Forest Recovery in the Amazon Is a Slow Process

Abstract The influence of forest loss on rainfall remains poorly understood. Addressing this challenge, Spracklen et al. recently presented a pantropical study of rainfall and land cover that showed that satellite-derived rainfall measures were positively correlated with the degree to which model-derived air trajectories had been exposed to forest cover. This result confirms the influence of vegetation on regional rainfall patterns suggested in previous studies. However, the conclusion of Spracklen et al.—that differences in rainfall reflect air moisture content resulting from evapotranspiration while the circulation pattern remains unchanged—appears undermined by methodological inconsistencies. Here methodological problems are identified with the underlying analyses and the quantitative estimates for rainfall change predicted if forest cover is lost in the Amazon. Alternative explanations are presented that include the distinct role of forest evapotranspiration in creating low-pressure systems that draw moisture from the oceans to the continental hinterland. A wholly new analysis of meteorological data from three regions in Brazil, including the central Amazon forest, reveals a tendency for rainy days during the wet season with column water vapor (CWV) exceeding 50 mm to have higher pressure than rainless days, while at lower CWV, rainy days tend to have lower pressure than rainless days. The coupling between atmospheric moisture content and circulation dynamics underlines that the danger posed by forest loss is greater than suggested by consideration of moisture recycling alone.

Download Full-text

Bryophyte flora in an Amazon island: structure of communities in areas of different levels of anthropization

Rodriguésia ◽

10.1590/2175-7860202172107 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 72 ◽

Author(s):

João Paulo Silva Souza ◽

Paulo Weslem Portal Gomes ◽

Rita de Cássia Pereira dos Santos ◽

Ana Cláudia Caldeira Tavares-Martins

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Community Structure ◽

The State ◽

Amazon Forest ◽

High Similarity ◽

Moss Species ◽

Generalist Species ◽

Structure Of Communities ◽

First Time ◽

Different Levels

Abstract The present study is aimed to evaluate the richness, composition and spatial distribution of bryophytes occurring in Mosqueiro Island, in the Amazon forest. Forty-one 100-m² plots in 37 flooded and 4 non-flooded environments were selected for data collection, all substrate found were considered. The results were compared with surveys in other islands from the state of Pará and were analyzed according to frequency of populations, colonized substrates, light tolerance guilds, and distribution in Brazilian biomes. Ninety-seven species were recorded, distributed in 36 genera and 17 families, being 57 (58.7%) liverwort and 40 (41.2%) moss species. The rare species stood out with 53 species (54.08%). High similarity was observed between corticolous and epixylic communities, and between the terricolous community and the bryophytes found growing on charcoal, which is an artificial substrate. In relation to light tolerance guilds, generalist species prevailed (52 species, 53.6%). As for phytogeographic distribution, there was a predominance of taxa with occurrence in the Amazon and Atlantic rainforest (35 species, 37.11%). Ceratolejeunea ceratantha is reported for the first time for the state of Pará. The level of anthropization in the island was showed mainly by high richness and occurrence of generalist species underscores and well-adapted species to stressed conditions, evidencing changes in the bryophyte community structure.

Download Full-text

Spatial configuration of the occurrence of bat species (Mammalia: Chiroptera) in eastern Mato Grosso, Brazil

Biota Neotropica ◽

10.1590/1676-06032014012214 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Sérgio Lopes de Oliveira ◽

Loana Araújo Silva Souza ◽

Hellen Kezia Silva ◽

Karina de Cassia Faria

Keyword(s):

Species Richness ◽

Spatial Configuration ◽

Grid Cell ◽

Amazon Forest ◽

Conservation Units ◽

Mato Grosso ◽

Central Brazil ◽

Cerrado Savanna ◽

Scientific Collections ◽

First Time

Given the substantial lacunas in the understanding of the occurrence and distribution of bat species in the eastern portion of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso (Araguaia basin), this study presents an inventory of the species known to occur in the region, highlighting the areas sampled adequately and the species known to occur in conservation units. Georeferenced records of the occurrence of bat species in the region were obtained from published studies, scientific collections, through either the SpeciesLink network or directly from the curator, as well as the capture of specimens by our research group between 2008 and 2013. A 0.5° x 0.5° (latitude/longitude) grid was added to the map of the region for the quantification of the bat species richness of each grid cell. A total of 63 chiropteran species were recorded for the study area. Only 10 of the 30 grid cells had records of bats, and just three contained more than 20 species, and were considered to be sampled adequately on a minimal level. Bat species have been recorded in three conservation units, two state and one municipal. The number of species recorded represents 82.7% of the total of chiropterans known to occur in Mato Grosso, although 12 species were recorded in the state for the first time, reinforcing the paucity of data available on the distribution of bats in the region. The high bat species richness recorded in the present study reinforces the importance of eastern Mato Grosso, a transition zone between the Amazon forest and the Cerrado savanna of central Brazil, for the conservation of Neotropical chiropterans.

Download Full-text

Words as New as the Hills Concept Formation in the Field of High Altitude Topography (1750–1850)

Journal of French Language Studies ◽

10.1017/s0959269500000132 ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 45-72

Author(s):

Brian Farrington

Keyword(s):

High Altitude ◽

Concept Formation ◽

Slow Process ◽

High Mountains ◽

Lexical Field ◽

First Time

It is often assumed that the emergence of a new concept can be traced to the appearance of a new word in a language. The aim of this article is to show that the process is more complex than this by examining the evolution of a number of words and contexts in the field of high altitude topography, when high mountains were being explored for the first time. This is a lexical field of a somewhat special nature, relating to a reality that had always been visible, but had never been described before. While there are undoubtedly examples where a concept crystallises around a newly adopted word, the norm is a slow process of uncertainty and hesitation.

Download Full-text

Effects of large-scale Amazon forest degradation on climate and air quality through fluxes of carbon dioxide, water, energy, mineral dust and isoprene

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2007.0027 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 363 (1498) ◽

pp. 1873-1880 ◽

Cited By ~ 36

Author(s):

Richard Betts ◽

Michael Sanderson ◽

Stephanie Woodward

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Large Scale ◽

Mineral Dust ◽

Forest Degradation ◽

Forest Loss ◽

Amazon Forest ◽

Climate Feedbacks ◽

Carbon Cycle Model ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Hadley Centre

Loss of large areas of Amazonian forest, through either direct human impact or climate change, could exert a number of influences on the regional and global climates. In the Met Office Hadley Centre coupled climate–carbon cycle model, a severe drying of this region initiates forest loss that exerts a number of feedbacks on global and regional climates, which magnify the drying and the forest degradation. This paper provides an overview of the multiple feedback process in the Hadley Centre model and discusses the implications of the results for the case of direct human-induced deforestation. It also examines additional potential effects of forest loss through changes in the emissions of mineral dust and biogenic volatile organic compounds. The implications of ecosystem–climate feedbacks for climate change mitigation and adaptation policies are also discussed.

Download Full-text

The Neotropical Amanita crebresulcata Bas: new citation from Northeast Brazil

Hoehnea ◽

10.1590/s2236-89062007000200001 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 34 (2) ◽

pp. 131-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Felipe Wartchow ◽

Leonor Costa Maia

Keyword(s):

The State ◽

Amazon Forest ◽

Northeast Brazil ◽

Time Out ◽

First Time

Amanita crebresulcata Bas, a species originally described from the State of Amazonas is reported for the second time out of the Amazon Forest and for the first time in northeast Brazil. Description, discussion and drawings of the species are provided.

Download Full-text

Triterpenes and the Antimycobacterial Activity ofDuroia macrophyllaHuber (Rubiaceae)

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2013/605831 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2013 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

Daiane Martins ◽

Lillian Lucas Carrion ◽

Daniela Fernandes Ramos ◽

Kahlil Schwanka Salomé ◽

Pedro Eduardo Almeida da Silva ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mycobacterium Tuberculosis ◽

Biological Activity ◽

Antimycobacterial Activity ◽

Amazon Forest ◽

Nmr Analysis ◽

Phenol Compounds ◽

Methanol Extracts ◽

Phytochemical Investigation ◽

H37rv Strain ◽

First Time

Duroia macrophyllapopularly known as “cabeça-de-urubú,” “apuruí,” or “puruí-grande-da-mata” occurs in the Amazon Forest. Its leaves and branches were collected twice and extracted with dichloromethane and methanol. All extracts were subjected to phytochemical investigation and terpenes and flavonoids were found in all dichloromethane and methanol extracts, respectively. Methanol extracts from both branches (1st collection) and leaves (2nd collection) presented hydrolyzed tannins, yet alkaloids were only detected in the dichloromethane and methanol extracts from branches at the 2nd collection. Phenol compounds were found in both dichloromethane extracts’ collections. The action of every extract was assayed againstMycobacterium tuberculosis(RMPr, H37Rv, and INHr strains), showing that the dichloromethane extract from leaves (1st collection) has the major biological activity, with a MIC of 6.25 μg/mL for the INHr strain, 25.0 μg/mL for the RMPr strain, and ≤6.25 μg/mL for the H37Rv strain. The chromatographic fractioning of the dichloromethane extract from leaves (1st collection) yielded the isolation of two triterpenes: oleanolic and ursolic acids, which were identified by NMR analysis and reported for the first time in theDuroiagenus.

Download Full-text

Lichens Growing on Glass in Antarctica

The Lichenologist ◽

10.1006/lich.1996.0035 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 385-390 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

B. Schroeter ◽

L. G. Sancho

Keyword(s):

Extreme Environments ◽

Slow Process ◽

Simple Method ◽

Artificial Substrata ◽

Early Stages ◽

Lichen Thallus ◽

First Time

AbstractEarly stages of lichen colonization on glass are reported for the first time from Antarctica. In the initial establishment of the lichen thallus rhizomorphs play an importantrole for the attachment to the substratum and the exploitation of nutrient and photobiont resources. The micrographs presented indicate that in Antarctica colonization of bare substrata bylichens is not necessarily an extremely slow process. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that the use of artificial substrata such as glass could provide a simple method for studies in lichencolonization and development in extreme environments.

Download Full-text

Effects of conservation policy on China’s forest recovery

Science Advances ◽

10.1126/sciadv.1500965 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. e1500965 ◽

Cited By ~ 74

Author(s):

Andrés Viña ◽

William J. McConnell ◽

Hongbo Yang ◽

Zhenci Xu ◽

Jianguo Liu

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Biodiversity Conservation ◽

Climate Change Mitigation ◽

Forest Conservation ◽

Forest Cover ◽

National Level ◽

Well Being ◽

Forest Recovery ◽

Forest Loss ◽

Change Mitigation

Forest loss is one of the most pervasive land surface transformations on Earth, with drastic effects on global climate, ecosystems, and human well-being. As part of biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation efforts, many countries, including China, have been implementing large-scale policies to conserve and restore forests. However, little is known about the effectiveness of these policies, and information on China’s forest dynamics at the national level has mainly relied on official statistics. In response to international calls for improved reliability and transparency of information on biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation efforts, it is crucial to independently verify government statistics. Furthermore, if forest recovery is verified, it is essential to assess the degree to which this recovery is attributable to policy, within the context of other relevant factors. We assess the dynamics of forest cover in China between 2000 and 2010 and evaluate the effectiveness of one of the largest forest conservation programs in the world—the Natural Forest Conservation Program (NFCP). Results indicate that forest cover has significantly increased in around 1.6% of China’s territory and that the areas exhibiting forest gain experienced a combined increase in net primary productivity (ca. 0.9 Tg of carbon). Among the variables evaluated at county level, the NFCP exhibited a significantly positive relation with forest gain, whereas reduction in rural labor showed a negative relationship with both forest loss and gain. Findings such as these have global implications for forest conservation and climate change mitigation efforts.

Download Full-text

Brazilian Pseudochironomini (Diptera: Chironomidae) Part 1. New Pseudochironomus Malloch from highlands

Zootaxa ◽

10.11646/zootaxa.4317.1.6 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 4317 (1) ◽

pp. 134 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

ERIKA MAYUMI SHIMABUKURO ◽

MATEUS PEPINELLI ◽

SUSANA TRIVINHO-STRIXINO

Keyword(s):

New Species ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Amazon Forest ◽

Immature Stages ◽

Dna Barcodes ◽

Adult Males ◽

Nj Tree ◽

Males And Females ◽

First Time

Four new species of Pseudochironomus Malloch were recorded in Brazilian highlands, three from Atlantic forest and one from Amazon Forest. Adult males and immature stages of Pseudochironomus ruah sp. n., P. jordensis sp. n. and adult males of P. mocidade sp. n., P. surianae sp. n. are described and illustrated. Adult males and females of P. ruah sp. n. were associated using DNA barcodes along with a NJ tree for all Pseudochironomini barcoding sequences publicly available. An emendation to generic diagnoses is provided, once it is the first time that thoracic acrostichals have been described for Pseudochironomus species.

Download Full-text