Impact of natural climate change and historical land use on landscape development in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Climate variations and historical land use had a major impact on landscape development in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Mata Atlântica). In southeast Brazil, rainforest expanded under warm-humid climate conditions in the late Holocene, but have been dramatically reduced in historical times. Nevertheless, the numerous remaining forest fragments are of outstanding biological richness. In our research in the Atlantic Forest of Rio de Janeiro we aim at the reconstruction of the late Quaternary landscape evolution and an assessment of human impact on landscapes and rainforests. In this context, special focus is given on (a) effects of climate variations on vegetation cover, soil development, and geomorphological processes, and (b) spatial and temporal land use and landscape degradation patterns. In this paper we present some new results of our interdisciplinary research in the Serra dos Órgãos mountain range, state of Rio de Janeiro.

Floristic Composition and Edge-Induced Homogenization in Tree Communities in the Fragmented Atlantic Rainforest of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

“…Most of the forest fragments in the lowlands between 20 m and 200 m above sea level are less than 10 ha and very few are bigger than 50 ha [30]. In comparison to the upper altitudinal levels of the region, forest cover in these elevational zones is much more reduced and fragmented and under much more pressure from anthropogenic activities [29,31,32]. Consequently, forest fragments play an important role in the conservation of biodiversity at these altitudinal levels [33][34][35][36][37].…”

Priority areas for watershed service conservation in the Guapi-Macacu region of Rio de Janeiro, Atlantic Forest, Brazil

“…production systems (Nehren et al 2013;Ribeiro et al 2009). This biome supplies 135 million people with water (Pria et al 2013); however, a mere 11 to 16 percent of its original forest cover is left (Ribeiro et al 2009).…”

“…Unfortunately, continuous forest cover occurs mostly on steep slopes that are inappropriate for agriculture, while the foothills and lowlands are dominated by agriculture and pasture (Nehren et al 2013;Strobel et al 2007). In 2008, the land cover/land use of the Guapi-Macacu watershed consisted of forests in all stages (48.8%), pastures (41.4%) and agriculture (4.4%).…”

“…Both sub-watersheds, Batatal and Caboclo have undergone historical exploitation cycles, resulting in high deforestation, forest fragmentation and degradation, as well as intense soil erosion (Nehren et al 2013). …”

Development of the Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro, the oldest known Neotropical plant and biogeography of megaherbivores during the Late Pleistocene in South America

“…They were able to draw several conclusions, such as that the different parts of the Atlantic Forest have been highly degraded since colonial times, particularly the costal region up to the lower mountain ranges. They also observed that in the last 200 years, agriculture changed the landscape of the mountain ranges as well, where the Atlantic Forest was essentially reduced to numerous small forest patches (Nehren et al 2013).…”