Climate change and the cost of conserving species in Madagascar

We examined the cost of conserving species as climate changes using Madagascar as an example. We used a Maxent species distribution model to predict the ranges of 74 plant species endemic to the forests of Madagascar from 2000-2080 in three climate scenarios. We set a conservation target of achieving 10,000 hectares of forest cover for each species, and calculated the cost of achieving this target under each climate scenario. We interviewed natural forest restoration project managers and conducted a literature review to obtain the net present cost per hectare of management actions to maintain or establish forest cover. For each species we added hectares of land from lowest to highest cost per additional year of forest cover until the conservation target was achieved throughout the time period. Climate change was predicted to reduce the size of species’ ranges, the overlap between species’ ranges and existing or planned protected areas, and the overlap between species’ ranges and existing forest. As a result, climate change increased the cost of achieving the conservation target by necessitating successively more costly management actions: additional management within existing protected areas (US$0-60/ha), avoidance of forest degradation (loss of biomass) in community-managed areas ($160-576/ha), avoidance of deforestation in unprotected areas ($252-1069/ha), and establishment of forest on non-forested land within protected areas ($802-2710/ha), in community-managed areas ($962-3226/ha), and in unprotected areas ($1054-3719/ha). Our results suggest that though forest restoration may be required for the conservation of some species as climate changes, it is more cost-effective to maintain existing forest wherever possible.

Agriculture modifies the seasonal decline of breeding success in a tropical wild bird population

1.Habitat conversion for agriculture is a major driver of biodiversity loss, but our understanding of the demographic processes involved remains poor. We typically investigate the impacts of agriculture in isolation even though populations are likely to experience multiple, concurrent changes in the environment (e.g. land and climate change). Drivers of environmental change may interact to affect demography but the mechanisms have yet to be explored fully in wild populations. 2.Here, we investigate the mechanisms linking agricultural land-use with breeding success using long-term data for the formerly Critically Endangered Mauritius kestrel Falco punctatus; a tropical forest specialist that also occupies agricultural habitats. We specifically focused on the relationship between breeding success, agriculture and the timing of breeding because the latter is sensitive to changes in climatic conditions (spring rainfall), and enables us to explore the interactive effects of different (land and climate) drivers of environmental change. 3.Breeding success, measured as egg survival to fledging, declines seasonally in this population, but we found that the rate of this decline became increasingly rapid as the area of agriculture around a nest site increased. If the relationship between breeding success and agriculture was used in isolation to estimate the demographic impact of agriculture it would significantly under-estimate breeding success in dry (early) springs, and over-estimate breeding success in wet (late) springs. 4.Analysis of prey delivered to nests suggests that the relationship between breeding success and agriculture might be due, in part, to spatial variation in the availability of native, arboreal geckos. 5.Synthesis and applications. Agriculture modifies the seasonal decline in breeding success in this population. As springs are becoming wetter in our study area and since the kestrels breed later in wetter springs, the impact of agriculture on breeding success will become worse over time. Our results suggest that forest restoration designed to reduce the detrimental impacts of agriculture on breeding may also help reduce the detrimental effects of breeding late due to wetter springs. Our results therefore highlight the importance of considering the interactive effects of environmental change when managing wild populations.

Avaliação de floresta nativa do bioma Mata Atlântica: uma aplicação da metodologia de custo de reposição

O presente trabalho investigou o valor de uma floresta nativa no bioma Mata Atlântica. Para isso, utilizou-se da metodologia de custo de reposição. Além disso, buscou-se explicitar os principais fatores determinantes desse valor, bem como seus impactos. Foram formuladas quatro hipóteses de pesquisa, a saber, i) o nível de degradação da área não influencia o custo total de reposição da floresta nativa; ii) relevos mais acidentados das áreas a serem restauradas não influenciam o custo total de reposição da floresta nativa; iii) a distância da área a ser restaurada em relação ao centro urbano mais próximo não influencia o custo total de reposição da floresta nativa; e iv) a distância da área a ser restaurada em relação ao viveiro produtor de mudas não influencia o custo total de reposição da floresta nativa. Para chegar aos resultados foram realizados testes simples de diferença de médias para as variáveis qualitativas. Os resultados encontrados foram de que pode-se rejeitar a hipótese de que relevos mais acidentados das áreas a serem restauradas não influenciam o custo total de reposição da floresta nativa. No entanto, não se rejeitam as hipóteses de que a distância da área a ser restaurada em relação ao centro urbano mais próximo não influencia o custo total de reposição da floresta nativa e de que a distância da área a ser restaurada em relação ao viveiro produtor de mudas não influencia o custo total de reposição da floresta nativa. Após essa primeira aproximação, é realizada uma série de regressões, utilizando o modelo clássico de mínimos quadrados ordinários (MQO). Fez-se uma análise de sensibilidade dos resultados obtidos. O levantamento de dados foi obtido por meio da realização de uma pesquisa (questionário) a uma série de entidades do setor. Foram testadas as quatro hipóteses. De acordo com os testes realizados, pode-se dizer que a hipótese 2 sobre o impacto de um relevo mais acidentado das áreas a serem restauradas no custo total de reposição da floresta nativa se mostrou não significativa em todos os modelos. No entanto, a hipótese 1 do impacto do nível de degradação sobre o valor do projeto foi rejeitada em todos os modelos. A hipótese 3 do impacto da localização da área em relação ao centro urbano sobre o valor do projeto foi rejeitada em dois modelos e a hipótese 4 de que a distância da área a ser restaurada em relação ao viveiro produtor de mudas não influencia o custo total de reposição da floresta nativa foi rejeitada em um modelo. Chegou-se ao resultado de R$22 mil/hectare para o custo de reposição de uma floresta nativa do bioma Mata Atlântica. Esse tipo de estudo foi contextualizado no desenvolvimento feito pela economia ambiental ao longo do tempo, ressaltando suas principais características. Nas conclusões destaca-se os principais pontos do trabalho e são discutidas uma série de implicações teóricas e gerenciais do presente estudo, bem como apresentadas sugestões para novos estudos nessa área.

Efeito do tamanho de tubetes na qualidade de mudas de Jatobá (Hymenaea courbaril L. var. stilbocarpa (Hayne) Lee et Lang.), Ipê-amarelo (Tabebuia chrysotricha (Mart. ex DC.) Sandl.) e Guarucaia (Parapiptadenia rigida (Benth.) Brenan)

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

An evaluation of direct seeding for reforestation of degraded lands in central São Paulo state, Brazil

As part of a larger study evaluating several silvicultural techniques for restoring tropical moist forests on abandoned agricultural lands in southeastern Brazil, direct seeding with five early-successional Atlantic forest species was tested at three degraded sites, characterized by different soil types and land-use histories, within the Environmental Protection Area at Botucatu, SP. The species used in this study were Chorisia speciosa, Croton floribundus, Enterolobium contorstisiliquum, Mimosa scabrella, and Schizolobium parahyba. Scarified seeds of each of these species were sown in prepared seed spots in replicated, 0.25 ha mixed-species plots at an initial espacement of 1 m x 1 m at each site. of the five species planted, only two, Enterolobium and Schizolobium, showed good seed germination, seedling survival, and early growth rates, averaging 4.1-4.6 cm stem diameter and 1.5-1.7 m height growth during the first 2 years after sowing. These two species constituted 88-100% of the total stand density, which ranged from 1050 to 1790 stems ha(-1) at 2 years. Despite the poor performance of the other species tested, we observed that the natural regeneration of native forest species originating from remnant forests in the general vicinity of our study sites was significantly greater within the direct-seeded plots than in unplanted control plots that were protected from fire and other disturbances. Published by Elsevier B.V. B.V.

Combinação linear ponderada na definição de áreas prioritárias à conectividade entre fragmentos florestais em ambiente SIG

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Chuva de sementes e regeneração natural sob três espécies arbóreas em uma floresta em processo de restauração

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Attraction of the fruit-eating bat Carollia perspicillata to Piper gaudichaudianum essential oil

We performed field tests using mimetic Piper fruits with and without essential oil extracted through hydrodistillation from Piper gaudichaudianum ripe fruits in order to evaluate the role of odor in Carollia perspicillata attraction and capture in mist-nets. During the field tests, 26 C. perspicillata were captured, 21 (80.7%) in nets with the essential oil of P. gaudichaudianum and five (19.3%) in nets without oil. Other bat species, Artibeus spp. ( 67), which is specialized on fruits of Moraceae, and Sturnira lilium ( 10), specialized on those of Solanaceae, were also captured, but they exhibited no significant preference for nets with or without oil. We conclude that odor is pre-eminent over visual cues in food location by C. perspicillata in a field situation. Based on the result, we propose the extraction and use of essential oils of chiropterochoric fruits as a useful approach to improve autoecological studies on fruit-eating bats and to promote tropical forest restoration through the attraction of frugivorous bats to degraded areas.

Succession and management of tropical dry forests in the Americas: Review and new perspectives

Understanding tropical forest succession is critical for the development of tropical forest conservation strategies worldwide, given that tropical secondary forests can be considered the forests of the future. Tropical dry forests (TDF) are among the most threatened tropical ecosystems, there are more secondary forests and forest restoration efforts that require a better understanding of successional processes. The main goal of this synthesis for this special issue on the ecology and management of tropical dry forests in the Americas is to present a summarized review of the current knowledge of the ecology and management implications associated to TDF succession. We explore specific issues associated to tropical dry forest succession with emphasis on the use of chronosequences, plant diversity and composition, plant phenology and remote sensing, pollination, and animal-plant interactions; all under the integrating umbrella of ecosystem succession. We also emphasize the need to conduct socio-ecological research to understand changes in land-use history and its effects on succession and forest regeneration of TDF. We close this paper with some thoughts and ideas associated with the strong need for an integrating dimension not considered until today: the role of cyberinfrastructure and eco-informatics as a tool to support sound conservation, management and understanding of TDF in the Americas. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consórcio de espécies nativas da floresta estacional semidecidual com mandioca (Manihot sculenta Crantz) para restauração de mata ciliar

Intercropping of trees and annual crops could be an important alternative for promoting forest restoration in small farms. The objective of this study was to evaluate the intercropping of cassava (Manihot sculenta Crantz) with native trees for restoration of natural forest in riparian areas in the western São Paulo State, Brazil. The experimental design was randomized blocks with six replications for comparing two restoration systems: pure afforestation and afforestation intercropped with cassava. It was evaluated the variables related to seedling development (height, crown diameter, crown cover, and height/crown diameter ratio), mortality and the economic impact were assessed for using cassava. No differences were found between treatments for any dendrometrical variable and mortality. Economic impact of the intercroppoing treatment was positive because costs for establishment of intercropped system were partially reduced by the income from the cassava crop, which covered 32% of total costs. Cassava income made final costs 19% lesser than restoration in the pure afforestation system.

Uso da fitossociologia na avaliação da efetividade da restauração florestal em uma várzea degradada do rio Mogi Cuaçu, SP

This study objective was to evaluate the effective revegetation in a Mogi Guaçu River degraded floodplain area, located at Luiz Antonio municipality (21° 31' S e 47° 55' W), São Paulo State, Brazil. Two native riparian forest remnants (RIP1 and RIP2) and three 10-year-old reforested areas, planted of native species (R1, R2 and R3), were analyzed by using phytosociological describers of the arboreal stratum (trees with DBH ≥ 5 cm) as indicators. The arboreal stratum inventory was accomplished by 180 plots (10 × 10 m each), 60 representing every native forest and 20 for every reforested area. A total of 60 arboreal species was recorded, only six species (Cecropia hololeuca, Crotón urucurana, Genipa americana, Inga striata, Nectandra megapotamica e Peltophorum dubium) occurring in all the five studied areas. Seventeen species were common to both native forests, and nine species were recorded in all the reforested areas. Sebastlania commersonlana and Guarea macrophyllawere recorded in the native forests (RlP1 and RIP2), and Cecropia hololeuca, Croton urucurana and Inga striata occurring in all the reforested areas, were the species that best characterize the physiognomy of local diversity and were the most important among the studied species. The results showed that the rehabilitation of the areas made by the reforestation created conditions to implant forests with similar structures of the adjacent natural remainders. The reforestation with native species performed in the degraded floodplain of Mogi Guaçu River, initially with the predomination of invasive grasses, has been effective at the first stage of the ecological restoration process. The reforestation is making possible the natural regeneration of species from the adjacent remnants, what indicates that the similarity between planted forests and the native ones are rising through the time. The phytosociology, accomplished ten years after the planting date, is adequate to evaluate the effectiveness of the reforestation during the restoration process of degradated areas in the Mogi Guaçu floodplain.

Dinámica del suelo y estoque de carbono después de diez años de la restauración de tierras degradadas usando especies arbóreas del bosque atlántico

Brazil's Atlantic Forest ecosystem has been greatly affected by land use changes, with only 11.26% of its original vegetation cover remaining. Currently, Atlantic Forest restoration is receiving increasing attention because of its potential for carbon sequestration and the important role of soil carbon in the global carbon balance. Soil organic matter is also essential for physical, chemical and biological components of soil fertility and forest sustainability. This study evaluated the potential for soil recovery in contrasting restoration models using indigenous Atlantic Forest tree species ten years after their establishment. The study site is located in Botucatu municipality, São Paulo State-Brazil, in a loamy dystrophic Red-Yellow Argisol site (Typic Hapludult). Four treatments were compared: i) Control (Spontaneous Restoration); ii) Low Diversity (five fast-growing tree species established by direct seeding); iii) High Diversity (mixed plantings of 41 species established with seedlings) and; iv) Native Forest (well conserved neighboring forest fragment). The following soil properties were evaluated: (1) physical-texture, density and porosity; (2) chemical-C, N, P, S, K, Ca, Mg, Al and pH; (3) biological-microbial biomass. Litter nutrient concentrations (P, S, K, Ca and Mg) and C and N litter stocks were determined. Within ten years the litter C and N stocks of the Low Diversity treatment area were higher than Control and similar to those in both the High Diversity treatment and the Native Forest. Soil C stocks increased through time for both models and in the Control plots, but remained highest in the Native Forest. The methods of restoration were shown to have different effects on soil dynamics, mainly on chemical properties. These results show that, at least in the short-term, changes in soil properties are more rapid in a less complex system like the Low Diversity model than in the a High Species Diversity model. For both mixed plantation systems, carbon soil cycling can be reestablished, resulting in increases in carbon stocks in both soil and litter.

Restauração florestal visando à conservação de recursos hídricos por meio da combinação linear ponderada

This study evaluated using of Multicriteria Evaluation in a GIS, specifically by Weighted Linear Combination Method for generation of map of priority areas for forest restoration in the initial part of River Pardo Basin, SP, in order to water resources conservation. Aiming to define criteria and restrictions it was used Participatory Techniques, and the following factors had been selected: proximity of the hydrographic network, proximity of forest cover, slope and erodibility of soil. To calculate the weight to each factor it was used the decision-making process, known as Analytic Hierarchy Analysis, this method consists of a paired comparison of factors to determine the relative importance of each. According to Weighted Linear Combination, the very high priority areas have a more limited spatial distribution, with an apparent concentration around the water bodies, outlining a buffer to the river system. The proximity factor of the hydrographic network, and enables the connection forestry, contributed, along with the factor of proximity to forest cover, so there would be the definition of most of the areas with the highest priority in the basin, which concentrate the largest areas of forest and native riparian areas along the hydrographic.

Produção de sementes e comportamento germinativo de Tibouchina clavata (Pers.) Wurdack. (Melastomataceae)

In the process of riverine forest restoration, increasing emphasis has been given to the study of herbaceous and shrub species. However, for many of these we still lack basic knowledge, such as reproduction biology. Therefore, the objective of this study was to characterize the production, seed germination and reproductive capacity of Tibouchina clavata (Pers.) Wurdack., a species of wide distribution in wetlands. Fruits were collected from different mother trees located on the southern coast of São Paulo state and, after processing, were subjected to germination under constant temperatures of 25 and 30°C, and alternated temperatures of 25-30°C in the first essay, and at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40°C in another essay, and at 25 °C with presence or absence of light. 10 plants were marked and, in each one, the number of fruits per plant and seed number per fruit were determined to characterize their reproductive capacity. The species germinates over a wide temperature range (15 to 35 °C), and the optimum temperature was in the range of 20 to 30 °C. Seed didn't germinate at 40 °C and could be characterized as being of absolute positive photoblastism. In general, there were over 1600 seeds per fruit and 85.000 seeds per plant. The high seed yield, coupled with good germination percentage demonstrated that this is a species with high reproductive potential.

Simulação de perdas de solo em função de cenários de adequação ambiental em microbacias agrícolas

In São Paulo state, deforestation and agriculture activities are increasing soil losses processes, especially in areas of susceptible soils where soil conservation practices are not adopted. Environmental adequacy at property level regarding Permanent Protection Areas and Legal Reserves is considered a potential factor for reducing soil losses and it was based on this fact that we assessed soil losses of different scenarios of environmental adequacy. Simulations of erosive processes were carried out in 15 catchments of the Corumbataí river basin, with different forest restoration scenarios, as well as the current situation of land use/ land cover. The scenarios include reforestation of Permanent Preservation Areas (PPA); the reforestation hydrological sensitive areas; and two scenarios, the Legal Reserve installation in 20% of each catchment, being one of them for most critical areas in terms of erosion and the other at random. It was observed that the establishment of PPA and the reforestation of hydrological sensitive areas (HSA), offered a small contribution to the control of the erosive process, resulting in a reduction of 10% and 7.4%, respectively, while the legal reserve in critical areas has the significant reduction of 69.8%. The random scenario, in turn, resulted in a reduction of 21.4% of erosion. Results show that reforestation can reduce soil losses, but previous studies of land prioritization and planning could significantly increase its efficiency.