Conservation of species-rich subtropical grasslands: traditional management vs. legal conservation requirements in primary and secondary grasslands

Abstract

Land-use change is the main cause of biodiversity losses, and for grasslands includes changes in management. The last 10 years has seen afforestation of traditionally grazed grasslands increase considerably in the understudied Serra do Sudeste region of the Brazilian Pampa, turning the region into a mosaic of tree plantations, natural ecosystems (partly in conservation areas without grazing management) and other land uses. We evaluated grassland plant community structure and composition in conservation areas considering two distinct types of land-use history and compared them to grasslands under traditional management. The study was carried out at 58 sites. Per site, three plots were established to sample the plant composition of the herbaceous and shrub layers. We used ordination techniques and indicator species analysis to describe patterns of community composition. We recorded a total of 516 species, thus confirming the high biodiversity of the region. We detected differences in vegetation structure and composition between primary and secondary grasslands. Our study emphasizes the need to increase conservation efforts in the region and points out that current conservation approaches should be evaluated critically regarding their effects for biodiversity conservation and that adequate grazing management is key for grassland biodiversity conservation.

Moderation and mediation of land use change! Interplay between β‐diversity and landscape structures in agri‐ and silvicultural modified grasslands of South America

“…Species identified at species poor sites (crops or timber plantations) were not subsets of the species at species-rich sites (grasslands or native forests). Thus, our data highlight the enormous phytodiversity across Uruguay combined with influences of land use change, as in recent studies from South Brazil (Andrade et al, 2019;Staude et al, 2018;Torchelsen et al, 2020).…”

Invasão Por Gramíneas Exóticas Em Campos Sobre Paleodunas: Efeitos Na Diversidade Florística

“…(Pillar & Vélez 2010, apesar do fato que o fogo e o pastejo são processos fundamentais na evolução e para a manutenção dos ecossistemas campestres (Veldman et al 2015). Diversos trabalhos científicos têm demonstrado que a presença de um regime de distúrbios adequado é fundamental para conservação e restauração da biodiversidade campestre (Pillar & Vélez 2010, Ferreira et al 2020, Sühs et al 2020, Torchelsen et al 2020.…”