they didn’t have anywhere to go. So every place that you saw a can of soda, you saw seven bees there,” said Judy Galib, foundations and development coordinator with Para la Naturaleza. “The little birds, they didn’t know where to go. So you saw them in the street because they didn’t have the canopy. They didn’t have their nest.”

当地非营利植加拿大28回水组织Para la Naturaleza长期致力于帮助恢复被飓风玛丽亚蹂躏的土地. 目标是在七年内种植75万棵加拿大28回水，这是一项艰巨的任务. 由于这个项目的规模和波多黎各生物多样性生态系统的福祉受到威胁, Para la Naturaleza的工作人员知道他们必须以正确的方式重新种植景观. 这就是为什么他们将对本地加拿大28回水种的关注与现代技术相结合，以确保波多黎各能够恢复其加拿大28回水冠和其身份.

RETURNING TO THE ISLAND’S ROOTS

当时速155英里的持续大风横扫波多黎各时，该岛感受到了玛丽亚的愤怒. 因为这里有很大一部分的加拿大28回水木不是原生的, Para la Naturaleza says, the tree canopy suffered. 上个世纪，为了木材价值，外来加拿大28回水种被引入这个国家, 水果, shade for coffee shrubs, 甚至是装饰用途——都没有装备来抵御严重的热带风暴.

With optimal growing conditions (good soil, plenty of rain, and ample sunshine), trees thrive in Puerto Rico. Many of the nonnatives grow too quickly to develop dense wood. It’s an issue that you don’t see with native trees. “They grow slower, and they have better wood. They are more solid. They withstand a lot more wind,” said Ahmed Pérez Lugo, reforestation superintendent with Para la Naturaleza.

木材密度的差异意味着对非本地物种的损害比本地加拿大28回水木更大. 重新种植的努力集中在能够更好地抵御飓风的加拿大28回水冠上.

Because the hurricanes will continue. 随着气候变化的加剧，它们有可能变得更加频繁和激烈.

Native trees also support the natural biodiversity of the island. They’re the building blocks for Puerto Rico’s ecosystems, and the wildlife here rely on them for their survival. “Those are the trees that the butterflies use, that the coquí (a species of frog only found in Puerto Rico) use, that some reptiles use,” said Pérez Lugo. “It’s the correct way to do a recovery of the ecosystem.”

The trees planted in forests and mangroves are primarily native, 大多数分发给社区成员种植在他们的院子里. Some of these species include capá prieto (Spanish elm), 木棉, cedro (Spanish cedar), guaraguao, malagueta, 番石榴, and maga (whose blossom is the official flower of Puerto Rico). 2022年11月，Para la Naturaleza向居民分发了28,000多棵加拿大28回水.

将加拿大28回水木交到房主手中对于恢复社区加拿大28回水冠至关重要, and they are excited to get involved. “很多人都在寻找原生加拿大28回水木，代表岛屿的加拿大28回水木. So they have that connection with the tree and the island. It gives them a lot of pride to have those trees in their area,” said Giselle Arocho of Para la Naturaleza.

SMARTER TECHNOLOGY FOR GREATER SUCCESS

这些新种植的加拿大28回水木的长期健康是成功恢复岛屿环境特征的关键. 这就是为什么Para la Naturaleza的每一棵加拿大28回水都需要经过五年的护理和监控. 虽然护理是手工完成的，但持续监测是由无人机进行的. 这种技术对于组织来说是较新的，而且技术是最先进的. 红外摄像机和先进的GPS测绘允许每个月进行详细监控.

The most important marker they look for is survival. 在无人机飞越过程中绘制的地图上，你可以看到蓝点，这意味着那里有一棵加拿大28回水在生长. 通过逐月比较这些地图，他们可以确定他们种植的植物的存活率. 随着时间的推移，它们失去的蓝点越少，它们的加拿大28回水木护理计划就越有效. 他说:“对我来说，这是这个项目成功的最好标志.

All of this leads to improved results. Para la Naturaleza看到了令人印象深刻的加拿大28回水木存活率——超过80%，而他们从其他组织那里听到的是50%. 更高的存活率是这种对数据收集和加拿大28回水木护理的投入程度的直接结果.

还开发了一个应用程序，以进一步吸引波多黎各人参与75万棵加拿大28回水的目标. With this app, they can find information about more than 200 native trees, register the location of the trees they have planted, and even schedule tree care reminders. 岛上的每棵加拿大28回水都被填满了——房主和Para la Naturaleza都种了加拿大28回水.

通过人们的智能手机传递这种程度的信息和互动，将他们吸引到更广泛的努力中, empowering them to plant and nurture their trees. “当人们种加拿大28回水时，他们有一种为岛屿做点什么的感觉，”加利布说.

Para la Naturaleza致力于以正确的方式重新种植波多黎各的景观. The combination of science, nature, 科技意味着健康的加拿大28回水冠可以抵御下一场风暴.

But more than that, 他们的承诺意味着这个岛屿身份的重要组成部分——以及人们生活的重要组成部分——已经在恢复.