Facilitation between plants and the use of facilitating species as an ecological restoration strategy

Abstract

Ecosystems subject to extreme abiotic factors are privileged places for studies of positive interactions between plants, such as facilitation mechanisms, which, from biotic or abiotic modifications, generate benefits to the environment. Due to the increase in the number of articles on facilitation in recent decades and the indication of the use of facilitating species in recovery and ecological restoration projects, the present study presents a literature review on facilitation between plant-plant and its applicability between the years 2011 and 2020. A total of 64 studies were considered that encompass the facilitation theme, and the text was composed of an introduction and two sections: i) studies on the facilitation mechanism – advances in the last decade and ii) facilitation as a strategy for ecological restoration. This review indicates that the best understanding of facilitation mechanisms occurs from the combination of knowledge at different levels, such as knowledge of species, ecological organization, phylogenetics and environmental conditions. Thus, this approach enables a better understanding of the community dynamics and demonstrates how the use of facilitating species in restoration areas, especially in regions with severe environmental conditions and/or more vulnerable to climate change, has been considered an effective strategy in the ecological restoration process.