Brazilian Forest Research Articles

Pollen morphology of Boraginaceae s.l. from Brazilian forest fragments: aperture types and ornamentation on Cordiaceae and Heliotropiaceae

Boraginaceae s.l., the single family of Boraginales, are extremely diverse in terms of morphology, their species are well distributed in South America especially in Brazilian ecosystems. The pollen morphology of 11 Brazilian native species and four genera (Cordia L., Varronia P. Browne, Heliotropium L. and Myriopus Small) of Boraginaceae s.l. was investigated in order to expand the morphological knowledge of their species, contributing with new data for the palynology, taxonomy, and conservation of the family. The pollen grains were acetolyzed, measured, photographed using light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and described qualitatively. The analyzed species present differences in size, shape, type and number of apertures (3-porate, 3-colpate, 3-colporate and heterocolpate) and exine ornamentation (psilate, echinate, microechinate-verrucate, reticulate and rugulate) of the pollen grains, allowing the distinction of species studied. Multivariate analysis of measurements confirms the qualitative description and pollen diversity in Cordiaceae species. Smaller diameter values and similarities in aperture and exine ornamentation characterize the Heliotropiaceae species.Our data reinforce the taxonomic importance of pollen morphology and Boraginaceae s.l. as eurypalynous.

Microevolutionary dynamics show tropical valleys are deeper for montane birds of the Atlantic Forest

Tropical mountains hold more biodiversity than their temperate counterparts, and this disparity is often associated with the latitudinal climatic gradient. However, distinguishing the impact of latitude versus the background effects of species history and traits is challenging due to the evolutionary distance between tropical and temperate assemblages. Here, we test whether microevolutionary processes are linked to environmental variation across a sharp latitudinal transition in 21 montane birds of the southern Atlantic Forest in Brazil. We find that effective dispersal within populations in the tropical mountains is lower and genomic differentiation is better predicted by the current environmental complexity of the region than within the subtropical populations. The concordant response of multiple co-occurring populations is consistent with spatial climatic variability as a major process driving population differentiation. Our results provide evidence for how a narrow latitudinal gradient can shape microevolutionary processes and contribute to broader scale biodiversity patterns.

A brief review on phytochemistry and pharmacology of Taxus baccata L

Mother Nature is full of surprises, hiding several gems beneath its heart in the form of forests, mountains, rivers, etc. One of the treasures that human got as a gift are the forests which value more than anything presents on this earth in terms of its significance. Still, humans are not realizing the full potential of trees and driving deforestation with supersonic speed (see the example of Amazon forests in Brazil). One of such trees which might face extinction soon is Taxus baccata L. Also called Yew, the tree is the toolbox for various kinds of diseases since ancient times. It is important for the common people and the scientific community to understand the importance of the chemical constituents present in it in the form of alkaloids, flavonoids, and essential oils. Here in this review, we will shed the light on the natural products present in Yew and their applications, side effects, and medicinal properties. Afterward, we will discuss the ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) of Yew constituents, as most of the part of the tree is toxic for human consumption. This review will give insight into the T. baccata species and will be helpful for the medicinal chemists to design new molecules for various cancers, fungal and microbial infections, and asthma.

Testing temporal benchmarks effects on the implementation of the new Brazilian Forest Act

Native vegetation in private lands plays an important role in providing ecosystem services and safeguarding biodiversity worldwide. Legal protection rules of this vegetation are thus crucial. In Brazil, since 1934, there has been a requirement for landowners to preserve a percentage of their land covered with native vegetation, the Legal Reserve. However, the 1934 legislation applies only to arboreal vegetation, while the protection of savannahs and grasslands begins after 1965 and 1989. The reference year for the application of Legal Reserves can thus have significant impacts on the amount of native vegetation legally protected. Here we tested the effects on Legal Reserve cover in São Paulo State, considering two different legal benchmarks as starting points: 1934 and 1965. Given that the 1934 law precedes the first aerial mapping in Brazil, we developed a methodology to estimate past native vegetation cover through a probabilistic approach. The forest deficit considering 1934 as the initial point is 3% lower than the one starting with the 1965 benchmark. Comparing both scenarios, the 1934 led to a reduction of 1255 farms with Legal Reserve deficit from a total of 30,417. For both scenarios, Legal Reserve deficits were concentrated in the West, Northwest, and Mid-west regions of the state. The outcomes showed that the benchmark change does not significantly affect the total area of Legal Reserves protection, the number of farms potentially benefited by this mechanism, and the amount of native vegetation deficit. However, the use of the 1934 as an initial date for considering protection of Legal Reserve can delay the implementation of the law due to a time-consuming farm-by-farm analysis, once the probabilistic map has an intrinsic limitation for an automatic process. Thus, the environmental gains with the adoption of 1934 as the initial date do not overcome the limitations of using a probabilistic map, suggesting that effective law enforcement depends on reliable and more recent baselines, allowing semi-automated analyses. This scientific evidence can be adopted by the other Brazilian States that have not yet defined the initial legal benchmark, balancing the advantages and disadvantages of adopting the 1934 Forest Act.

Identifying priority regions and territorial planning strategies for conserving native vegetation in the Cerrado (Brazil) under different scenarios of land use changes

The Cerrado biome covers approximately 20% of Brazil and it is crucial for the Water, Food, Energy, and Ecosystems (WFEE) nexus. Thus, in recent years, large areas of the undisturbed Cerrado have been converted into farmland. In this biome, according to the Brazilian Forest Code, farmers need to keep 20% of native vegetation (Legal Reserves – LRs). By exploring combined and isolated impacts of different scenarios of LR and Protected area (PA) arrangements, this study evaluated the importance of complementarity between LR compliance and the amount of PAs (including Conservation Units - CUs and Indigenous Lands - ILs) to reduce deforestation and conserve native vegetation in the Cerrado. Seven scenarios were investigated: a scenario that considers the current PA and the LR values foreseen in the Native Vegetation Protection Law – NVPL; three scenarios focused on production; and three focused on conservation. Considering the trend of the current scenario, the estimated loss of native vegetation will be 30% (30.6 million ha) by 2070. According to the model simulations, for two periods (2050 and 2070), the LR Elimination scenario (LRE) would cause a greater loss of native vegetation than the PA Elimination (PAE), and as expected, the exclusion of both (PALRE) would provide a greater loss of native vegetation. Native vegetation is concentrated mainly on agricultural properties. Taking our conservation-oriented scenarios as an example of conservation strategies, if there were no financial, practical, political, social or personal constraints, there is no doubt that the CPALRI scenario (Creation of Protected Areas and Legal Reserve Increase) is the best trajectory for conserving biodiversity. Therefore, private properties, through LRs, are essential for efficient planning of land use/cover as they ensure security in the WFEE nexus. The resulting projected scenarios are important to help decision makers in territorial planning and how to arbitrate territorial demands aiming at the rational use of the natural resources of the Cerrado.

Soils and seasonality influence the richness of gall-inducing insects and their host plants in a tropical dry forest

The richness of specialized herbivores and their host plants in a Brazilian dry forest was inventoried to evaluate if soil types and seasonality are important factors determining the composition of gall-inducing insects and their host plants in Caatinga environments on a local scale. This study recorded 12 different morphotypes of gall distributed among eight host species belonging to five botanical families. Both soils and seasonality influenced the number of species and individuals of host plant, and the richness of gall-inducing insect. The greatest richness of gall-inducing insects and their host plants was observed during the rainy season in the Caatinga vegetation on soils of sedimentary origin, which is considered to have low fertility as regards phosphorus content. Our results corroborate the hypothesis of soil fertility which predicts that the richness of gall-inducing insects will be higher on infertile soils and demonstrate the importance of substrate and seasonality for the richness of gall-inducing insects in Caatinga on a local scale.

Towards the automatic monitoring of deforestation in Brazilian rainforest

Deforestation is considered one of the main environmental threats to the ecological balance on the planet. At the same time, monitoring changes in forest cover is a major challenge, especially in Brazil, a country with continental dimensions, a vast coverage of tropical forests, and an accelerated ongoing process of illegal deforestation. This study aims to propose and present an integrated automatic methodology for monitoring changes in forest cover, to enable “near real-time” monitoring of vast territorial extensions. Based on the application of Fully Convolutional Neural Networks (FCNs) combined with a logistic growth model, the methodology is aimed at allowing accurate detection of changes in forest cover based on the multitemporal assessment of satellite images. The results show that the combination of the two approaches make the methodology able to pinpoint deforestation processes. The applicability of the methodology is demonstrated for the Amazon and Atlantic Rainforest biomes, which are important areas of tropical forests in Brazil. In addition to enabling the agile and accurate identification of forest cover losses and providing efficient computing, the comparative results show that the methodology can be applied to issue alerts of suspected deforestation activity in standalone automatic monitoring systems, and also as a complementary tool to existing systems currently under operation.

Fatty acid profiles of three commercial shrimp from southeastern Brazil

This study describes the fatty acid (FA) composition of three commercially important species of shrimp, from a region with the largest mangrove forests in Brazil. Fatty acids composition shows the nutritional quality of the shrimps and their importance as a node of energy transfer in the trophic web. The FA profiles of three shrimp species with different life cycles were collected from Cananéia, São Paulo, Brazil: Xiphopenaeus spp. (offshore), Penaeus schmitti and Penaeus paulensis (both mangrove dependent). A total of 29 different FAs were detected in their FA profile. However, each species presented a different profile of FAs. The fatty acids 16:0, 18:0, 18:1ω9, 20:5ω3 (EPA) and 22:6ω3 (DHA) contributed for the significant differences between the shrimp species. The restricted occurrence of Xiphopenaeus spp. in the marine region explained the difference in the FA concentration compared with the P. schmitti and P. paulensis shrimps, that spend part of their life cycle in the mangrove. The study highlights that these shrimps are essential sources of FAs in the trophic web and are valuable for human health, especially the polyunsaturated FAs eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Energy from planted forest and its residues characterization in Brazil

An overview of planted forest and its use for energy generation in Brazil is presented. Historical and current data on planted area, productivity and consumption of planted wood is presented. Planted wood was responsible for 7.8% of primary energy consumed in Brazil during 2016, mainly as charcoal for steel industry. Eucalyptus and pine are the main planted species in Brazil. Favourable climate and soil quality enhance productivity of planted forest in Brazil, reaching 30–36 m3 ha−1 y−1 thus representing the world's highest productivity, with better managed forests producing up to 70 m3 ha−1. Forest residues reach 20% for eucalyptus and 40% for pine as compared to the amount of wood produced. Residues of a particular eucalyptus planted forest were collected directly on the field, considered for fuel and analyzed determining composition, heat value, ash content and thermogravimetric analysis. It is estimated a yearly generation of 20 × 106 t of forest residues and 15 × 106 t of wood industry residues.

A High Resolution Image Based Approach for Estimating the Canopy Cover of a Semi-Deciduous Brazilian Atlantic Forest Fragment

The Atlantic Forest in Brazil has been suffering natural and anthropic perturbations over the years, which has been impacting, qualitatively and quantitatively, with different degrees and intensities, its canopy cover. These perturbations can be caused by the selective cut of species, burning, natural death of trees, among several other factors, which act directly on the composition and the floristic diversity of fragments of the forest. The main motivation for conducting this work was to alert about the relevance of the Atlantic forest conservation and the need for a constant monitoring system to preserve what has been left of it. This can be partially achieved by permanently estimating its canopy cover. This paper describes the implementation and evaluation of the descriptors: energy, entropy, homogeneity, contrast and the sum of the high-frequency Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT), for estimating canopy cover based on High Resolution Camera (HRC) satellite images. The analyses carried out based on the results of the experiments showed that the energy descriptor was the best descriptor among those used and, comparatively to the others, obtained the higher correlation (r), determination (R) and significance (p). Based on the experiments, the energy descriptor presented an expressive potential to be used in processes for estimating the canopy cover based on satellite images, in large areas of the semi-deciduous forest.

Study of potential probiotic and biotechnological properties of non-Saccharomyces yeasts from fruit Brazilian ecosystems.

Yeast isolates from flowers and fruits from a Brazilian forest were studied. The yeasts were identified at species and strain level by PCR-RFLP and PCR-RAPD, respectively. The 46 isolated yeasts were classified into 11 different species belonging to the genera Candida, Diutina, Hanseniaspora, Meyerozyma, Pichia, Rhodotorula, and Torulaspora. A total of 20 different strains were found. In order to ascertain the probiotic potential, the resistance to gastrointestinal conditions, autoaggregation, and hydrophobicity assays were studied, along with the capacity to form biofilm. The results indicate that, although most of the strains presented better results than Saccharomyces boulardii (the only strain recognized as a probiotic yeast), four strains were the most promising, namely, Rhodotorula mucilaginosa 32, Meyerozyma caribbica 35, and Diutina rugosa 12 and 45, according to the Duncan test. Several biotechnological properties were evaluated. D. rugosa inhibited Dekkera bruxellensis. The assimilation or fermentation of seven sugars was tested, and only five of the yeasts did not show a capacity to assimilate any of the sugars under aerobic conditions. However, all strains were able to ferment at least one of the sugars under anaerobic conditions. As far as enzyme production is concerned, positive results were only found for the enzymes' amylase, pectinase, and protease. D. rugosa 42 and Hanseniaspora opuntiae 18, followed of Pichia kluyveri 26, showed high values for the production of melatonin. In conclusion, the results of this study show that several non-Saccharomyces present probiotic characteristics, and these have good potential for industrial applications in the food or biotechnology industries.

The roles of anurans in antagonistic networks are explained by life-habit and body-size.

Interactions among living beings are the structuring basis of ecosystems, and studies of networks allow us to identify the patterns and consistency of such interactions. Antagonistic networks reflect the energy flow of communities, and identifying network structure and the biological aspects that influence its stability is crucial to understanding ecosystem functioning. We used antagonistic anuran interactions-predator-prey and host-parasite-to assess structural patterns and to identify the key anuran species structuring these networks. We tested whether anuran body-size and life-habit are related to their roles in these networks. We collected individuals of 9 species of anurans from an area of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil and identified their prey and helminth parasites. We used network (modularity, specialization, and nestedness) and centrality metrics (degree, closeness, and betweenness) to identify the role of anuran species in both networks. We then evaluated whether anuran body-size or life-habit were related to anuran centrality using generalized linear mixed models. The networks formed specialized interactions in compartments composed by key species from different habits. In our networks, anurans with rheophilic and cryptozoic habit are central in predator-prey networks, and those with larger body size and arboreal and cryptozoic habit in the host-parasite network. This study represents a step towards a better understanding of the influential factors that affect the structure of anuran antagonist networks, as well as to recognize the functioning roles of anuran species.

Two new species of Inga (Fabaceae-mimosoid clade) from the Atlantic Forest, Brazil

Inga (Fabaceae, mimosoid clade) is an important genus in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil where there are 44 species, 60% of which are endemic. In this work, we describe two new species of Inga (I. teresensis and I. tripa) from the Atlantic Forest and provide identification keys to the species of sections Vulpinae and Leptinga in the biome. Illustrations and comments about the geographic distribution, conservation status, phenology, etymology, and taxonomy of the new species are also included. Inga teresensis is only known from the state of Espírito Santo and is categorized as Critically Endangered (CR). Inga tripa occurs in coastal areas of the states of Bahia, Paraíba, Pernambuco, and Sergipe and is categorized as Learn Concern (LC).

Identification of artisanal mining sites in the Amazon Rainforest using Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) and Data Mining techniques

Pará is a Brazilian state leader in deforestation and deserves special attention due to the intense artisanal mining activity that has caused severe environmental damage to the Amazon Rainforest. Remote sensing is an important tool for identifying areas degraded by mining activities. However, the large territorial extension of the Amazon Rainforest and the equally large corresponding database make the mapping by photointerpretation a costly and slow process. This study attempts to overcome this obstacle by employing the Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis (GEOBIA) approach together with Data Mining techniques in the automatic identification of areas degraded by artisanal mining in the Crepori National Forest (CNF). A NDVI image and a multiband image derived from Sentinel-2 data were segmented and the former proved to be more appropriate to the development of this research. The use of the Correlation-based Feature Selection (CFS) algorithm in attribute selection led to a 55% database dimensionality reduction. Additionally, the results obtained in the decision tree construction by the J48 algorithm showed that the spectral attributes were the most relevant in the classification of artisanal mining areas, especially the attributes related to the near infrared (NIR) band. The attributes of textural and spatial origin also contributed to the model, whereas the contextual attribute was not relevant to our classification problem. The results from classification demonstrated that the ‘Vegetation’ class is the largest in the Crepori National Forest, representing 99.50% of the total area, followed by ‘Areas Degraded by Artisanal Mining’ and ‘Other Anthropized Areas’, representing 0.17% of the total area, and, lastly, the ‘Hydrography’ class totaling 0.16%. Total anthropization in the CNF decreased between 2014 and 2017, from 2,955 ha to 2,506 ha. It is worth noting that, when compared with the Brazilian Forest Service's (Serviço Florestal Brasileiro) data, our results reveal that more than 50% (679.46 ha) of artisanal mining areas mapped in 2017 were installed after 2014, majorly in the CNF southern region. The performance of our classification model is good, reaching a global accuracy of 88.18% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.84. In class-by-class indexes, the method presented a minimum precision of 0.79 and a minimum recall of 0.75, both referring to the ‘Other Anthropized Areas’ class.

Dung or carrion? Sex and age determine resource attraction in dung beetles

1. Food choice may change depending on sex, age, and physiological condition due to nutritional requirements or because of mechanisms that promote food recognition. Among dung beetles, some species are attracted to both carrion and dung, but why males and females are more attracted to either resource remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate whether body size, physiological condition (body dry mass, lipid mass, muscle mass) and age (young, mature, old) affect resource attraction in males and females of two species of dung beetles, Dichotomius iannuzziae and D. gilletti.2. This study was carried out in remnants of Atlantic Forest in Brazil. To evaluate resource attraction, pitfall traps baited with feces or carrion were installed in the remnants, and the beetles were categorized according to sex and age. Furthermore, beetles' physiological condition and body size were measured.3. Population structure of D. iannuzziae differed according to bait type. Males of D. iannuzziae were more attracted to feces than carrion across all age classes. The same occurred among conspecific mature females, suggesting a sex‐specific reproductive preference for feces. Contrastingly, D. gilletti resource attraction did not vary with sex or age. For both species, neither body size nor physiological condition defined resource attraction, indicating that compensatory feeding due to nutrient requirements is unlikely.4. Due to the changes in food quality and quantity as a consequence of forest loss, mammal extinction and landscape transformation, it is critical to understand how wild species respond to different scenarios of food availability.

Bat-ectoparasitic fly relationships in a seasonally dry tropical forest in Brazil.

Bat ectoparasitic flies are hematophagous insects highly specialized to parasitize only bats. Knowledge about how biotic and abiotic factors can influence ecological relationships between parasites and hosts is in general incipient. Large information gaps are even worst in biodiversity-rich, but poorly sampled areas like Brazil's Caatinga, the largest tropical dry forest in South America. We used bats and their highly specialized ectoparasitic flies as a study model to clarify some aspects of this host-parasite system in this semiarid environment. We conducted fieldwork at 55 sites in the Caatinga, between April 2017 and March 2020 and collected 1300 flies (19 species) on 333 bats (15 species). Bat ectoparasitic flies were highly host-specific, had an aggregated distribution, frequently formed infracommunities with only one species, and had a male-biased sex ratio. Except for the prevalence of the streblid fly Strebla guajiro on Carollia perspicillata, which was significantly higher in the rainy season, bat flies showed no preference - expressed by frequency and intensity of infestation - for host sex, and their interspecific relationships were not mediated by rainfall. Other variables that could potentially be interfering in this host-parasite relationship deserve further attention, especially in environments such as the Caatinga where there is great seasonal variation. Furthermore, the existence of species-specific responses must be taken into account.

Higher forest cover and less contrasting matrices improve carrion removal service by scavenger insects in tropical landscapes

Abstract Understanding the links between biological communities and ecosystem service provision through the mechanisms driven by landscape structure is crucial to promote management strategies that safeguard both biodiversity and provision of these services. Here, we assess the impact of landscape structure and matrix contrast on carrion removal by scavenger insects, an often overlooked ecosystem service but of paramount importance for nutrient cycling and disease control. We first hypothesize that more forested landscapes and less contrasting matrices harbour richer communities of scavenger insects, mainly composed of forest species. We then posit that these richer communities of scavenger insects promote a higher provision of the carrion removal service. The scavenger insect community and carrion removal service was surveyed using 18 independent paired sampling sites (forest‐agricultural matrix, composed either by coffee plantations or cattle pastures) in the Atlantic Brazilian Forest domain. We measured insect species richness, community composition and carrion removal amount using meat baits inside exclusion cages monitored along 6 days across a forest cover gradient (8%–89%) and distance gradient from forest edge (0–100 m to the interior of forest patches and adjacent matrix). Species richness of scavenger insects was higher in more fragmented landscapes, with more forested areas presenting communities composed of mainly forest‐associated species. Carrion in coffee plantations attracted richer communities than in cattle pastures or forests. Coffee plantations also presented communities with more forest‐associated species than cattle pastures. Carrion removal was higher in both forest and coffee plantations compared to cattle pastures. Even though forest communities had lower species richness, key forest‐associated groups were the bulk of a higher service provision. Synthesis and applications. Forested landscapes with less contrasting matrices maintain a higher provision of carrion removal service by sustaining communities composed of scavenger insects with higher carrion removal capacity—mostly forest‐associated species. Landscape management focusing on the conservation and reforestation of native forest patches, as well as reducing matrix contrast, could facilitate species spillover and thereby ensure the provision of carrion removal service.

Jackfruit trees as seed attractors and nurses of early recruitment of native plant species in a secondary forest in Brazil

The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened tropical forests in the world, being drastically reduced, fragmented, and disturbed. The drastic process of anthropic occupation and exploitation of this biome has, in many cases, led to the introduction of exotic species, such as the jackfruits (Artocarpus heterophyllus). However, studies on the influence of jackfruits on the native biota are still scarce. Here we investigated the influence of fruit trees on the seed rain and early recruitment of seedlings in native remnants, comparing these patterns with those observed for a native species tapirira (Tapirira guianensis), which similarly to jackfruits, produces many fruits throughout the year, attracting a variety of frugivore species. Seed rain and seedlings observed under the jackfruits were both more abundant and equally rich to the assemblages reported under the native tapirira trees. In both species, co-specifics comprise a large part of the number of seeds (> 70%) and seedlings (> 45%) individuals and, although they attract similar seed assemblages, seedling composition diverge, particularly when co-specifics are excluded. We reported that jackfruits can attract a diverse seed and seedling assemblages, and we find no evidence that the presence of jackfruits negatively affects the arrival and initial recruitment of native plant species in the study area. These results should be analyzed with caution but considered when evaluating costs and benefits of management options to control exotic species.

Effects of Wood Ash Application on Tree Nutrition and Soil Dynamics in a Pinus taeda System

Abstract Many Brazilian forest industries use wood biomass as a sustainable energy source that generates a wood ash by-product. This residue is typically discarded in nearby planted forests. To evaluate the effects of wood ash rates on Pinus taeda L. growth, a study was established on a high clay soil in 2006. Five rates of wood ash (0, 10, 20, 40, and 80 T ha−1) were applied to a P. taeda system. Soil chemical properties were evaluated three times at different depths. Tree growth (i.e., height, diameter at breast height, and commercial volume) and nutrition (needle elemental composition) were determined. After 11 years, litter accumulation and soil mobilization (bioturbation) were also evaluated. Ash application did not affect tree growth/yield or litter accumulation. A small reduction in soil acidity and increased bases in the upper soil layer were observed two years after ash application; this effect reached deeper layers after six years but retreated to shallower depths at 11 years. A soil amount of 14.6 m3 ha−1 year−1 was relocated closer to the soil surface due to bioturbation by edaphic fauna. The application of wood ash to forest soils appears to be an ecologically sound alternative for disposal of this industrial by-product.

(2826) Proposal to conserve the name Bougainvillea spectabilis against B. brasiliensis (Nyctaginaceae)

(2826) Proposal to conserve the name <scp><i>Bougainvillea spectabilis</i></scp> against <scp><i>B. brasiliensis</i></scp> (<i>Nyctaginaceae</i>)