In this short blog post, we explain the importance of keystone species in reforestation or enrichment initiatives, more specifically, in the Amazon rainforest.

In the reforestation project in Peru, our strategy isn't just about planting trees (which could mean a plantation) but it's more about planting forests back. To replant a forest, we understand that we can't just plant one species, but that we have to plant a variety of species in our planting systems. For example, we plant a cover crop to help the soil around our trees and we plant vanilla vines that grow on the trees. But, as far as those trees themselves, we also always try to plant keystone species.

Keystone species are species that are multipurpose and provide multiple kinds of benefits to the people planting them. Keystone species refer to species with significant influence in their natural environment – so much so that they are critical to maintaining the diversity and stability of an ecosystem. Keystones are not always the most abundant species in the ecosystem, but their existence has a big impact on the local food web. Keystone plants provide a critical source of food and/or shelter for a large number of other species. The concept of the keystone species was introduced in 1969 by zoologist Robert T. Paine.

One great example of a keystone species is the Balsam of Peru (in English), which is used locally for timber but also has an aromatic resin that can be used in the cosmetic industry. So, for local people, this is primarily a source of timber for construction or other purposes. Additionally, the local households use the aromatic resin medicinally. The Balsam of Peru is, first of all, a keystone species because it meets a variety of human needs. Secondly, it's also a keystone species in the sense that it is a nitrogen-fixing tree and it's a tree that provides habitat for other species. And lastly, that same aromatic resin is even essential for the bees in our forest.

So by using this species in the plantation, we create multiple impacts that are not all oriented toward human benefit. However, we understand that what benefits the forests ultimately benefits the people in the forest as well.