The rediscovery of Glechon hoehneana (Lamiaceae), a threatened species of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, with notes on typification of the genus

Nature‐based Solutions to tackle climate change and restore biodiversity

We describe for first time the advertisement call of Haddadus binotatus Spix. This is a widely distributed species in Atlantic Forest of Brazil, occurring from the state of Bahia to the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Haddad et al. 2008), where it inhabits the leaf litter of the forest floor (Heyer et al. 1990). It is relatively common at the Serra do Brigadeiro mountain, a regional designation of the northeastern portion of the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range, southeastern Brazil. In the Serra do Brigadeiro, the calling activity of H. binotatus comprehends all rainy season, from October to March (Feio et al. 2008). Although H. binotatus has been described almost two centuries ago, its vocalization is still unknown. The low volume of calls emitted by males, associated with the weather conditions in which they usually call (during the rain), turns difficult the detection of vocalizing individuals, which probably explains the absence of information on calling behavior in this species.

Fine-scale topography shape richness, community composition, stem and biomass hyperdominant species in Brazilian Atlantic forest

The Atlantic Forest biome is well known as one of the mostly biodiversity regions on earth, hosting high species endemism and species/area ratio. It stretches around 1,300,000 km2 along the Brazilian coast between latitudes 3º and 33º S and longitudes 35º and 57º E. Due to the increase of human impact through the intensification of land-use and consequent broad landscape replacement along the centuries, only 10-15% of the Atlantic Forest biome remains in a natural or semi-natural state, being considered one of the most priority areas for conservation. It encompasses a wide variation of climates and geomorphologies, resulting in a complex mosaic of different ecosystems. Among them, the Araucaria forest, upper montane Atlantic rain forest (cloud forest) and the campos de altitude (high elevation grassland) occur on the Brazilian coastal highlands, which extends for about 1000 km parallel to the coastline from southern to southeastern Brazil. The Araucaria forest distribution is related to humid and relative cold climatic conditions, between 400 and 1400 m a.s.l. in southern Brazil and in smaller fragments at altitudes between 1400 and 1800 m a.s.l. in southeastern Brazil. Currently, it has been reduced to c. 7% of its original distribution. The upper montane Atlantic rain forest spread in the upper slopes of the Brazilian coastal highlands of southern and southeastern Brazil, normally above around 1100 m a.s.l. in the south and above around 1500 m a.s.l. in the southeast, mainly occupying the concavities and protected sites. The campos de altitude is a typical open vegetation, restricted to small areas on the summits of the higher peaks and plateaux. Palaeoecological studies demonstrated that, although the mosaic of these ecosystems has prevailed along the Holocene, the perpetuation of campos de altitude is very fragile. The grassland vegetation expands under colder and dry climate conditions and seems to be fire adapted suggesting that the current area of campos de altitude is larger than the modern climate alone would dictate, especially in warmer, lower elevation sites. Moreover, climate changes studies suggest a warmer and wetter climate during the 21st century which it is likely to intensify the upward movement of the Atlantic Forest at the expense of open ecosystems like the campos de altitude. In this research, the past and present relationship of the mosaic of campos de altitude and upper montane forests (Araucaria forest and upper montane Atlantic rain forest) are explored through palynological analyses. Foremost, the currently correlation between vegetation cover and pollen production was investigated. It was observed that arboreal taxa are over-represented in campos the altitude assemblage and that the campos de altitude pollen assemblage represents a much larger source area than the forest pollen assemblage, which is comprised of more local taxa. Afterwards, a record of the last almost 10,000 years was analysed. This study showed that, although upper montane forest taxa have been in the broader region of the study site throughout the Holocene, the forest vegetation has spread mostly in Late Holocene. Until around 1350 cal yr BP campos de altitude vegetation was much more widespread. Overall, the results demonstrated that increase in temperature and precipitation throughout the Holocene favoured the upward expansion of the forest. Furthermore, the research indicated that fire was presented before human arrival in southeastern Brazil, implying an adaptation of open vegetation to frequent fire. Latter, the dynamics of the vegetation on the last seven centuries was investigated. The outcomes revealed that anthropogenic disturbances such as fire, livestock grazing and logging have played a clear role in driving grassland-forest relationships in southeastern Brazilian highlands. Based on the outcomes of this research, the maintenance of the mosaic of forest-grassland in the current and projected climate trends depends on an active disturbance management and a changed in conservation focus from forest to non-forest habitats.

A revision of Monimiaceae from the Southern limit of the Atlantic forest domain resulted in the discovery of a species heretofore undescribed. Mollinedia leucantha, a treelet endemic to the Atlantic coastal moist forest in southern Brazil, is described and illustrated. Morphologically the new species is most similar to Mollinedia schottiana, from which it is set apart by characteristics in the rhytidome, leaves, trichomes, flowers and fruitlets, as well as by distinct flowering times. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the flowers and a key to distinguish morphologically similar or related species in the subtropical Atlantic forest are presented. A preliminary extinction risk assessment is also provided for the new species.

We present a synthesis of anuran diversity and distribution in the Mantiqueira Mountain Range, one of the largest mountain ranges occurring within the Atlantic Forest biome of Brazil. We assembled a species list based on the examination of 16,893 specimens housed in 10 herpetological collections and data compiled from the literature. We developed minimum convex polygons for each species to determine their degree of association with the mountain range, and assessed distribution patterns considering species presence–absence in nearby geomorphological units. The northern and southern sectors of the mountain range were examined for differences in species composition, accounting for possible effects of the main vegetation types of the range. We recorded 234 anuran species (∼23% of total anuran richness for Brazil), including 143 core species, 89 species of marginal occurrence, and 2 species with an undetermined degree of association because of taxonomic uncertainties. Of these species, 91 were widespread and occur throughout the Atlantic Forest and in other regions, 53 were not widespread but range into neighboring geomorphological units, and 88 were endemic species. The northern and southern sectors of the mountain range differed in species composition, which was influenced by the different vegetation types. Thirty-nine endemic species were restricted to the southern sector, whereas 45 occurred only in the northern sector, indicating that these sectors potentially represent distinct biogeographic units with regard to the anurans. We found 14 species that are listed among the categories of both global and national lists of threatened species and 10 species whose most recent records date from at least 30 yr ago. Our study confirms that the Mantiqueira Range is a critical region for anuran endemism and conservation in the Atlantic Forest, and provides a baseline for future biogeographic, taxonomic, and macroecological studies.

Relationship between land-use types and functional diversity of epigeic Collembola in Southern Brazil

ABSTRACTAimWe sought to assess how phylogenetic patterns within the fern family Pteridaceae are related to the history of the Amazon Forest and the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, as well as the Dry Diagonal of South America. The age of taxa present in these regions was estimated, as well as those found in previously identified areas of endemism for the family. We verified whether the Dry Diagonal constitutes a barrier to the dispersal of taxa between the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and the Amazon Forest, and investigated whether the latter domain is a source area of species.LocationNeotropics, including the Amazon Forest, Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Dry Diagonal.TaxonPteridaceae (Polypodiopsida).MethodsWe compiled rbcL and atpA sequences for all Pteridaceae species available in GenBank and obtained a dated phylogeny using fossil information and secondary calibrations. Using the resulting chronogram, we performed ancestral area reconstructions using BioGeoBEARS.ResultsSpecies from the Amazon Forest, Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Dry Diagonal tend to originate during the Eocene/Oligocene transition, in the Miocene or the Pleistocene. Vicariance events explain the origin of many of these species; however, dispersal events also played a significant role in the biogeographic history of the group. The areas of endemism of Pteridaceae in Brazil have distinct biogeographic histories. The areas of southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bahia likely originated more recently, driven by Pleistocene climatic changes and habitat specialisations. In contrast, southern Brazil and the Guiana Shield have older taxa, which originated in regions with climatic and (or) geological stability through habitat specialisations.Main ConclusionsThe origin of most species present in the Amazon Forest, Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Dry Diagonal most likely resulted from climatic changes during the Miocene and Pleistocene. The Dry Diagonal does not constitute a barrier to the dispersal of Pteridaceae species, as taxa shared between the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and Amazon Forest are common. The Amazon Forest is not the primary source area of species within the global context of the family.

Abstract—Tovomita is a Neotropical clade of Clusiaceae that includes 52 species widely distributed throughout the Amazon, Atlantic, Antilles, and Chocoan/southern Mesoamerican rainforests. Species-level relationships within Tovomita remain largely unexplored, thus hindering our understanding of their biogeography and the evolution of key morphological characters in the genus. Here, we inferred a plastid genome phylogeny containing 18 Tovomita species using maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference approaches. Our results indicate that current infrageneric classification of Tovomita, which relies largely on leaf venation, does not reflect phylogenetic relationships. Instead, we identify carpel number as a more reliable morphological trait for infrageneric classification: clades within Tovomita tend to include species that possess either four or five (or more) carpels. Moreover, groups of species within Tovomita tend to exhibit a high degree of geographic endemicity corresponding to their clade affiliation: species within these clades are restricted to either Amazon or Atlantic forests. The well supported clade of Atlantic forest inhabitants we identify is sister to a clade of mostly Amazonian species that also includes Amazon and Atlantic forest disjunct species, which are more closely related to Amazonian than to other Atlantic forest species. These findings represent a first important step in elucidating morphological evolution and biogeography in this widespread genus of neotropical rainforest trees and shrubs.

Brazil's landscapes are far more diverse than the familiar image of continuous tropical forests, encompassing extensive native grassland formations across multiple biogeographic domains. Surrounded by dense tropical forests and sometimes lying surprisingly close to large cities, there are mountaintop ecosystems that form biodiversity-rich “islands” shaped by unique ecological conditions and remarkable biodiversity. Beyond the campos rupestres of the Cerrado, the highlands found on mountaintops within both the Amazon and the Atlantic Forest stand out for their exceptional floristic richness (Kessous & Freitas, 2023; Riina et al., 2019). In the Amazon, the tepuis have recently drawn increasing scientific attention due to their singularity, endemism, high biodiversity, and urgent conservation concerns. While campos rupestres and tepuis are mainly formed by sandstone, ironstone, or quartzitic rocks (Alves & Kolbek, 2010; Silveira et al., 2020), further south, the campos de altitude (Figure 1) are mostly granite-gneiss formations (Vasconcelos, 2011) occupying the highest peaks of southeastern and southern Brazil (reaching up to 2892 m at Pico da Bandeira) and experiencing the country's lowest winter temperatures (Safford, 1999a, 1999b). Although restricted to the Atlantic Forest and covering less than 0.0001% of Brazil's terrestrial area (Safford, 1999a), these ecosystems harbor approximately 1% of the world's flowering plant species (Kessous & Freitas, 2023). Notably, campos de altitude share closer biogeographic affinities with the Andean páramos than with the surrounding tropical forests, while the geographically closer campos rupestres show stronger relationships with the tepuis (Guedes et al., 2020; Safford, 1999b, 2007; Vasconcelos, 2011). Even with numerous studies demonstrating dozens of endemic species in these areas, various sectors of society, including lawmakers, continue to overlook these ecosystems. Their ecological richness is routinely disregarded in policy decisions, and this neglect has increasingly reached the Brazilian parliament. Overbeck et al. (2024) discuss the implications of Bill 364/19, which grants rural landowners the right to cultivate in these campos de altitude, particularly in southern Brazil. Despite protection under the Atlantic Forest Law (Presidência da República, 2006), these habitats face increasing exploitation, which has dramatically reduced their area in recent decades (MapBiomas Project, 2024), jeopardizing numerous endemic species and their ecosystems. As policy pressures and habitat loss intensify, the vulnerability of these ecosystems becomes even more evident when considering climate change. Species inhabiting terrestrial environments typically track suitable climates by moving upslope or shifting toward higher latitudes, and such movements are occurring faster than previously anticipated (Chen et al., 2011). However, mountaintop species have no higher elevations, and, due to range-shift gaps, often no nearby suitable habitats to move to as global warming progresses (Colwell et al., 2008), a constraint that is particularly severe for less resilient, cold-adapted species. For the cold-adapted flora of the campos de altitude, which occupy the highest and coldest environments of eastern Brazil, shifting toward higher latitudes would require multiple long-distance dispersal events, an unlikely scenario given their primarily tropical distribution. Recent events underscore the urgency of preserving these natural habitats. Southern and Southeastern Brazil have experienced abnormally dry and warm winters in recent years, which have proven increasingly dangerous for campos de altitude. Since 1985, these ecosystems have been steadily reduced due to multiple drivers, including agricultural expansion and livestock grazing (MapBiomas Project, 2024), climate change–induced droughts and heatwaves, and fire. Although fire is a natural disturbance in these ecosystems, its frequency and intensity have been drastically amplified by human activities such as pasture management, accidental spread from surrounding lands, and even illegal burning inside protected areas (Aximoff, 2011). This altered fire regime has profound consequences: many endemic and threatened species are not fire-tolerant, and recurrent burning prevents natural regeneration. Continuous human-induced fires erode biodiversity and transform these native grasslands into degraded landscapes dominated by exotic grasses with lower genetic variability (Aximoff, 2011). Relaxing conservation measures under these conditions constitutes a critical oversight, as it magnifies the combined effects of land-use change, climate change, and altered fire regimes. This issue extends beyond a single piece of Brazilian legislation; it underscores the urgent need for stronger environmental governance. Policy makers, conservation agencies, and protected area administrators must prioritize the enforcement of existing regulations, prevent recurrent anthropogenic fires, and strengthen long-term strategies for landscape conservation. Crucially, these actions require consistent and substantial financial investment, without which management plans, monitoring programs, and restoration efforts cannot be effectively implemented. It is also imperative that the international scientific community acknowledge the extreme vulnerability of campos de altitude and commit not only to supporting research and conservation monitoring but also to securing the funding necessary to sustain these efforts. Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

Climate change is expected to significantly impact biodiversity, causing shifts in palm species distribution. Understanding how climate change affects distribution patterns and identifying traits that influence species' responses may contribute to species conservation. Using ecological niche models and life-history trait data for 59 palm species of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, we investigated: (i) how future climate scenarios may affect species richness and climatically suitable areas for Atlantic Forest palms, identifying the most threatened species, and (ii) which traits are associated with gains or losses in the suitable area under climate change. In general, the Atlantic Forest is projected to maintain high levels of palm species richness, although substantial regional losses are expected, particularly along the northern coast and in central areas of the biome, which currently harbor areas of high species richness. Our projections indicate that over 64.4% of palm species will experience contractions in their climatically suitable areas across all future scenarios. Species with restricted distributions are particularly vulnerable, reinforcing the importance of baseline range size as a key determinant of climate change sensitivity. In contrast, life-history traits were not significant predictors of changes in the area ratio across future scenarios. These findings identify priority regions and species for conservation planning and emphasize the need to protect climatically stable areas, enhance habitat connectivity, and implement restoration strategies to mitigate biodiversity loss in the Atlantic Forest.

Floristic change in Brazil's southern Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot: From the Last Glacial Maximum to the late 21st Century

Rubiaceae is a cosmopolitan family, mainly distributed along tropical and subtropical regions throughout the world, and comprises around 620 genera and 13000 species. In Brazil 120 genera and 1392 species have been recognized. The Atlantic Rain Forest, considered to be a hotspot for biodiversity conservation, harbors ca. 600 Rubiaceae species. The Mantiqueira Mountain Range, in which Camanducaia municipality is located, Southern Minas Gerais, exhibits important remnants of this phytogeographic domain. This study aims to produce a taxonomic monograph about the Rubiaceae at Camanducaia municipality, as well as to produce an interactive key of multiple entries for the inventoried species, and to asses phytogeographic aspects of the region on the basis of native species geographic distribution analysis. The Rubiaceae family is represented at Camanducaia municipality by 17 genera and 34 species, two subspecies and two varieties. The most diverse genera were Psychotria, presenting seven species, followed by Manettia and Borreria, both presenting five species. A taxonomic monograph is presented. The geographic distribution analysis of the selected species corroborates for a separation of southern and northern Atlantic forests. Within this context, the Camanducaia region performs the function of corridor and refuge of species endemic to the southern Atlantic forest. An interactive key of multiple entries for the inventoried species is presented.

Climate change is increasing species extinction risk. The ability of a species to cope with climate change can be quantified by projecting distribution models and by estimating the risk of non-adaptedness using genomic data. The Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest in Tropical South America are increasingly threatened by habitat loss and anthropogenic climate change. This work aims to evaluate the ecological and genomic vulnerability of Plathymenia taxa and its lineages, P. reticulata, a Cerrado species, and P. foliolosa, an Atlantic Forest species, to determine their current and future habitat suitability and the mismatch between current local adaptation with the expected climate changes. The species distribution models predicted a high range loss for the Plathymenia lineages. The genotype-environment association analyses showed that the Plathymenia lineages have populations adapted to different precipitation and temperature seasonality regimes. The genomic offset analyses predict a mismatch between local adaptations and future climate for the Plathymenia indicating a high risk of non-adaptedness, especially in the pessimistic scenario. Our results show an elevated extinction risk of the species due to climate change. We suggest reevaluating the extinction risk and management of the Plathymenia species separately based on their differences in vulnerability to climate change.

Bokermannohyla nanuzae (Bokermann & Sazima 1973) and B. feioi (Napoli & Caramaschi 2004) belong to the B. cir-cumdata species group. The type locality of the former is Serra do Cipó, Espinhaço mountain range, and of the latter is Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca, Mantiqueira mountain range, both in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Differences on dorsal draw-ing pattern of adults, oral disc morphology of tadpoles, and temporal properties of calls were proposed to distinguish these two species. However, several specimens found between the two type localities remain unidentified because diagnostic characters and states occur in all of these populations. Thus, in order to assess these characters variations, we performed an analysis of the morphology and morphometry of adults, vocalization, and morphology of tadpoles. Specimens were divided into three operational taxonomic units (OTUs): B. nanuzae (Serra do Cipó and northwards, Espinhaço mountain range), B. cf. nanuzae (Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Espinhaço mountain range, south of Serra do Cipó), and B. feioi (Serra do Ibitipoca, Mantiqueira mountain range). Drawing patterns of the dorsum and limbs show clinal variation and the three units are morphometrically very similar. Temporal and spectral properties of calls overlap in these three units. The diagnostic differences originally proposed for tadpoles are intrapopulational variations and occur in specimens from all of the locations analyzed. We found that these three units are morphologically indistinguishable. Therefore, we designate Bok-ermannohyla feioi (Napoli & Caramaschi 2004) as a junior synonym of Bokermannohyla nanuzae (Bokermann & Sazima 1973), extending its geographical distribution to the Mantiqueira mountain range.