10/05/2023

Planting of 5,529 seedlings on the new IMPA campus completes 1 year.

One year after the start of planting native species of the Atlantic Forest on the land that will house IMPA's new sustainable campus, the new vegetation is adapted to the environment, developing within normal patterns, and the loss of seedlings in the region was less than 1%, according to Agrotexas Rio, the company responsible for monitoring and maintaining the species.

In 2022, IMPA planted 5,529 seedlings in the region as a compensatory measure for the construction of the new development. Researchers, students, and staff from the institute participated in planting actions of jequitibá, golden ipê, embaúba, pau-Brasil, among other species. A collective effort took place on National Atlantic Forest Day , celebrated on May 27th, and included representatives from the Association of Residents and Friends of the Botanical Garden (AMAJB). Watch the video.

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In July, planting was completed , and since then, the development of the vegetation has been monitored. "Maintenance consists of removing invasive species within a one-meter radius of each seedling, controlling leaf-cutter ants when present in the planting areas, phytosanitary assessment, fertilization, among other actions," explained Yoshihico Watanabe , an agronomist at Agrotexas .

According to the company, seedling loss in the region was less than 1% – the acceptable limit in planting actions is up to 10%. Another piece of good news is that pioneer species have already reached 2 meters in height. They tend to grow faster and make room for secondary and late-successional species.

Examples of pioneer species include the Guapuruvu tree, and secondary species include the Ipê tree. In total, almost 60 species of the Atlantic Forest were planted on the site, six of which are threatened with extinction. The planting actions contributed to the replacement of exotic trees (jackfruit trees) with native ones; to the forest enrichment of the region; and to the increase in the diversity of fauna and flora in the Botanical Garden.

Since the start of construction in April 2021, the site has already been inspected by agencies such as SMAC (Municipal Secretariat for the Environment and Climate), ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), Inea (State Institute for the Environment), Environmental Police, and Civil Police. On all occasions, it was certified that the construction was in compliance with regulations and is proceeding with absolute legality, fulfilling all requirements.

New sustainable campus will expand IMPA's contributions to society.

The design of the new campus was entirely conceived to address environmental issues, from lighter materials with low construction impact to the rational use of water and energy efficiency management. The project won the 2017 Recognition Award in Switzerland, the most important international competition for sustainable architectural projects.

With infrastructure comparable to that of the world's leading research centers, the sustainable campus will expand and diversify the institute's activities, further increasing its scientific and social contribution to Rio de Janeiro and Brazil.

In addition to training masters and doctoral students and developing teachers for basic education, IMPA conducts high-level research, partners with the productive sector, and plays a fundamental role in popularizing mathematics. The expansion will benefit students, researchers, the scientific community, residents of Rio de Janeiro, and Brazilians in general.

Learn more about IMPA's sustainable campus at: https://impa.br/novocampus/ .