Antioxidant capacity sources of soils under different land uses.

Antioxidants (AOX) in soils originate mainly from secondary plant metabolites and are pivotal in many redox processes in environment, maintaining soil quality. Still, little is known about the influence of land uses on their accumulation in soil. The aim of the paper was to determine the content of these redox-active compounds in the extracts of A horizons of abandoned fallows, arable and woodland soils. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of soils under various uses and vegetation was evaluated in different soil extracts using Folin-Ciocâlteu method. The contribution of humic acids to TAC was determined and antioxidant profiles estimated using the chromatographic GC-MS method. Forest soils exhibited the highest TAC (15.5 mg g-1) and AOX contents (4.34 mg g-1), which were positively correlated with soil organic carbon content. It was estimated that humic acids contribute to over 50% of TAC in soils. The main phenolics in woodland A horizons were isovanillic and p-hydroxybenzoic acid (p-HA), while esculetin and p-HA predominated in the abandoned fallows due to the prevalence of herbaceous vegetation. Cultivated soils were the most abundant in p-HA (56.42%). In the studied topsoils, there were considerable amounts of aliphatic organic matter, which role in redox processes should be further evaluated.

FSC-certified forest management benefits large mammals compared to non-FSC.

More than a quarter of the world's tropical forests are exploited for timber1. Logging impacts biodiversity in these ecosystems, primarily through the creation of forest roads that facilitate hunting for wildlife over extensive areas. Forest management certification schemes such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) are expected to mitigate impacts on biodiversity, but so far very little is known about the effectiveness of FSC certification because of research design challenges, predominantly limited sample sizes2,3. Here we provide this evidence by using 1.3 million camera-trap photos of 55 mammal species in 14 logging concessions in western equatorial Africa. We observed higher mammal encounter rates in FSC-certified than in non-FSC logging concessions. The effect was most pronounced for species weighing more than 10 kg and for species of high conservation priority such as the critically endangered forest elephant and western lowland gorilla. Across the whole mammal community, non-FSC concessions contained proportionally more rodents and other small species than did FSC-certified concessions. The first priority for species protection should be to maintain unlogged forests with effective law enforcement, but for logged forests our findings provide convincing data that FSC-certified forest management is less damaging to the mammal community than is non-FSC forest management. This study provides strong evidence that FSC-certified forest management or equivalently stringent requirements and controlling mechanisms should become the norm for timber extraction to avoid half-empty forests dominated by rodents and other small species.

Ethno-medicinal uses and cultural importance of stingless bees and their hive products in several ethnic communities of Bhutan.

BACKGROUND: Indigenous and non-indigenous people in subtropical and temperate areas of Bhutan share an intricate relationship with stingless bees for diverse purposes including ethno-medicinal uses. Stingless bees hold significant importance in the realms of social, economic, cultural, and spiritual aspects. Bhutan's cultural traditions demonstrate a strong bond with the environment, exemplified by the regular use of honey from stingless bees for remedies such as treating the common cold, cough, and sore throat. METHODS: Ethnographic research was conducted to document the ethno-medicinal uses and cultural importance of stingless in Bhutan. We deployed semi-structured interviews with stingless beekeepers and honey collectors including traditional healers who perform religious rituals for curing and preventing physical and mental illness. RESULTS: We documented 22 different uses of stingless bee honey in food, medicine, veterinary medicine, crafts, beliefs, and religious purposes. The relative cultural importance (RCI) of stingless bees among Bhutan's ethnic communities was assessed through our calculations. It was determined that these bees hold notably greater significance for the Lhotshampa communities compared to other ethnic groups in Bhutan. This finding demonstrates the dependence of Hindu ethnic communities on natural resources in their everyday life. All participant communities largely exploit these bees through destructive extraction practices. They often find the natural nests in nearby forests, transfer them as a log hive to their backyards, and practice traditional meliponiculture. CONCLUSION: The ethnic communities of Bhutan use stingless bees for various purposes and the local knowledge are persistent. However, significant efforts should be made to address the ethno-medicinal, ecological, biological, and commercial perspectives of meliponiculture in Bhutan.

Phytochemical diversity and their adaptations to abiotic and biotic pressures in fine roots across a climatic gradient.

Phytochemicals and their ecological significance are long ignored in trait-based ecology. Moreover, the adaptations of phytochemicals produced by fine roots to abiotic and biotic pressures are less understood. Here, we explored the fine roots metabolomes of 315 tree species and their rhizosphere microbiome in southwestern China spanning tropical, subtropical, and subalpine forest ecosystems, to explore phytochemical diversity and endemism patterns of various metabolic pathways and phytochemical-microorganism interactions. We found that subalpine species showed higher phytochemical diversity but lower interspecific variation than tropical species, which favors coping with high abiotic pressures. Tropical species harbored higher interspecific phytochemical variation and phytochemical endemism, which favors greater species coexistence and adaptation to complex biotic pressures. Moreover, there was evidence of widespread chemical niche partitioning of closely related species in all regions, and phytochemicals showed a weak phylogenetic signal, but were regulated by abiotic and biotic pressures. Our findings support the Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis, i.e., the intensity of phytochemical-microorganism interactions decreases from tropical to subalpine regions, which promotes greater microbial community turnover and phytochemical niche partitioning of host plants in the tropics than in higher latitude forests. Our study reveals the convergent phytochemical diversity patterns of various pathways and their interactions with microorganism, thus promoting species coexistence.

How will climate change and forest harvesting influence the habitat quality of two culturally salient species?

Boreal landscapes face increasing disturbances which can affect cultural keystone species, i.e. culturally salient species that shape in a major way the cultural identity of a people. Given their importance, the fate of such species should be assessed to be able to act to ensure their perennity. We assessed how climate change and forest harvesting will affect the habitat quality of Rhododendron groenlandicum and Vaccinium angustifolium, two cultural keystone species for many Indigenous peoples in eastern Canada. We used the forest landscape model LANDIS-II in combination with species distribution models to simulate the habitat quality of these two species on the territories of three Indigenous communities according to different climate change and forest harvesting scenarios. Climate-sensitive parameters included wildfire regimes as well as tree growth. Moderate climate change scenarios were associated with an increased proportion of R. groenlandicum and V. angustifolium in the landscape, the latter species also responding positively to severe climate change scenarios. Harvesting had a minimal effect, but slightly decreased the probability of presence of both species where it occurred. According to the modeling results, neither species is at risk under moderate climate change scenarios. However, under severe climate change, R. groenlandicum could decline as the proportion of deciduous trees would increase in the landscape. Climate change mitigation strategies, such as prescribed fires, may be necessary to limit this increase. This would prevent the decrease of R. groenlandicum, as well as contribute to preserve biodiversity and harvestable volumes.

Plant-ant interactions mediate herbivore-induced conspecific negative density dependence in a subtropical forest.

The early growth stage of plants is vital to community diversity and community regeneration. The Janzen-Connell hypothesis predicts that conspecific density dependence lowers the survival of conspecific seedlings by attracting specialist natural enemies, promoting the recruitment and performance of heterospecific neighbors. Recent work has underscored how this conspecific negative density dependence may be mediated by mutualists - such as how mycorrhizal fungi may mediate the accrual of host-specific pathogens beneath the crown of conspecific adult trees. Aboveground mutualist and enemy interactions exist as well, however, and may provide useful insight into density dependence that are as of yet unexplored. Using a long-term seedling demographic dataset in a subtropical forest plot in central China, we confirmed that conspecific neighborhoods had a significant negative effect on seedling survival in this subtropical forest. Furthermore, although we detected more leaf damage in species that were closely related to ants, we found that the presence of ants had significant positive effects on seedling survival. Beside this, we also found a negative effect of ant appearance on seedling growth which may reflect a trade-off between survival and growth. Overall, our findings suggested that ants and conspecific neighborhoods played important but inverse roles on seedling survival and growth. Our results suggest ants may mediate the influence of conspecific negative density dependence on seedling survival at community level.

Future land use prediction and optimization strategy of Zhejiang Greater Bay Area coupled with ecological security multi-scenario pattern.

The land use changes driven by human activities press a incredible menace to zonal ecological security. As the most active urban cluster, the uncontrolled expansion of cities in the bay area exerts enormous pressure on the ecosystem. Therefore, from the perspective of ecological conservation, exploring future land use optimization patterns and spatial structure is extremely essential for the long-term thriving of the bay area. On this basis, this research integrated the System Dynamics model (SD) as the quantity forecast model and the PLUS model as the spatial emulation model and established the Land Use/Cover Change (LUCC) Simulation Framework by setting the constraints of Ecological Security Multi-Scenario Patterns (ESMP). By setting four scenarios in future, that is, Business As Usual (BAU), Priority of Ecological Protection (PEP), Balanced Development Scenario (BD), and Priority of Urban development (PUD), this research predicts LUCC in the Zhejiang Greater Bay Area (ZGBA) in 2035 and explored land use optimization patterns. The results indicate that by 2035, under the scenarios of BAU, BD, and PUD, the construction land will observably grow by 38.86%, 19.63%, and 83.90%, respectively, distributed mainly around the Hangzhou Bay Area, Taizhou Bay Area, and Wenzhou Bay Area, primarily achieved by sacrificing ecologically sensitive lands such as forests to achieve regional high economic growth. Under PEP, the growth of construction land retards, and forest experiences net growth (11.27%), with better landscape connectivity and more cohesive patches compared to other scenarios. Combining regional planning and analysis at the city scale, Hangzhou Bay area (Hangzhou, Huzhou, Jiaxing, Shaoxing, Ningbo) can adopt the BD development scenario, while Zhoushan, Taizhou, Wenzhou and Fuyang County of Hangzhou can adopt the PEP development scenario. This research furnishes a novel mechanism for optimizing land use pattern in ecological security perspective and offers scientific guidance for land resource management and spatial planning in ZGBA.

The puzzling ecology of African Marantaceae forests.

Marantaceae forests are tropical rainforests characterized by a continuous understory layer of perennial giant herbs and a near absence of tree regeneration. Although widespread in West-Central Africa, Marantaceae forests have rarely been considered in the international literature. Yet, they pose key challenges and opportunities for theoretical ecology that transcend the borders of the continent. Specifically, we ask in this review whether open Marantaceae forests and dense closed-canopy forests can be considered as one of the few documented examples of alternative stable states in tropical forests. First, we introduce the different ecological factors that have been posited to drive Marantaceae forests (climate, soil, historical and recent anthropogenic pressures, herbivores) and develop the different hypotheses that have been suggested to explain how Marantaceae forests establish in relation with other vegetation types (understory invasion, early succession after disturbance, and intermediate successional stage). Then, we review the underlying ecological mechanisms that can explain the stability of Marantaceae forests in the long term (tree recruitment inhibition, promotion of and resilience to fire, adaptive reproduction, maintenance by megaherbivores). Although some uncertainties remain and call for further empirical and theoretical research, we found converging evidence that Marantaceae forests are associated with an ecological succession that has been deflected or arrested. If verified, Marantaceae forests may provide a useful model to understand critical transitions in forest ecosystems, which is of particular relevance to achieve sustainable forest management and mitigate global climate change.

The first chromosome-level genome of the stag beetle Dorcus hopei Saunders, 1854 (Coleoptera: Lucanidae).

Stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae) represent a significant saproxylic assemblage in forest ecosystems and are noted for their enlarged mandibles and male polymorphism. Despite their relevance as ideal models for the study of exaggerated mandibles that aid in attracting mates, the regulatory mechanisms associated with these traits remain understudied, and restricted by the lack of high-quality reference genomes for stag beetles. To address this limitation, we successfully assembled the first chromosome-level genome of a representative species Dorcus hopei. The genome was 496.58 Mb in length, with a scaffold N50 size of 54.61 Mb, BUSCO values of 99.8%, and 96.8% of scaffolds anchored to nine pairs of chromosomes. We identified 285.27 Mb (57.45%) of repeat sequences and annotated 11,231 protein-coding genes. This genome will be a valuable resource for further understanding the evolution and ecology of stag beetles, and provides a basis for studying the mechanisms of exaggerated mandibles through comparative analysis.

Adaptive monitoring in action-what drives arthropod diversity and composition in central European beech forests?

Recent studies suggest that arthropod diversity in German forests is declining. Currently, different national programs are being developed to monitor arthropod trends and to unravel the effects of forest management on biodiversity in forests. To establish effective long-term monitoring programs, a set of drivers of arthropod diversity and composition as well as suitable species groups have to be identified. To aid in answering these questions, we investigated arthropod data collected in four Hessian forest reserves (FR) in the 1990s. To fully utilize this data set, we combined it with results from a retrospective structural sampling design applied at the original trap locations in central European beech (Fagus sylvatica) forests. As expected, the importance of the different forest structural, vegetation, and site attributes differed largely between the investigated arthropod groups: beetles, spiders, Aculeata, and true bugs. Measures related to light availability and temperature such as canopy cover or potential radiation were important to all groups affecting either richness, composition, or both. Spiders and true bugs were affected by the broadest range of explanatory variables, which makes them a good choice for monitoring general trends. For targeted monitoring focused on forestry-related effects on biodiversity, rove and ground beetles seem more suitable. Both groups were driven by a narrower, more management-related set of variables. Most importantly, our study approach shows that it is possible to utilize older biodiversity survey data. Although, in our case, there are strong restrictions due to the long time between species and structural attribute sampling.

Multiple factors affecting Ixodes ricinus ticks and associated pathogens in European temperate ecosystems (northeastern France).

In Europe, the main vector of tick-borne zoonoses is Ixodes ricinus, which has three life stages. During their development cycle, ticks take three separate blood meals from a wide variety of vertebrate hosts, during which they can acquire and transmit human pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the causative agent of Lyme borreliosis. In this study conducted in Northeastern France, we studied the importance of soil type, land use, forest stand type, and temporal dynamics on the abundance of ticks and their associated pathogens. Negative binomial regression modeling of the results indicated that limestone-based soils were more favorable to ticks than sandstone-based soils. The highest tick abundance was observed in forests, particularly among coniferous and mixed stands. We identified an effect of habitat time dynamics in forests and in wetlands: recent forests and current wetlands supported more ticks than stable forests and former wetlands, respectively. We observed a close association between tick abundance and the abundance of Cervidae, Leporidae, and birds. The tick-borne pathogens responsible for Lyme borreliosis, anaplasmosis, and hard tick relapsing fever showed specific habitat preferences and associations with specific animal families. Machine learning algorithms identified soil related variables as the best predictors of tick and pathogen abundance.

Blind measurements did not confirm effects of forest fragmentation on fluctuating asymmetry of a tropical butterfly Morpho helenor.

Re-evaluation of photographs of the tropical butterfly Morpho helenor from a previous study (Pignataro et al. 2023) revealed that its conclusion regarding increased wing fluctuating asymmetry in forest edge habitats compared to forest interior habitats could not be replicated. This discrepancy likely arises from (i) original measurements not being conducted blindly, (ii) insufficient photograph quality hindering accurate landmark selection, and (iii) a lack of detailed description of the measurement protocol. The likelihood of false positive discoveries within the published data concerning the impacts of environmental stress on the fluctuating asymmetry of plants and animals is probably higher than previously assumed.

The drivers of intraspecific trait variation and their implications for future tree productivity and survival.

Forests are facing unprecedented levels of stress from pest and disease outbreaks, disturbance, fragmentation, development, and a changing climate. These selective agents act to alter forest composition from regional to cellular levels. Thus, a central challenge for understanding how forests will be impacted by future change is how to integrate across scales of biology. Phenotype, or an observable trait, is the product of an individual's genes (G) and the environment in which an organism lives (E). To date, researchers have detailed how environment drives variation in tree phenotypes over long time periods (e.g., long-term ecological research sites [LTERs]) and across large spatial scales (e.g., flux network). In parallel, researchers have discovered the genes and pathways that govern phenotypes, finding high degrees of genetic control and signatures of local adaptation in many plant traits. However, the research in these two areas remain largely independent of each other, hindering our ability to generate accurate predictions of plant response to environment, an increasingly urgent need given threats to forest systems. I present the importance of both genes and environment in determining tree responses to climate stress. I highlight why the difference between G versus E in driving variation is critical for our understanding of climate responses, then propose means of accelerating research that examines G and E simultaneously by leveraging existing long-term, large-scale phenotypic data sets from ecological networks and adding newly affordable sequence (-omics) data to both drill down to find the genes and alleles influencing phenotypes and scale up to find how patterns of demography and local adaptation may influence future response to change.

Impacts of fire and prospects for recovery in a tropical peat forest ecosystem.

Uncontrolled fires place considerable burdens on forest ecosystems, compromising our ability to meet conservation and restoration goals. A poor understanding of the impacts of fire on ecosystems and their biodiversity exacerbates this challenge, particularly in tropical regions where few studies have applied consistent analytical techniques to examine a broad range of ecological impacts over multiyear time frames. We compiled 16 y of data on ecosystem properties (17 variables) and biodiversity (21 variables) from a tropical peatland in Indonesia to assess fire impacts and infer the potential for recovery. Burned forest experienced altered structural and microclimatic conditions, resulting in a proliferation of nonforest vegetation and erosion of forest ecosystem properties and biodiversity. Compared to unburned forest, habitat structure, tree density, and canopy cover deteriorated by 58 to 98%, while declines in species diversity and abundance were most pronounced for trees, damselflies, and butterflies, particularly for forest specialist species. Tracking ecosystem property and biodiversity datasets over time revealed most to be sensitive to recurrent high-intensity fires within the wider landscape. These megafires immediately compromised water quality and tree reproductive phenology, crashing commercially valuable fish populations within 3 mo and driving a gradual decline in threatened vertebrates over 9 mo. Burned forest remained structurally compromised long after a burn event, but vegetation showed some signs of recovery over a 12-y period. Our findings demonstrate that, if left uncontrolled, fire may be a pervasive threat to the ecological functioning of tropical forests, underscoring the importance of fire prevention and long-term restoration efforts, as exemplified in Indonesia.

Balancing economic and ecological functions in smallholder and industrial oil palm plantations.

The expansion of the oil palm industry in Indonesia has improved livelihoods in rural communities, but comes at the cost of biodiversity and ecosystem degradation. Here, we investigated ways to balance ecological and economic outcomes of oil palm cultivation. We compared a wide range of production systems, including smallholder plantations, industrialized company estates, estates with improved agronomic management, and estates with native tree enrichment. Across all management types, we assessed multiple indicators of biodiversity, ecosystem functions, management, and landscape structure to identify factors that facilitate economic-ecological win-wins, using palm yields as measure of economic performance. Although, we found that yields in industrialized estates were, on average, twice as high as those in smallholder plantations, ecological indicators displayed substantial variability across systems, regardless of yield variations, highlighting potential for economic-ecological win-wins. Reducing management intensity (e.g., mechanical weeding instead of herbicide application) did not lower yields but improved ecological outcomes at moderate costs, making it a potential measure for balancing economic and ecological demands. Additionally, maintaining forest cover in the landscape generally enhanced local biodiversity and ecosystem functioning within plantations. Enriching plantations with native trees is also a promising strategy to increase ecological value without reducing productivity. Overall, we recommend closing yield gaps in smallholder cultivation through careful intensification, whereas conventional plantations could reduce management intensity without sacrificing yield. Our study highlights various pathways to reconcile the economics and ecology of palm oil production and identifies management practices for a more sustainable future of oil palm cultivation.

Shedding light on the increased carbon uptake by a boreal forest under diffuse solar radiation across multiple scales.

Solar radiation is scattered by cloud cover, aerosols and other particles in the atmosphere, all of which are affected by global changes. Furthermore, the diffuse fraction of solar radiation is increased by more frequent forest fires and likewise would be if climate interventions such as stratospheric aerosol injection were adopted. Forest ecosystem studies predict that an increase in diffuse radiation would result in higher productivity, but ecophysiological data are required to identify the processes responsible within the forest canopy. In our study, the response of a boreal forest to direct, diffuse and heterogeneous solar radiation conditions was examined during the daytime in the growing season to determine how carbon uptake is affected by radiation conditions at different scales. A 10-year data set of ecosystem, shoot and forest floor vegetation carbon and water-flux data was examined. Ecosystem-level carbon assimilation was higher under diffuse radiation conditions in comparison with direct radiation conditions at equivalent total photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). This was driven by both an increase in shoot and forest floor vegetation photosynthetic rate. Most notably, ecosystem-scale productivity was strongly related to the absolute amount of diffuse PAR, since it integrates both changes in total PAR and diffuse fraction. This finding provides a gateway to explore the processes by which absolute diffuse PAR enhances productivity, and the long-term persistence of this effect under scenarios of higher global diffuse radiation.

Molecular epidemiological study of Scrub Typhus in residence, farm and forest habitats from Yunnan Province, China.

The number of people suffering from scrub typhus, which is not of concern, is increasing year by year, especially in Yunnan Province, China. From June 1, 2021 to August 15, 2022, a total of 505 mammalian samples were collected from farm, forest, and residential habitats with high incidence of scrub typhus in Yunnan, China, for nPCR (nested PCR) and qPCR (quantitative real-time PCR) detection of Orientia tsutsugamushi. A total of 4 orders of murine-like animals, Rodentia (87.52%, n = 442), Insectivora (10.29%, n = 52), Lagomorpha (1.79%, n = 9) and Scandentia (0.40%, n = 2) were trapped. Comparing the qPCR infection rates in the three habitats, it was no significant difference that the infection rate of residential habitat (44.44%) and that of the farm habitat (45.05%, P>0.05), which is much larger than that of the forest habitat (3.08%) (P<0.001). Three genotypes (Karp-like, Kato-like and TA763-like) of O. tsutsugamushi were found from Yunnan, China in this study.

How useful are genomic data for predicting maladaptation to future climate?

Methods using genomic information to forecast potential population maladaptation to climate change or new environments are becoming increasingly common, yet the lack of model validation poses serious hurdles toward their incorporation into management and policy. Here, we compare the validation of maladaptation estimates derived from two methods-Gradient Forests (GFoffset) and the risk of non-adaptedness (RONA)-using exome capture pool-seq data from 35 to 39 populations across three conifer taxa: two Douglas-fir varieties and jack pine. We evaluate sensitivity of these algorithms to the source of input loci (markers selected from genotype-environment associations [GEA] or those selected at random). We validate these methods against 2- and 52-year growth and mortality measured in independent transplant experiments. Overall, we find that both methods often better predict transplant performance than climatic or geographic distances. We also find that GFoffset and RONA models are surprisingly not improved using GEA candidates. Even with promising validation results, variation in model projections to future climates makes it difficult to identify the most maladapted populations using either method. Our work advances understanding of the sensitivity and applicability of these approaches, and we discuss recommendations for their future use.

Green deserts, but not always: A global synthesis of native woody species regeneration under tropical tree monocultures.

Tree monocultures constitute an increasing fraction of the global tree cover and are the dominant tree-growing strategy of forest landscape restoration commitments. Their advantages to produce timber are well known, but their value for biodiversity is highly controversial and context dependent. Therefore, understanding whether, and in which conditions, they can harbor native species regeneration is crucial. Here, we conducted meta-analyses based on a global survey of the literature and on a database created with local, unpublished studies throughout Brazil to evaluate the regeneration potential of native species under tree monocultures and the way management influences this regeneration. Native woody species regeneration under tree monocultures harbors a substantial fraction of the diversity (on average 40% and 68% in the global and Brazilian surveys, respectively) and abundance (on average 25% and 60% in the global and Brazilian surveys, respectively) of regeneration observed in natural forests. Plantations with longer rotation lengths, composed of native tree species, and located adjacent to forest remnants harbor more species. Pine plantations harbor more native individuals than eucalypt plantations, and the abundance of regenerating trees is higher in sites with higher mean temperatures. Species-area curves revealed that the number of woody species under pine and eucalypt plantations in Brazil is 606 and 598 species, respectively, over an aggregated sampled area of ca. 12 ha. We highlight that the understory of tree monocultures can harbor a considerable diversity of regenerating native species at the landscape and regional scales, but this diversity strongly depends on management. Long-rotation length and favorable location are key factors for woody regeneration success under tropical tree monocultures. Therefore, tree monocultures can play a role in forest landscape restoration and conservation, but only if they are planned and managed for achieving this purpose.

Access restrictions to forest resources, rather than COVID-19 bans, drive the selection of firewood species for bonfires during Festas Juninas in northeastern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The complex interplay of social and environmental factors shapes ecosystems, potentially leading to harmony or conflict, highlighting the importance of understanding these dynamics for coexistence. In developing countries, firewood serves as a primary energy source and plays a role in cultural-religious rituals and festivities. However, the specific patterns of woody species used for the latter remain poorly understood, including the impact of access restrictions to resources and local bans on practices. Therefore, our research focuses on examining how access restrictions to forest resources and bonfire bans due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impact the cultural-religious tradition of bonfire making during Festas Juninas (June festivities) in northeastern Brazil. METHODS: Ethnobotanical fieldwork was conducted in two rural populations in northeastern Brazil between 2021 and 2022. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, observations, and the guided tour technique. The cultural-religious tradition of bonfire making (i.e., richness of native and exotic firewood species, firewood volume, and the number of bonfires related to this practice) was compared between populations (i.e., differing in access restrictions) and years (i.e., differing in COVID-19-related bans) using Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS: Results revealed significant differences in the richness of native (p value = 0.001) and exotic (p value < 0.001) firewood species for bonfire making due to access restrictions to forest resources. The number of native species used was higher among the population residing in the area with unrestricted access than among those with restricted access, while a greater number of exotic species was used in the population with restricted access. The rest of the variables were not influenced by access restrictions, and no variables were influenced by COVID-19 bans. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated that access restrictions to forest resources, rather than COVID-19 bans, drive the selection of firewood species for bonfires during Festas Juninas in northeastern Brazil. In addition, as populations remain deeply entrenched in cultural-religious practices amid temporary bans imposed by health crises, there is a pressing need for culturally sensitive environmental policies. Fostering socio-ecological resilience demands a comprehensive approach that encompasses not only environmental factors but also cultural dimensions, which wield a pivotal influence on long-term sustainability.