Abstract
Moderately dense woodland (cerradão) grew in two isolated patches of bushy savanna (cerrado) in central São Paulo over 23 years of bird censuses. Various uncommon birds were lost and some forest species were permanently gained. Fall and winter fruits attract long and short-distance migrants. Woodpeckers and some birds that nest in their holes seem to disappear during tree growth. Some birds in weedy areas nearby disappeared when the pastures replaced these areas, however sugar cane reduced the numbers of birds even more up to the point when some areas became pastures once more. Even travel-prone species disappear with vegetation growth in cerrado protected fragments, and therefore "metapopulations" may not survive over time, only in space.
Highlights
As agriculture develops, cerrado areas in central Brazil are disappearing
Open-area birds –Various scrubby or grazed pastures around UNESP were planted with sugar cane in 1984, and they became open pastures in some areas after 2000
Cane plantations and more efficient cattle use led to lower numbers of some birds from 1984 onwards (Table 1)
Summary
Cerrado (savanna) areas in central Brazil are disappearing. Only some fragments are protected, usually small ones without corridors, some large parks have been set aside. In 1982, I started studying birds in open or “campo cerrado” zones near Itirapina in central São Paulo State (Willis, 2004).
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