Litterfall plays an important role in nutrient cycling and maintenance of soil fertility in terrestrial ecosystems. We gauged the effects of anthropogenic impacts on the production, decomposition and seasonality of litterfall in primary and secondary forests within a tropical landscape of the Brazilian Amazon. We hypothesized that leaf litter quantity and quality would differ in line with forest disturbance and that these changes would translate into dissimilar decomposition rates. If proved, these processes could be used as surrogates for indentifying the ecological status of forest habitats. The obtained results have shown that, in the study area litterfall is reduced and litter decomposition is braked in disturbed habitats when compared with primary and recovered secondary forests. Also, within similar climatic conditions, the litter production and decomposition rates begin to stabilize in mature secondary forests. Our results represent a useful contribution to understand the dynamics of the litterfall and litter decomposition processes in the neotropics. Both processes were correlated and sensitive to disturbance gradients and should used as forest recovery indicators in ecological monitoring and ecological restoration studies.
http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-7925.2016v29n1p115O presente estudo teve como objetivo fazer o levantamento etnobotânico de plantas medicinais comercializadas pela população do município de Uruará, Pará, e seus principais distritos. Foram mencionadas pelos entrevistados 63 espécies distribuídas em 36 famílias botânicas. As famílias mais representativas foram Lamiaceae, Asteraceae, Fabaceae e Rutaceae. As espécies com maior valor de uso foram o capim-cidreira (Cymbopogon citratus, VU = 0,90); mastruz (Chenopodium ambrosioides, VU = 0,83) e hortelã (Mentha sp., VU = 0,79), enquanto o capim-cidreira (Cymbopogon citratus) e o picão (Bidens pilosa) apresentaram maior frequência relativa de indicação, sendo indicados como calmante/analgésico e tratamento dos rins, respectivamente. Dentre as principais afecções tratadas por meio do uso de plantas medicinais, as mais expressivas foram as do sistema digestório, infecções/inflamações, gripes e as do sistema respiratório. Não foi observada diferença significativa entre o número de espécies citadas e o número de indivíduos por família nem a distância da zona urbana. Também não houve diferença entre o número de espécies mencionadas em relação ao nível de escolaridade. Dentre as plantas medicinais comercializadas no município, predominam as que compõem o estrato herbáceo, sendo as folhas as partes mais utilizadas e a forma de preparo mais comum, o chá.
Ground Beetles (Carabidae) have been suggested to be used as indicators of ecological status under the effects of anthropogenic land use and land cover changes in highly biodiverse regions such as the Neotropics. In this study Ground Beetles' assemblages from a region in the Brazilian Amazon were investigated for evaluating their applicability as disturbance indicators. Differences in assemblages between ecosystems, discriminated by complimentary methodologies, demonstrate a sensitive reaction from the most pristine forests to increasingly disturbed systems. Besides capturing the influence of different prevailing conditions between ecosystems, Ground Beetles are easy to communicate and to link with the other components of the system, being effortless and routinely measurable using standard methodologies. This study represents a step forward in using Ground Beetles for the purposes of planning, management and public reporting on the ecological status of Neotropical ecosystems. Additionally, the methods depicted could support projections for trends of relevant ecosystem attributes under realistic social-ecological change scenarios, which can be used to guide effective conservation planning.
RESUMOO consumo de animais cinegéticos tem importância fundamental para a alimentação humana em diferentes áreas tropicais. Conhecer as espécies escolhidas, as técnicas de capturas e a quantidade escolhida são aspectos fundamentais para compreender a forma de uso e o grau de ameaça da caça sobre cada espécie silvestre. Nessa perspectiva, o presente trabalho teve como objetivo registrar as principais espécies de animais silvestres utilizados como recurso alimentar em cinco assentamentos rurais no município de Uruará, Pará, além de qualificar as principais técnicas de captura dessas espécies. A obtenção dos dados ocorreu através de entrevistas semiestruturada e observação participante. Para a seleção dos entrevistados, adotou-se o método "bola de neve". Como resultado, identificaram-se 38 espécies de animais consumidas, sendo a maioria delas mamíferos (42,1%), seguidos por aves (39,4%) e répteis (18,5% Palavras-chave: Amazônia; animais cinegéticos; etnozoologia.ABSTRACT The consumption of hunting animals is of fundamental importance for human subsistence in different tropical areas. Knowing the chosen species, the techniques of capture and the quantity are fundamental aspects to understand how to use and the degree of threat of hunting on each wild species. In this perspective, the objective of this work was to record the wild animal species most commonly used as food resource in five rural settlements in the municipality of Uruará-PA, in addition to qualify the main techniques of capturing these species. The data collection was made through semi-structured interviews and participant observation.
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