Circumscribing campo rupestre – megadiverse Brazilian rocky montane savanas

Abstract

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...

Outstanding plant endemism levels strongly support the recognition of campo rupestre provinces in mountaintops of eastern South America

“…The expression “ campo rupestre ” was first coined by Magalhães () and the precise definition has been a matter of debate since then. Vasconcelos () and Alves et al () revisited this debate and defined campo rupestre as “mountaintop vegetations of areas above 900 m of altitude, occupying stretches of lithosols associated to outcrops of quartzite and sandstone”. This definition has been more or less followed by subsequent authors (e.g., Longhi‐Wagner, Welker, & Waechter, ; Conceição et al, ; Silveira et al, ; Pontara et al, ), including the BFG.…”

“…From that, we considered only species recorded to the following Brazilian federal units (states): Bahia and Minas Gerais (in which the Espinhaço Range lies), and Goiás, Distrito Federal and Tocantins (in which the Chapada dos Veadeiros lies). This filtering procedure provided us an all‐encompassing taxonomic‐validated list of all reported angiosperms endemic to the two wider areas of c ampo rupestre in the Brazilian Shield, which represent all the campo rupestre sensu Alves et al ().…”

Few Ant Species Play a Central Role Linking Different Plant Resources in a Network in Rupestrian Grasslands

“…We studied ant-plant interactions in rupestrian grasslands, or campo rupestre , a megadiverse mountainous ecosystem composed of grasslands and rocky outcrops occurring mainly from 900 to over 2000 m asl. in Brazil [33,34]. It is characterized by a species-rich vegetation, high levels of plant endemism, and a large number of threatened plant species [35].…”

A Monograph of the Brazilian endemic genus Lavoisiera (Melastomataceae: Microlicieae)

“…With about 5000 species (Silveira et al 2015), this is also a biodiversity-rich Brazilian azonal formation of interdigitating vegetation types dictated by local topography, microenvironmental aspects, microclimate, and drainage (Harley & Simmons 1986;Stannard 1995;Giulietti & Pirani 1997;Silveira et al 2015). Campo rupestre forms a mosaic of mountaintop "islands" in a matrix of zonal vegetation, namely the Cerrado and the Caatinga (tropical seasonally xeric woodlands), with annual precipitation of 800-1500 mm and a dry season lasting anywhere from two to five months (Alves et al 2014). The substrates of campo rupestre are dominated by shallow quartzitic and ferrugineous outcrops with sandy or rocky soils of low fertility.…”