Currently campo rupestre (CR) is a name accepted and used internationally by botanists, zoologists, and other naturalists, usually applied to a very specific ecosystem, despite the lack of a consensual published circumscription. We present a tentative geographic circumscription of the term, combining data on climate, geology, geomorphology, soil, flora, fauna and vegetation. The circumscription of campo rupestre proposed herein is based on the following premises:(1) the classification of vegetation is not an exact science, and it is difficult to attain a high degree of consensus to the circumscription of vegetation names; (2) despite this, vegetation classification is useful for conservation and management. It is thus desirable to circumscribe vegetation types with the greatest attainable precision; (3) there is a need to preserve all montane and rocky vegetation types, regardless of classification, biome, etc; (4) the CRs are formed by a complex mosaic of vegetation types including rock-dwelling, psammophilous, aquatic, epiphytic, and penumbral plant communities. Campos rupestres stricto sensu are a Neotropical, azonal vegetation complex endemic to Brazil, forming a mosaic of rocky mountaintop "archipelagos" inserted within a matrix of zonal vegetation, mainly in the Cerrado and Caatinga provinces of the Brazilian Shield (southeastern, northeastern and central-western regions), occurring mainly above 900 m asl. up to altitudes exceeding 2000 m, having measured annual precipitation between 800 and 1500 mm, and an arid season of two to five months.Keywords: rocky savana, montane savana, rock-dwelling vegetation, biogeographic elements, vegetation classification, Neotropics. Circunscrevendo campo rupestre -savanas montanas rochosas megadiversas do Brasil ResumoAtualmente campo rupestre (CR) é um termo aceito e internacionalmente usado por botânicos, zoólogos e outros naturalistas, geralmente aplicado a um ecossistema muito específico apesar de não haver uma circunscrição de consenso. Nós apresentamos uma ciscunscrição geográfica tentativa do termo, combinando dados de clima, geologia, geomorfologia, solo, flora, fauna e vegetação. A circunscrição de campo rupestre aqui proposta se baseia nas seguintes premissas: (1) a classificação da vegetação não é uma ciência exata e é difícil atingir um alto grau de consenso sobre a circunscrição de nomes de vegetação; (2) apesar disto, a classificação da vegetação é útil para conservação e manejo. Assim é desejável descrever os tipos de vegetação com a maior precisão tangível; exista a necessidade de se preservar todos os tipos de vegetação montanos e rochosos, independentemente de sua classificação, bioma, etc. (4) os CRs são formados por um complexo mosaico de tipos de vegetação incluindo comunidades sobre rocha, psamíóilas, aquáticas, epífitas e penumbrais. Os campos rupestres stricto sensu são um complexo de vegetação endêmico ao Brasil, azonal, Neotropical, inserido numa matriz de vegetação zonal, sobretudo nas províncias do Cerrado e da Caatinga do Escudo do Bra...

A number of floristic and vegetation studies apply the terms campo rupestre, campo de altitude (or Brazilian pa´ramo), and Tepui to neotropical azonal outcrop and montane vegetation. All of these are known to harbor considerable numbers of endemic plant species and to share several genera. In order to determine whether currently known combinations of vascular plant genera could help circumscribe and distinguish these vegetation types, we selected 25 floras which did not exclude herbs and compiled them into a single database. We then compared the Sørensen similarities of the genusassemblages using the numbers of native species in the resulting 1945 genera by multivariate analysis. We found that the circumscription of campo rupestre and other Neotropical outcrop vegetation types may not rely exclusively on a combination of genera.

RESUMO -(Disjunção de Angiospermas Campos Rupestres -Restingas: uma reavaliação). Um padrão de distribuição disjunta entre as formações extrazonais conhecidas por campos rupestres na cadeia do Espinhaço e as restingas do litoral brasileiro vem sendo repetidamente proposto para algumas espécies de fanerógamas. Para averiguar a validade deste padrão, foram reunidos dados disponíveis em literatura e nos principais herbários. Verificou-se que algumas espécies aparecem adicionalmente nos campos rupestres das Serras de Goiás, campos de altitude da Serra do Mar, em formações rupestres geologicamente homólogas do Escudo das Guianas. Foram excluídas do padrão as espécies cuja ocorrência foi verificada também em vegetação zonal, tal como cerrado, caatinga e matas. O padrão campo rupestre-restinga se mostrou válido para 9 de 56 espécies investigadas (16%). As razões apresentadas por distintos autores para explicar este padrão peculiar de disjunção são comparadas à luz de evidências geológicas e climatológicas.Palavras-chave: disjunção, campo rupestre, restinga, fitogeografia, florística ABSTRACT -(Angiosperm disjunction "Campos Rupestres -Restingas" -a re-evaluation). A disjunct distribution pattern between the extrazonal formations of the campos rupestres (rocky grasslands) in the Espinhaço mountain range and the restingas (coastal strand vegetation) in Brazil has been proposed repeatedly for several flowering-plant species. In order to validate this distribution pattern, available data from the literature and major herbaria were compiled and evaluated. Some of these species also occur in campos rupestres on mountain ranges in Goiás state, campos de altitude (high altitude grasslands) of the Serra do Mar, and on geologically homologous rocky formations of the Guyana shield. Species that were also recorded for distinct zonal formations like cerrado, caatinga and forests were excluded from the pattern. The campo rupestre-restinga disjunction proved valid for 9 of 56 investigated species (16%). Explanations put forth by different authors for this unusual disjunction pattern are compared in the light of geological and climatological evidence.

The Brazilian Cerrado is a global biodiversity hotspot with notoriously high rates of native vegetation suppression and wildfires over the past three decades. As a result, climate change can already be detected at both local and regional scales. In this study, we used three different approaches based on independent datasets to investigate possible changes in the daytime and nighttime temperature and air humidity between the peak of the dry season and the beginning of the rainy season in the Brazilian Cerrado. Additionally, we evaluated the tendency of dew point depression, considering it as a proxy to assess impacts on biodiversity. Monthly increases of 2.2−4.0℃ in the maximum temperatures and 2.4−2.8℃ in the minimum temperatures between 1961 and 2019 were recorded, supported by all analyzed datasets which included direct observations, remote sensing, and modeling data. The warming raised the vapor pressure deficit, and although we recorded an upward trend in absolute humidity, relative humidity has reduced by ~15%. If these tendencies are maintained, gradual air warming will make nightly cooling insufficient to reach the dew point in the early hours of the night. Therefore, it will progressively reduce both the amount and duration of nocturnal dewfall, which is the main source of water for numerous plants and animal species of the Brazilian Cerrado during the dry season. Through several examples, we hypothesize that these climate changes can have a high impact on biodiversity and potentially cause ecosystems to collapse. We emphasize that the effects of temperature and humidity on Cerrado ecosystems cannot be neglected and should be further explored from a land use perspective.

The campos rupestres form a mosaic of rocky savannas concentrated mainly along the Espinhaço chain, on the Brazilian shield. Though the Serra de São José lies over 100 km to the south of the Espinhaço chain, the campo rupestre flora of this small range harbors several endemic plant taxa. The provided checklist is the result of two decades of floristic research complemented with data from herbaria and literature. The flora is compared with the results of several other pertinent surveys. A total of 1,144 vascular plant species, representing 50.3 species/km2, were documented to date in the São José range, representing a species-richness per unit area over five times greater than other known campo rupestre floras. The most species-rich families were the Asteraceae (126 species), Orchidaceae (106), Melastomataceae (63), Leguminosae (60), Cyperaceae (45), Poaceae (41), Rubiaceae (37), Myrtaceae (28), Bromeliaceae (27), Eriocaulaceae (23), Lamiaceae (23), and Malpighiaceae (22).

No abstract

No abstract

RESUMO -(Orchidaceae do Parque Estadual de Ibitipoca, MG, Brasil). O Parque Estadual de Ibitipoca (PEIB) está situado no sudeste do estado de Minas Gerais, entre os municípios de Santa Rita de Ibitipoca e Lima Duarte, a 21º40'-21º44'S e 43º52'-43º55'W. Apresenta em sua área um mosaico de formações vegetais, das quais o campo rupestre ocupa a maior extensão, sendo também encontradas em seus domínios diversas formações florestais. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo o levantamento das espécies de Orchidaceae ocorrentes no PEIB. Foram registrados 118 táxons distribuídos em 47 gêneros. Os gêneros mais numerosos são Pleurothallis sensu lato (13 spp.), Oncidium (12 spp. e um possível híbrido), Epidendrum (10 spp.) e Maxillaria (9 spp.). O estudo da distribuição geográfica dos táxons revelou quatro novos registros para a flora de Minas Gerais e ampliou o conhecimento sobre a distribuição de muitas espécies. Uma comparação com as espécies de orquídeas ocorrentes em outras áreas de campo rupestre conhecidas até o momento demonstra que o PEIB, embora com área relativamente pequena, é uma das regiões com maior número de espécies.Palavras-chave: campo rupestre, Floresta Ombrófila Densa, floresta nebular, biogeografia ABSTRACT -(Orchidaceae of Ibitipoca State Park, Minas Gerais State, Brazil). Ibitipoca State Park (PEIB) is located in southeastern Minas Gerais, in Santa Rita de Ibitipoca and Lima Duarte municipalities (21º40'-21º44'S; 43º52'-43º55'W). It has a variety of vegetation types, with a predominance of "campo rupestre" (rocky grasslands) mixed with forests. This work aimed to survey Orchidaceae species growing at PEIB. One-hundred-and-eighteen taxa belonging to 47 genera were found. The largest genera are Pleurothallis sensu lato (13 spp.), Oncidium (12 spp. and one probable hybrid), Epidendrum (10 spp.), and Maxillaria (9 spp.). Four species are new records for the flora of Minas Gerais state. Compared to other areas of "campos rupestres", PEIB is one of the most species-rich sites, in spite of having a relatively small area.