Protected Areas In Brazil Research Articles

A list of land plants of Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Brazil, highlights the presence of sampling gaps within this protected area

BackgroundBrazilian protected areas are essential for plant conservation in the Atlantic Forest domain, one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the plant richness, protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity. A list of land plants of “Parque Nacional do Caparaó” (PNC) was previously built using online databases and published on the website "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil." Here, we provide and discuss additional information about plant species richness, endemism and conservation in the PNC that could not be included in the List. We documented 1,791 species of land plants as occurring in PNC, of which 63 are cited as threatened (CR, EN or VU) by the Brazilian National Red List, seven as data deficient (DD) and five as priorities for conservation. Fifity-one species were possible new ocurrences for ES and MG states.New information"Parque Nacional do Caparaó" houses 8% of the land plant species endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, including 6% of its angiosperms, 31% of its lycophytes and ferns and 14% of its avascular plants. Twelve percent of the threatened species listed for the State of Espírito Santo and 7% listed for the State of Minas Gerais are also protected by PNC. Surprisingly, 79% of the collections analysed here were carried out in Minas Gerais, which represents just 21% of the total extension of the Park. The compiled data uncover a huge botanical collection gap in this federally-protected area.

La protección ambiental como norma y uso del territorio: el ejemplo del Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservación de la Naturaleza (SNUC) en Brasil

El Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservacion de la Naturaleza (SNUC) constituye un conjunto de mecanismos normativos para la creacion y la gestion de areas protegidas en Brasil a partir de la actuacion integrada de las distintas esferas politico-administrativas del Estado. Su diseno legal preve una serie de “unidades de conservacion” que buscan garantizar la conservacion y la preservacion ambiental. Ademas de presentar la estructura del SNUC y su materializacion en el territorio brasileno, este trabajo hace una reflexion sobre sus objetivos como usos del territorio y normas territoriales. El principal aporte pretendido es el desarrollo de una forma de leer la planificacion territorial que sea alimentada por el marco teorico propio de la geografia, para asi alcanzar una comprension integral de las areas protegidas como elementos inherentes a la dinamica del uso del territorio en Brasil.

Collapse of national protected areas in Brazil: The example of Minas Gerais State

Collapse of national protected areas in Brazil: The example of Minas Gerais State

Biodiversity of caridean shrimps on rocky bottoms of two preserved islands on the southeastern Brazilian coast

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the biodiversity of caridean shrimps inhabiting the consolidated sublittoral of two Brazilian biodiversity locals Laje de Santos and Vitória Island. We provide data about species composition, cumulative species curves and ecological indexes. Additionally, we compared different sampling techniques used for cryptic fauna studies. The samples were carried out quarterly for one year, using Artificial Refuge Substrate (ASR) for the passive capture and SCUBA diving for active capture. A total of 323 individuals were sampled with 17 species recorded, 13 in Vitória Island and 12 in Laje de Santos. Alpheus formosus and Cuapetes americanus were dominant in both areas and recognized as key-species for the community. Using two-sampling methods is highly recommended for future studies due to the fact that small and translucent species were obtained with ARS and large and colourful specimens were collected during SCUBA diving expeditions. An alien shrimp from the genus Athanas was registered for the first time in a protected area in Brazil. Additionally, all these results/data are important for future management and work plans in Brazilian protected areas since decapod crustaceans are an extremely important fauna group in any subtidal ecosystem.

A priority-setting scheme for the management of invasive non-native species in protected areas

Invasion by non-native species is one of the major threats to the conservation of biodiversity and to the provision of ecosystem services by protected areas. Invasive species often co-occur in protected areas, represented by sparse, isolated individuals or populations in different stages in the process of invasion. Species invasiveness, habitat invasibility and impact also differ between ecosystems, so the risk of invasion varies. Besides, prioritization is required due to constraints on time, financial and other resources. Priority-setting is therefore key to help protected area managers invest efforts on biological invasions that offer the best chances of producing large-scale positive results at the lowest cost possible. A priority-setting scheme for the control of invasive non-native species in natural areas is presented in this paper. The scheme, based on field observations of species occurrences, was applied to the Itatiaia National Park (Brazil). Priorities are calculated from a combination of three criteria attributed to each occurrence: species risk of invasion considering local ecosystems, invasion stage, and species frequency. Data collected in the field in the Itatiaia National Park were used to calculate priorities for 50 non-native species (six animals and 44 plants) in four locations in the Park. The highest priorities were attributed to species of high risk in an early stage of invasion occurring in one site, whereas a few widespread species of low risk were given lower priority. The scheme has proven functional for setting priorities for the control of non-native species in the Itatiaia National Park and in many other protected areas in Brazil.

Evaluation of conservation status of plants in Brazil's Atlantic forest: An ethnoecological approach with Quilombola communities in Serra do Mar State Park.

The Atlantic Forest is considered the fourth most important biodiversity hotspot. Although almost 96% of its original area has been devastated, a large part of its remaining conserved area is inhabited by traditional communities. This research focused on two Quilombola communities who reside within the Núcleo Picinguaba of the Serra do Mar State Park, State of São Paulo, Brazil. The objective was to use a combination of ethnoecological and ecological approaches to select priority species for which to develop participatory conservation and sustainable management plans in protected areas in Brazil. We collaborated with community members to collect ethnobotanical and ethnoecological data and then measured the abundance of native species in local forests through phytosociological sampling. We used this information to assess the degree of threat to useful species using the Conservation Priority Index, adding an additional layer of analysis based on habitat successional categories. We then overlayed those useful species identified as highest risk locally with those federally listed as threatened or endangered. Based on this, we identified three species as priority for the development of sustainable management plans: Virola bicuhyba, Cedrella fissilis and Plinia edulis.

Funding deficits of protected areas in Brazil

Protected areas (PAs) are the most effective public policy instruments to protect natural ecosystems and the services these ecosystems provide. Nevertheless, several PAs present a funding deficit because governments allocate fewer financial resources than those required to cover PA management costs. The variation in funding deficits within countries is not well documented because information about PA public investments and management costs are seldom available. We describe the variation in funding deficits across Brazilian federal PAs and propose a model that explains such variation by using PAs' characteristics and their zones of influence as predictors. We estimated that the 282 Brazilian federal PAs needed US$ 468 million to cover their management costs in 2016. However, the Brazilian government allocated only 15.5 % of these costs. Approximately 76.5 % of the PAs had funding deficits. Our model showed that: (1) funding deficit is negatively associated with PA age and the human development index but positively associated with PA size, (2) PAs in the Atlantic Forest and the Savannas and Drylands have lower funding deficits than PAs in the Amazon, and (3) PAs in the Atlantic Forest have lower funding deficits than PAs in the Savannas and Drylands. We found that the proportion of PAs with a funding deficit in Brazil is high and is comparable to the high percentage of PAs (75 %–100 %) with a funding deficit found in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, there is evidence that the total annual funding deficit in the Brazilian PAs increased in the last decade. New policies, public-private partnerships, and innovative funding mechanisms need to be set to close the large funding gap in the Brazilian federal PA system.

Impact on soil and tree community of a threatened subtropical phytophysiognomy after a forest fire

Knowledge about the effects of fire on tree communities of Araucaria forests (AF) is scarce, although this physiognomy is among the most threatened ones in the entire Brazilian hotspot Atlantic Forest. With this study, we sought to answer the following questions: After three years of the fire, how has the soil of this forest remnant been recovering? Are fires in the AF able to change the structure, composition and species richness of tree community? The survey was carried out in a remnant of AF in an integral protected area in Brazil. Two areas were selected, one that has no fire history in the last 30 years (unburned) and another that burned recently. In each area 25 permanent plots of 20 × 10 m were allocated and all shrub-tree vegetation with DBH ≥ 4.8 cm was sampled. Our initial expectations were largely refuted, since we found no differences between the two areas in composition and richness of tree species and in most soil environmental variables, but only in the community structure. The majority of the dead individuals were concentrated in the smallest diameter classes (DBH < 9.8 cm). The only soil environmental variables that presented differences were pH and organic matter. Our study shows that the AF presents a significant resistance against forest fires, probably due to the evolutionary history of this physiognomy with fire. Nevertheless, several individuals died, so it is also important to highlight that preventive measures against fires are always relevant for conservation of this endangered physiognomy.

Understanding landowners’ intention to restore native areas: The role of ecosystem services

Understanding landowners’ intention to voluntarily engage in conservation initiatives is essential to designing more realistic projects and interventions. In this study, we used the Theory of Planned Behavior to identify the psychological constructs underlying landowners’ intention to restore areas with native vegetation on their properties over the next three years. We extended the model, investigating whether the perception of ecosystem services, age, number of springs, and size of property affect the intention studied. We interviewed 75 landowners whose properties are in the surroundings of a public protected area in Brazil and applied structural equation modeling to analyze the acquired data. The results agree with the predicted relationship between attitudes and intention. Furthermore, perception of the ecosystem services and the number of springs on a given property are two factors which directly affect attitude and indirectly affect the intention to restore. Younger landowners are more willing to restore. These results suggest that understanding the benefits of conserving biodiversity on farmland affects management practices. Investing in educational initiatives to promote more knowledge about ecosystem services will increase the involvement of more landowners in future conservation programs.

Using online databases to produce comprehensive accounts of the vascular plants from the Brazilian protected areas: The Parque Nacional do Itatiaia as a case study.

BackgroundBrazil is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, with about 37,000 species of land plants. Part of this biodiversity is within protected areas. The development of online databases in the last years greatly improved the available biodiversity data. However, the existing databases do not provide information about the protected areas in which individual plant species occur. The lack of such information is a crucial gap for conservation actions. This study aimed to show how the information captured from online databases, cleaned by a protocol and verified by taxonomists allowed us to obtain a comprehensive list of the vascular plant species from the "Parque Nacional do Itatiaia", the first national park founded in Brazil. All existing records in the online database JABOT (15,100 vouchers) were downloaded, resulting in 11,783 vouchers identified at the species level. Overall, we documented 2,316 species belonging to 176 families and 837 genera of vascular plants in the "Parque Nacional do Itatiaia". Considering the whole vascular flora, 2,238 species are native and 78 are non-native.New informationThe "Parque Nacional do Itatiaia" houses 13% of the angiosperm and 37% of the fern species known from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Amongst these species, 82 have been cited as threatened, following IUCN categories (CR, EN or VU), seven are data deficient (DD) and 15 have been classified as a conservation priority, because they are only known from a single specimen collected before 1969.

What should I eat: feeding behaviour of puma in a Brazilian protected semi-arid area

What should I eat: feeding behaviour of puma in a Brazilian protected semi-arid area

Extinction threat to neglected Plinia edulis exacerbated by climate change, yet likely mitigated by conservation through sustainable use

AbstractForecasting the impacts of climate change on species distribution has several implications for conservation. Plinia edulis is a rare and threatened tree species from Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest. In this study, we assessed the impact of global climate change on the distribution of P. edulis. Additionally, we evaluated the efficacy of the Brazilian protected network to conserve this species. Ecological niche models were built using the maximum entropy method based on occurrence records and environmental predictors. Models predicted a reduction of climatically suitable areas for P. edulis in all evaluated scenarios in the coming years. Furthermore, we observed that Brazilian protected areas (PAs) are ineffective to conserve this species. Given the fact that P. edulis is a promising tree species rarely found within Brazilian PAs and threatened by global climate change, we strongly recommend the cultivation of this multipurpose species in agroforestry systems, landscaping and homegardens in order to promote its conservation through sustainable use.

Sustainable occupational opportunities in protected areas in Brazil

ABSTRACT Protected Areas (PAs) are central to environmental conservationism. Nonetheless, their implementation affects life circumstances and opportunities of communities living within and nearby their borders. Aim: To layout situational maps of PAs in four Brazilian biomes to understand wicked problems of living nearby or inside PAs and discuss how occupational therapy can promote sustainable occupational opportunities. Methods: We used case study and Situational Analysis to deal with data from 20 PAs, 82 interviews and four months of observations. Results: PAs have a negative effect on people’s life by limiting job and income options, promoting unequal access and use of PA for different economic groups, among others. However, some positive aspects of PAs include the development of sustainable income practices, access to information, leisure and tourism to urban populations, and fostering social organisation of traditional communities. We, finally argue that occupational therapists can engage in this debate and practice with occupational-based projects guided by critical education and collective action perspective.

What Is Threatening Forests in Protected Areas? A Global Assessment of Deforestation in Protected Areas, 2001–2018

The protection of forests is crucial to providing important ecosystem services, such as supplying clean air and water, safeguarding critical habitats for biodiversity, and reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this importance, global forest loss has steadily increased in recent decades. Protected Areas (PAs) currently account for almost 15% of Earth’s terrestrial surface and protect 5% of global tree cover and were developed as a principal approach to limit the impact of anthropogenic activities on natural, intact ecosystems and habitats. We assess global trends in forest loss inside and outside of PAs, and land cover following this forest loss, using a global map of tree cover loss and global maps of land cover. While forests in PAs experience loss at lower rates than non-protected forests, we find that the temporal trend of forest loss in PAs is markedly similar to that of all forest loss globally. We find that forest loss in PAs is most commonly—and increasingly—followed by shrubland, a broad category that could represent re-growing forest, agricultural fallows, or pasture lands in some regional contexts. Anthropogenic forest loss for agriculture is common in some regions, particularly in the global tropics, while wildfires, pests, and storm blowdown are a significant and consistent cause of forest loss in more northern latitudes, such as the United States, Canada, and Russia. Our study describes a process for screening tree cover loss and agriculture expansion taking place within PAs, and identification of priority targets for further site-specific assessments of threats to PAs. We illustrate an approach for more detailed assessment of forest loss in four case study PAs in Brazil, Indonesia, Democratic Republic of Congo, and the United States.

Anuran species in Brazil's protected areas network

Amphibians are one of the most threatened among the vertebrates species and urgently require conservation protection and planning. The establishment of protected areas (PAs) is one of the most important strategies in protecting biodiversity, as they offer a partial solution to habitat modification. Our main objective was to analyse the temporal and spatial trends in the anuran species inventories of PAs in Brazil, therefore providing an extensive list of anuran species in the Brazilian PAs network for the first time. We considered a combination of keywords while using the data on “Scopus”, “Scielo”, and “Web of Science”. We found 115 papers that published anuran species lists for 101 Brazilian protected areas. Overall, we registered 605 species distributed in 20 families. Only seven out of the 605 anuran species registered in the present study are threatened by extinction and 40 are listed as Data Deficient. The number of anuran species inventories in Brazilian protected areas has increased over time (r = 0.17; r2 = 0.267; p&lt;0.01), with its peak in 2011 (n = 15 inventories). The majority of the species inventories were conducted in protected areas located in the Atlantic Forest (55.45 %). The number of anuran species per protected area varied from seven to 80; however, we did not find any relationship between the species richness and size of the protected areas (r2 = 0.027; r = 0.165; p = 0.092). Our results can be useful to fill the gaps and integrate knowledge; and this reinforces the importance of the present study in contributing to the knowledge and conservation of anuran species in Brazil.

Políticas de conservação ambiental no Brasil e a mercadificação da natureza

O presente artigo discute a trajetória das políticas de conservação ambiental analisando tais políticas como integrantes do processo de expansão das relações capitalistas de produção. Compreendendo que a apropriação e o uso da natureza precisam ser analisados a partir do entendimento das relações sociais que caracterizam a sociedade capitalista, assumimos o conceito de produção da natureza como central em nossa análise, entendendo que a forma como os processos biofísicos se apresentam em cada lugar resulta da interferência desta sociedade. E que, ainda que a natureza possua, em certo nível, um funcionamento independente do homem, o conhecimento desse funcionamento é aplicado pela sociedade para fins definidos socialmente. A análise do estabelecimento de Unidades de Conservação no território brasileiro revela uma estreita relação entre a expansão da fronteira agrícola e o isolamento de áreas destinadas à conservação. Além disso, a gestão dessas áreas tende a inseri-las como redutos da chamada Economia Verde delimitando produtos que tem a própria natureza “natural” como matéria-prima.

Characterization and degradation state of the trails in Caparaó National Park

A large increase in visitation has recently been observed in Brazilian protected areas. The presence of visitors can cause changes in the environment, generating certain unwanted impacts. Therefore, the objective of this study is to assess the visitation at Caparaó National Park, map the main trails open to the public, and determine their degree of degradation. To define the most relevant trails for this study, the following criteria were used: visitation demand, impact intensity, and zoning. The elevation profile and other physical attributes of the selected trails were obtained by GPS. Erosion was established as the predominant impact, and the length of eroded stretches on each trail was evaluated. The trail to Pico da Bandeira through Casa Queimada has a greater declivity, and, although it sees fewer visitors than the trail to Pico da Bandeira through Tronqueira, it shows a higher erosion rate. This result indicates that, in certain cases, the declivity can contribute more significantly to the increase in erosion than the number of visitors.

Valuing nature's contribution to people: The pollination services provided by two protected areas in Brazil

The assessment of nature's contribution to people (NCP) is an important strategy for decision-making given the increasing need to reconcile biodiversity and human society with conservation. A monetary and a non-monetary approaches were combined to evaluate the pollination services provided by two Brazilian protected areas (PAs) in northern (Serra da Bocaina, Pará) and southeastern region (Mata do Jambreiro, Minas Gerais) within the Amazon forest and Atlantic forest biomes, respectively. The monetary valuation methodology was based on the role of pollination for crop production in the municipalities surrounding the PAs, and the non-monetary involved estimating the areas with wider range of resources for sustaining pollinators. In Serra da Bocaina, the total annual monetary value of the pollination services performed by bee species was estimated at approximately 564,000 dollars and in Mata do Jambreiro, 246,000 dollars, both for 2016. The non-monetary valuation highlighted the PAs and their surrounding areas with denser plant coverage. The methods used in this study allowed us to evaluate and integrate different types of information: bee diversity data, the spatial data of the PAs and their surroundings, and the economic value of the agricultural production of the neighbouring municipalities. The results can be applied in management and sustainability studies aiming to increase awareness about the importance of PAs and their value and importance for agricultural production. This study demonstrates where efforts can be concentrated for future proposals for valuating pollination services and conservation strategies, especially in areas where data are scarce.

Soil Erosion and Land Degradation on Trail Systems in Mountainous Areas: Two Case Studies from South-East Brazil

This paper addresses the role of soil erosion and mass movements on mountainous trails due to human trampling on steep slopes. This is the case of several trails situated on forested areas in South-East Brazil, even those located in protected areas. Two methods were used to achieve the research objectives. Firstly, analyses of microtopography using erosion bridges, which was monitored four times on Caixa D’Aço natural pool trails in Serra da Bocaina National Park. Secondly, disturbed and undisturbed soil samples were collected at 0–10 cm depth at four sites on Água Branca trail in Serra do Mar State Park. Using this methodology, we assessed soil degradation in two different humid tropical environments. Generally, trampling combined with deficient trail management, play important roles in degrading soils in both areas. Bioengineering techniques should be used to recuperate these trails, which are used by tourists and local residents. We hope this research work may contribute towards improved management in Brazilian protected areas.

Public spending in federal protected areas in Brazil

Establishing protected areas (PAs) is one of the most common land use policies implemented by governments to maintain healthy ecosystems at different spatial scales and in distinct socioeconomic settings. However, reliable knowledge on government spending in PAs and the factors that influence this spending is limited. In this study, we describe the public spending by the Brazilian government in a set of 289 federal PAs that altogether cover an area of 743,406 km2. Then, we assess how six contextual factors (area, age, population density, human development index [HDI], ecological regions, and management group) influence this spending. From 2013–2016, the Brazilian government invested at least US$197.8 million in 289 PAs. The average annual spending per km2 presents a wide variation, ranging from US$0.3/km2 to US$392,250/km2. A linear regression model indicates that (1) the annual public spending increases with PA size, PA age, human population density, and HDI; (2) multiple-use PAs receive fewer resources than strict-protection PAs do; and (3) no difference exists in the public spending in PAs between Amazon—the region perceived by the national population as the most important for Brazil’s natural resources—and other ecological regions in the country. Our study highlights the urgent need to document the flows of financial resources to PAs, with the aim of understanding their variation patterns and the processes that cause such a variation. Similar studies in other countries are required to evaluate if the patterns that we describe here are general or are country specific. Besides, separately assessing the investments coming from governments and the financial resources provided by other conservation investors (i.e., NGOs, multilateral, corporations) is worthwhile to produce a more comprehensive and nuanced view of financial flows to PAs.