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With more than 56,000 species (excluding fungi), Brazil has one of the richest floras in the worldnearly 19% of the world flora. Our knowledge of the diversity and status of nonvascular plants in Brazil is still fragmentary, although localized studies on algae have revealed loss of species resulting from environmental pollution. Emphasis on local floral surveys, rather than wider taxonomic studies, has obscured estimates of national totals for most taxonomic groups. Knowledge of angiosperms, especially monocotyledons (of which 45% of the species are endemic), is more complete than most. For this group figures are more reliable, with some distribution patterns, endemism levels, and centers of diversity identified. Much, however, still awaits discovery. Coordinated efforts to catalog Brazil's flora are in progress and include projects such as the conservation priority-setting workshops of the Brazilian Ministry of the Environment, which have identified key conservation areas in the major biomes; development of threatened species lists for plants; and the assembly of type data on species of northeastern Brazil through the Darwin Initiative-all of which greatly assist in increasing our knowledge. These initiatives also underline the urgent need to expand the numbers and geographic spread of projects on plant systematics and taxonomy in Brazil, a measure that demands adequate provision of funding and training programs for plant specialists. Finally, Brazil's environmental agency (IBAMA) could play a proactive role in opening protected areas under its jurisdiction, thereby facilitating botanical research by university departments and research institutes. Biodiversidad y Conservación de Plantas en BrasilResumen: Con más de 56,00 especies (excluyendo hongos), Brasil tiene una de las floras más ricas del mundo-casi 19% de la flora mundial. Nuestro conocimiento de la diversidad y del estatus de plantas no vasculares aun es muy incompleto, aunque estudios sobre algas han revelado la pérdida de especies debido a la contaminación ambiental. Elénfasis en estudios florísticos locales, en lugar de estudio taxonómicos más amplios, ha enmascarado a las estimaciones de totales nacionales en casi todos los grupos taxonómicos. El conocimiento sobre angiospermas, especialmente monocotiledóneas (de las cuales 45% de las especies son endémicas), es el más completo. Las cifras para este grupo son más confiables, y se han identificado algunos patrones de distribución, niveles de endemismo y centros de diversidad. Sin embargo, falta mucho por descubrir. Están en progreso esfuerzos coordinados para catalogar la flora de Brasil e incluyen proyectos-que contribuyen enormemente al incremento de nuestro conocimiento -como talleres de definición de prioridades organizados por el Ministerio del Ambiente, que ha identificadoáreas clave para la conservación en los principales biomas; desarrollo de listas de especies de plantas amenazadas; y la organización de datos sobre especies tipo del noreste de Brasil por medio de la Iniciativa Darwin. Sin emb...

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Resumo No final da década de 1960, pesquisadores do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MPEG) iniciaram as coletas botânicas na Serra dos Carajás, resultando em um expressivo acervo e interessantes descobertas sobre a flora local, marcada por endemismos e pressão por atividades mineradoras. Em 2014, foi estabelecido o projeto "Flora das cangas da Serra dos Carajás" através da cooperação entre o MPEG e o Instituto Tecnológico Vale de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (ITVDS), visando especialmente a elaboração da flora das cangas da FLONA Carajás. Um acervo de cerca de quinze mil exsicatas, depositadas principalmente nos herbários MG e BHCB além de HCJS, INPA, IAN, NY e RB constitui a base para o desenvolvimento da flora. Até o momento, a flora inclui 151 famílias de angiospermas, gimnospermas, licófitas e samambaias e briófitas (musgos e hepáticas). Neste trabalho apresentamos um breve histórico dos estudos botânicos na região, caracterização da área de estudo, e procedimentos metodológicos adotados no desenvolvimento do projeto. Também, constitui a introdução para o volume 1 da Flora das cangas de Carajás composto por 55 famílias, sendo quatro de briófitas, duas de licófitas, oito de samambaias, uma de gimnospermas e 40 de angiospermas, incluindo 139 gêneros e 248 espécies.

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Ecological restoration is essential in rehabilitating degraded areas and safeguarding biodiversity, ecosystem services and human welfare. Using functional traits to plan restoration strategies has been suggested as they are the main ecological attributes that underlie ecosystem processes and services. However, few studies have translated ecological theory into actual restoration practices that can be easily used by different stakeholders. In this article, we applied a multiple-trait approach to select plant species for the restoration of degraded lands inside the Brazilian Amazon Forests. We selected 10 traits encompassing ease of management, geographical distribution and interactions with animals and other ecosystem services and scored these traits using 118 native species. Then, we ranked all species according to the total number of traits that they exhibited to obtain a list of 53 highly ranked species. In addition, we employed non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) to assess the variation in these traits across the entire group of species. Based on the results, we selected a subset of species that maximizes functional diversity (high variability). We performed a sparse linear discriminant analysis (SLDA) to highlight a minimum set of traits to effectively discriminate botanical families. The final list of species and their traits highlight the importance of preserving not only the historical reference of a focused ecosystem but also its functional diversity to restore the interaction with local fauna, enrich the food chain and guarantee ecosystem services for local communities.

Amazonia is one of the most diverse biomes worldwide, and, as well as luxuriant forest, it includes mountain areas which, despite their small surface area, display fascinating endemism. In these regions, the specificity of edaphic factors is mirrored by a highly specialised, isolated flora adapted to survive adverse conditions. The Serra dos Carajás in the Brazilian state of Pará is one of world's largest iron ore reserves. Known locally as canga, this ironstone formation occupies an area of 115.9 km 2 , and supports campo rupestre of canga vegetation on outcrops that are mostly in the Floresta Nacional de Carajás (FLONA of Carajás) and Parque Nacional dos Campos Ferruginosos (PNCF). The recent publication of the Flora of the cangas of Carajás lists 856 species of seed plants and 186 species of ferns and lycophytes. This project assessed the canga endemic species growing in the region, and further expeditions guided by SDM were carried out in order to ascertain their distribution outisde the area. Departing from an initial list of 58 putative endemics, the final list comprises 38 species of vascular plants (c. 4% of the local flora). These are distributed in 31 genera and 22 families, including three monotypic genera: Carajasia (Rubiaceae), Monogereion and Parapiqueria (Asteraceae). From these, 24 are classified as Rare Species for Brazil and seven as Highly Restricted Endemic (EEO < 100 km 2). An illustrated account is provided, as well as further SDM to detect other possible areas of distribution based on the studied species. The knowledge generated is aimed at directing appropriate conservation plans for the area.