Telling the Wood from the Trees: Ranking a Tree Species List to Aid Urban Afforestation in the Amazon

Daniela C Zappi,Livia Gadelha-Silva,Rafael G Barbosa-Silva,Caroline O Andrino,Felipe Martello,Pedro L Viana,Tereza C Giannini,Juliana Lovo,Alice Hiura

doi:10.3390/su14031321

Abstract

The vast Amazonian biome still poses challenges for botanists seeking to know and recognize its plant diversity. Brazilian northern cities are expanding fast, without considering the regional biodiversity, and urban plantings of almost exclusively exotic species are taking place. It is paramount that the correct identity of such trees is ascertained before procurement of the seeds and young plants, as the use of popular names may lead to importation of plant material from elsewhere, with potential introduction of invasive species. The abundant local diversity also leads to the need to score the most suitable species within a given region. Following the preparation of authoritatively named floristic lists in Southeastern Pará state, we proceeded to score and rank the most suitable trees for urban planning using different characteristics such as size, ornamental value, ecologic role, resilience and known methods of propagation. From an initial 375 species list, 263 species were ranked according to their suitability for street and urban area plantings and visualized using a Venn diagram. A final list with the 49 of the highest-ranking species was further analysed regarding their pollination and phenology period and two types of dissimilarity analyses were provided to aid practitioners in matching and choosing groups of species. Different local vegetation types mean that similar floristic lists must be used to extract cohorts of suitable plants to increase the urban richness in the eight Brazilian states that are included in the Amazonian biome.

Highlights

Introduction published maps and institutional affilThe vast Amazonian biome still poses challenges for botanists seeking to know and recognize its plant diversity [1,2]
Tree species were extracted from a local checklist of the forest vegetation of the Floresta Nacional de Carajás (FLONA Carajás) and the Parque Nacional dos Campos Ferruginosos (PNCF) (Figure 1) produced by our team between 2016 and 2019 [31]
All species recorded in this list have vouchers deposited at the herbarium of the Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi (MG) and/or at the Herbário de Carajás (HCJS)

Summary

Introduction

Introduction published maps and institutional affilThe vast Amazonian biome still poses challenges for botanists seeking to know and recognize its plant diversity [1,2]. Protecting Amazonian rainforests seems to be hampered by its own high biodiversity, as the sheer extent of the biome makes it very difficult to select adequate species for local reforestation [3]. Brazilian northern cities are expanding fast, changing local microclimate [4,5] and without taking into account the biodiversity of the region, as urban plantings of almost exclusively exotic species take place [5,6,7]. The abundant local plant diversity leads to the need to score the most suitable species within a given region [3]. While Brasília, the capital of Brazil, is an excellent example of iations

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Discussion

Conclusion