The role of farmer’s resources, capabilities and perceptions on reforestation and forest cover in the Atlantic Forest

In the context of the UN Decade of Ecosystem Restoration (2021–2030), insights are urgently needed on how to engage land users in reforestation efforts. This study examined the resources, capabilities and perspectives of land users, i.e., farmers, in relation to reforestation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (BAF), an ecoregion that hosts 70 % of the Brazilian population while is also a biodiversity hotspot with only 28 % of native vegetation cover remaining. 78 % of the territory of this ecoregion is occupied by rural private properties, indicating the importance of on-farm forest restoration. We studied the pathways of how variation in forest cover can be explained by farmers’ perceptions of incentives, like pro-nature attitudes, and farmers’ resources and capabilities to engage in reforestation. Data were collected through a quantitative survey involving 257 farmers and their properties and forest cover derived from geo-spatial imagery. Using multiple regression models that underlie a path analysis, we found small and non-significant effects of both positive and negative perceptions of farmers on forest cover, but in combination with farmers’ resources and capabilities, these models could explain up to 36 % of variation on forest cover. The capability “slope”, as a proxy for production suitability, and the resource “farm size”, as a proxy for available capital, were always highly positively associated with forest cover in the models excluding and including farmers’ perceptions. These results highlight that reforestation decision making of farmers is complex and should be assessed accordingly, since it does not only regard the perceptions of the forest itself, but also the available resources and capabilities for restoration. Forest conservation and restoration initiatives can benefit from considering the variables assessed in this study; resources, capabilities, and perceptions of incentives and pro-nature motivation, while potential solutions, such as positive policy mechanisms, need to consider the heterogeneity of land and different types of landowners.