Moment of truth for the Cerrado hotspot

Strassburg, Bernardo B. N.; Brooks, Thomas M.; Feltran-Barbieri, Rafael; Iribarrem, Álvaro; Crouzeilles, Renato; Loyola, Rafael; Latawiec, Agnieszka E.; Filho, Francisco José Barbosa Oliveira de; Scaramuzza, Carlos Alberto de Mattos; Scarano, Fábio Rúbio; Soares‐Filho, Britaldo; Balmford, Andrew

doi:10.1038/s41559-017-0099

Cited by 753 publications

(622 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…The region is predominantly inserted within the Atlantic Forest domain with some Cerrado enclaves. These two domains are biodiversity hotspots that, despite harboring several endemic and threatened species have suffered from intense habitat loss (Ribeiro et al 2009, Strassburg et al 2017. INF is drained by the Sapucaí River to the west and Ipanema River to the east, with elevations ranging from 550-970 m asl.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Museum collections indicate bird defaunation in a biodiversity hotspot

et al. 2017

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Ipanema National Forest, southeastern Brazil, once contained 340 bird species. Forest cover suffered for centuries from log exploitation and, as a result, most of the remaining forests are now an impoverished subset of the original vegetation. We show how the bird community changed over time by comparing historical and recent records. Currently, 228 species can be recorded, for a compilation of 410 species, of which 359 are documented. Some 89 forest species with historical records failed to be detected in recent surveys. Of the 72 Atlantic Forest or Cerrado endemic species, no more than 29 (40%) are still found. The bird community changed from one which used to be related to coastline rain forests to another, which relates more to drier semideciduous forests of the interior.Keywords: Atlantic Forest, Cerrado, hierarchical cluster analysis, multivariate analysis, semideciduous forests. Coleções de museus indicam defaunação de aves em um hotspot de biodiversidadeResumo: A Floresta Nacional de Ipanema, sudeste do Brasil, já abrigou 340 espécies de aves. Sua cobertura florestal sofreu por séculos com a exploração de madeira e, desse modo, a maior parte da vegetação remanescente é uma sub-representação daquela original. Neste artigo é demonstrado como a comunidade de aves foi modificada com o passar do tempo por meio da comparação entre registros históricos e recentes. Atualmente, 228 espécies podem ser registradas, para um total de 410 espécies, das quais 359 possuem documentação. Das espécies registradas historicamente, 89 não foram mais detectadas. Das 72 espécies endêmicas da Mata Atlântica ou do Cerrado, apenas 29 (40%) ainda podem ser encontradas. A comunidade de aves, outrora similar à de florestas ombrófilas costeiras, atualmente é mais relaciona à comunidade de matas semideciduais mais secas do interior.

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Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Museum collections indicate bird defaunation in a biodiversity hotspot

et al. 2017

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“…Deforestation has decreased in the last decade, but continues at high levels in the Amazon (Moutinho et al, 2016) and, in Cerrado, has increased from 2014 to 2016 (Strassburg et al, 2017). Studies have shown that productivity and intensification of crop and cattle production are key for a sustainable growth of the national harvest and to contribute to stopping deforestation (Dias et al, 2016, Strassburg et al, 2014.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Asymmetries of cattle and crop productivity and efficiency during Brazil’s agricultural expansion from 1975 to 2006

Sparovek

Guidotti²,

Pinto³

et al. 2018

Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene

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Brazil has global importance for food production and conservation of natural resources. The country has plans to increase yields and commitments to decrease deforestation that require higher productivity. Plans and policies for the growth of Brazilian agriculture, however, have been made without an integrated analysis of the harvest and not supported by a universal metric regarding its efficiency. Applying methods to model flows of energy and matter along food supply chains for agricultural production from 1975 to 2006, we found that crop and cattle harvests and their productivity have increased during the last four decades in consolidated and deforestation frontier regions. Yet in 2006, crop protein production was 20 times larger than cattle protein, using an area 2.6 times smaller than pastures. Crop protein productivity was 0.25 ton.ha -1 with emissions of 2 ton GHG per ton of protein, while cattle productivity was 0.01 ton. ha -1 with emissions of 283 ton GHG per ton of protein. From 1975 to 2006, the portion of crop protein and energy going to feed increased while the portion going to direct human consumption decreased. Our findings suggest that more efficient food systems would be achieved by a combination of intensification of cattle systems, optimization of feed-meat systems and an increase in the share of the consumption of crops as a source of protein. We suggest an initial road map to the expansion of the cultivated area and intensification of agriculture for zero deforestation, efficient and sustainable land use and food systems where cattle pasture intensification is a transition that will last until the expansion of crops replace all pasture present on suitable arable land. During this transition, pasture area will decrease until it is limited only to marginal non-arable lands. Such change could be achieved by a robust strategy that combines penalties and incentives and prevents the risks of a rebound effect for the intensification of agriculture.

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“…In 2012, the Congress approved a controversial revision to Brazil's Forest Code (FC), which regulates land use on private properties. Although the impacts of FC revision on vegetation have been addressed (Brancalion et al, 2016;Soares-filho et al, 2014;Strassburg et al, 2017), no study evaluated its impacts on biodiversity. We report the first assessment of losses and gains in biodiversity and ecosystem services (ES) expected if the FC is properly enforced.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it is also the most vulnerable savanna in the world: 46% of its native vegetation cover has been lost (88 Mha) and just 19.8% remains undisturbed (Strassburg et al, 2017). Roughly, 40% of remaining of private lands be set aside for conservation (Soares-filho et al, 2014;Strassburg et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Compliance to Brazil's Forest Code will not protect biodiversity and ecosystem services

Vieira

Ribeiro

Resende

et al. 2017

Diversity and Distributions

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In striking contrast to heartening events in the adjacent Amazon, Brazil's Cerrado biome has seen continued deforestation over the past decade. Though approved in 2012, no study evaluated the impacts of new Brazilian Forest Code (FC) revision on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Here, we report the first assessment of the likely loss and gain in biodiversity and ecosystem services expected if the FC is properly enforced across 200 million hectares of the Cerrado. We also discuss the challenges associated to compliance with the law and present opportunities for conservation.Establishing restoration programmes in private properties with currently less native vegetation than required by the FC could create habitat for 25% more threatened species than now found in these places and could also increase water security and carbon stock in 56.6 MtC. More important, trading environmental reserve quotas coupled with the strategic expansion of protected areas on private and public land could definitely rescue the Cerrado from the brink. K E Y W O R D Scarbon stock, deforestation, environmental policy, nature's contribution to people, restoration, water provision

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Moment of truth for the Cerrado hotspot

Cited by 753 publications

References 10 publications

Museum collections indicate bird defaunation in a biodiversity hotspot

Museum collections indicate bird defaunation in a biodiversity hotspot

Asymmetries of cattle and crop productivity and efficiency during Brazil’s agricultural expansion from 1975 to 2006

Compliance to Brazil's Forest Code will not protect biodiversity and ecosystem services

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