Plant species richness record in Brazilian Pampa grasslands and implications

Abstract

Species richness remains one of the most valuable type of information for biodiversity conservation. Here, we report a plant richness record in the Brazilian Pampa. We found 56 vascular plant species in a single plot of 1 9 1 m in a privately owned grazed grassland in a region with shallow soils. This number is considerably higher than common species numbers in similar surveys and highlights the high plant diversity in South Brazilian grasslands. We take our record as an opportunity to reflect on some issues of high importance if we wish to reach conservation goals: much of the biodiversity is inside private lands, and these should be more in the focus of conservation efforts; field research, especially quantitative sampling, continues to be essential to improve knowledge on biodiversity and its distribution patterns; training biologists to be able to carry out biodiversity assessments and to interpret the results should be a key issue for universities. We hope that the communication of this record will encourage new scientific discoveries and raise social interest about the conservation of grasslands in South Brazil.

Improving knowledge on Viviania linostigma, a threatened species from southern Brazil

“…Unfortunately, the lack of funding and incentives for this kind of study is a known problem (VOGEL ELY et al, 2017;MENEZES et al, 2018, SALDAÑA et al, 2018. Even so, we emphasize that an investment in sampling efforts, especially in Araucaria Forest, is necessary to ensure effective conservation actions for endangered species such as V. linostigma.…”

Contrasting Pollination Strategies and Breeding Systems in Two Native Useful Cacti from Southern Brazil

“…This Brazilian state is remarkable because it holds two contrasting biomes: the Atlantic Rain Forest and the Pampas. The Pampas Biome, in Brazil, is restricted to Rio Grande do Sul State but is also shared with neighboring countries such as Argentina and Uruguay [ 3 , 5 ].…”

“…The Pampa vegetation has always been neglected until recent research revealed remarkable records of plant diversity [ 5 ]. Of 65 cacti species native to Rio Grande do Sul, 53 (81.53%) are threatened with extinction according to IUCN criteria and most of them occur in rocky outcrops of the Pampa [ 3 ].…”

Diversity Loss of Epigeic Collembola after Grassland Conversion into Eucalyptus Forestry in Brazilian Pampa Domain

“…Behind the apparently uniformity of the Pampa, studies found that this domain is highly diverse. For instance, Menezes et al [6] recorded 56 plant species per square meter within their native vegetation. Likewise, the soil organism richness is quite high in native grasslands, such as for springtails, beetles and spiders [7][8][9][10][11][12][13].…”