A hot-point within a hot-spot: a high diversity site in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest (original) (raw)
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Journal of Environmental Protection, 2022
The Atlantic Forest is among the 35 hotspots on the planet, and yet few floristic or structural studies have been conducted on mature forest fragments of that biome in Brazil. In view of this knowledge gap and of the need to further comprehend the importance of conserving mature forests, we surveyed the arboreal component of three little-altered forest remnants from the São Paulo metropolitan region (SPMR), southeastern Brazil, and compared our data with the one from other phytosociological studies performed in the region. Mature forests showed a different floristic composition from one of young forests. Overall, the former has a higher number and percentage of threatened and endemic species than the latter, and also a higher exclusivity of occurrence of threatened species. In areas up to twice as smaller, mature forests have 1.5 to 4.3 times more endemic species to the Atlantic Forest and up to 9 times more species threatened with extinction than young forests. These facts, along with the scarcity of remnants of mature forests, led us to consider such forests as hotspots within the Atlantic Forest hotspot in the SPMR, as well as to categorize them as of high relevance for conservation.
The Dynamical Processes of Biodiversity - Case Studies of Evolution and Spatial Distribution, 2011
The Dynamical Processes of Biodiversity-Case Studies of Evolution and Spatial Distribution 110 2. Data analysis Besides presenting a brief literature review, this study compiles abundance data and updated floristic information from the most representative tree phytosociological studies of the Atlantic Forest formations in the state of Paraná, Southern Brazil. The data were obtained from scientific papers, doctoral thesis, master dissertations and from our own surveys performed for at least 10 years in the region (Table 1). The floristic information from 39 studies encompassing 58 forest sites was included in the present study. There was a difficulty in finding studies with same inclusion criteria (same diameter at breast height-DBH) for different formations. The minimum DBH value available in the original dataset ranged from 3.1 to 10.0 cm. This range was therefore considered in the present study. Additionally, the different sample sizes were not standardized among surveys. The altitudes of the sites range from 5 to 1750 m a.s.l. The most distant sites (separated by 590 km) are located in the following geographic coordinates: 25°23' S; 48°13' W, near the Atlantic Ocean and 22°43' S; 53°18' W, near the Upper Paraná River (Figure 1). Sites in early and middle sucessional stages, as well as undetermined taxa and exotic species were not included. Taxa identified only to the family or genus level were grouped according to taxonomic hierarchy. For example: the Myrtaceae group included many undetermined taxa of this family, and the Lonchocarpus group comprised undetermined species of this genus. For the richness estimation, each taxonomic group of undetermined taxa was considered as a unique species. The data underwent a detailed review to check all accepted species names and synonymy according to the "Species List of the Brazilian Flora" (Forzza et al., 2010). The compilation of the surveys on forest structure comprised 29 hectares of sampled area and 36627 measured individuals. The diversity indexes were calculated according to Magurran (1988). Canonical correspondence analyses (CCA) processed by the program CANOCO 4.5 (Ter Braak & Smilauer, 2002) were used to assess the relationship between abundance of the tree species of 58 sites comprising nine Atlantic Forest formations, and geo-climatic variables. The matrix with abundances per forest site includes 631 species. The geo-climatic matrix includes the following variables: distance from the ocean, annual temperature, altitude and annual rainfall. Data not presented in the original studies were obtained from climatic maps of IAPAR (Caviglione et al., 2000). Major approximations of mean annual temperatures (decrease of 0.54 ºC for every 100 m of increased altitude) were used following recommendations in Roderjan & Grodski (1999). The Brazilian official vegetation classification (Veloso et al., 1991; IBGE, 1992) was used to group the sites into each Atlantic Forest formation (see below). 3. Atlantic Forest Biome, environmental and vegetational features The Atlantic Forest in the state of Paraná has three distinct types of forest ecosystems: the Dense Rainforest (Atlantic "Ombrophilous" Dense Forest), the Araucaria Rainforest (Mixed "Ombrophilous" Forest) and the Semideciduous Seasonal Forest (IBGE, 1992). Each one of these forests also comprises distinct formations and associated or ingrown ecosystems, resulting from geomorphological and climatological features (Figure 1). The five main categories of formations (IBGE, 1992) were included, namely: Lowland (Coastal Plain Forest), Alluvial (Floodplain Forest), Submontane and Montane (both can be also considered Lower Montane), and Upper Montane. The Dense Rainforest presents all of these categories, whilst the Araucaria Rainforest and the Semideciduous Seasonal Forest Comprise mainly the Alluvial and Montane and the Alluvial and Submontane formations, respectively.
Structure, Biomass and Diversity of a Late-Successional Subtropical Atlantic Forest in Brazil
Floresta e Ambiente, 2022
The highly biodiverse Atlantic Forest has been heavily exploited and its remnant areas, which are mostly composed of secondary forests, cover less than 20% of its original extension. This study analyzed the structure, aboveground biomass (AGB) and species diversity of a secondary evergreen rainforest in the state of Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Individuals with diameter at breast height ≥ 5 cm on 22 sample plots were measured, totalizing 3.49 hectares of sampled area. A mean AGB of 201.6 Mg ha-1 (standard deviation = 35.5) was found; Hyeronima alchorneoides and Miconia cinnamomifolia represented 29.1% and 7.6% of the community AGB ha-1 , respectively. A total of 153 species distributed in 107 genera and 55 families was observed; it was estimated that 121 species (95% confidence interval: [117, 125]) occurred in one hectare. These results highlight the importance of secondary forests for biodiversity restoration/conservation and carbon sequestration.
An Analysis of Species Distribution Patterns in the Atlantic Forests of Southeastern Brazil
Edinburgh Journal of Botany, 2011
This study analysed phytogeographic patterns of several Atlantic Forest areas in southeastern Brazil, including forest areas in the Espinhaço Range, to identify species with congruent distribution patterns and possible environmental factors that might influence these. A total of 54 floristic surveys, predominantly from semideciduous woodland sites but also including some rainforest areas, were compared using UPGMA and DCA methods as well as Jaccard analyses. The former identified four main groupings: group 1 included forests located throughout the Espinhaço Range; group 2 was formed by forest areas in the Rio Jequitinhonha basin; group 3 was formed by three distinct subgroups, one (3.1) predominantly of forest areas pertaining to the Alto Rio Grande basin, another (3.2) of upland forests of the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, and a third subgroup (3.3) of upland forests of the Serra da Mantiqueira; and group 4 encompassed forest areas in the Rio Doce, Rio Paraíba do Sul, Rio Itanhém and Rio...
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: a shrinking biodiversity hotspot
Biodiversity …, 2011
The Neotropical Atlantic Forest is one of the world's top biodiversity hotspot. Originally, the forest extended over 1.5 million km 2 along the South American Atlantic coast, covering tropical and subtropical climates across highly heterogeneous relief conditions, which led to outstanding levels of endemism and species richness. Unfortunately, the Atlantic Forest has been historically altered by , # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011 U n c o r r e c t e d P r o o f humans, which has resulted in severe habitat loss and fragmentation. The forest cover is now reduced to around 12% of its original extent, including regenerating areas and degraded forests, which are mostly spread in small fragments. As a result, many species are currently threatened to global extinction, with populations collapsing on local and regional scales. In this chapter, we reviewed the state of the art of Atlantic Forest biodiversity knowledge, pointing out the main achievements obtained by several research groups during the last decades. Additionally, we (1) propose a new sub-division of biogeographical sub-regions into 55 sectors considering 2,650 sub-watersheds, using niche theory and bioclimatic data; (2) describe the original and present distribution of the Atlantic Forest; and (3) relate the forest distribution to elevation and geomorphometric information (aspect and terrain orientation). Forest protection and restoration efforts, and potential ecosystem services are also examined as key topics driving the future of the Atlantic Forest biodiversity.
Tree changes in a mature rainforest with high diversity and endemism on the Brazilian coast
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2011
The tree changes of 1.02 ha of montane forest at the Santa Lúcia Biological Station, southeastern Brazil, were analyzed using two surveys separated by an interval of 11 years with the aim of confirming the patterns of stability of structure and diversity over time. In the original survey all trees with diameter at breast height ≥6.4 cm were sampled. In second survey (this study), dead trees, survivors and recruits in the same forest were reported. The data suggest a dynamic balance of the forest structure because mortality (−1.06% year−1 for number of trees and −0.85% year−1 for basal area) was very close to recruitment (0.89% year−1) and ingrowth (1.05% year−1). The high diversity of the original survey (H′ > 5.2) was maintained by the turnover species. The main tree populations also showed stability of number of trees and basal area. This pattern was shared by most of the 28 local endemic species, ensuring the maintenance of their populations in the plot.
Journal of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas, 2017
Studies have identified the central region of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest as an area of high biodiversity and endemism. Strong anthropogenic pressure has made protected areas in Rio de Janeiro State important sites for biodiversity conservation as they contain many areas of extreme biological importance. We sought to document and qualitatively describe the arboreal species composition of the Tinguá Biological Reserve by examining the collection data of the herbaria at the Instituto de Pesquisas Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro (RB) and the Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (RBR). The survey identified 563 species belonging to 249 genera and 77 families, including 13 new occurrences for Rio de Janeiro State, 34 endemic species for the state, 17 vulnerable species, 15 endangered species, and one critically endangered species. Our results demonstrate the importance of this environmental protection area to the conservation of many plant populations and identified the regio...