A recent study by researchers from the Federal University of Santa Maria shows that forest coverage in the state of Rio Grande do Sul is increasing. The study will not be completed for another three months, but data already in from satellite photos reveal that the area covered by forests has increased by 45 percent over the past 17 years. In a country where the rule has been the loss of green areas, this is spectacularly good news. The explanation for the recovery of the state's forests, which include some parcels of the Atlantic Forest, lies in the combination of strict new laws and technological advances. Landowners are even required to seek authorization from environmental authorities before they can cut shrubs at the edges of woods.
Bushes are the first stage of forest regeneration.
The new law inhibits deforestation, but the real factor driving recovery in forests is the slow rate of mechanization of the state's agriculture in the last two decades. It is almost impossible to use modern farm equipment on uneven ground. For this reason, many farmers have abandoned fields at the edge of the mountains. Little by little, the forests are regaining their former homes. Between the first bush sprouting on what was a field and the recovery of the forests, more than 20 years must pass.