Impacts of conservation policies and electoral cycles on protected areas and forest cover in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Evaluation of the effectiveness of protected areas is critical for forest conservation policies and priorities. We used 30 m resolution forest cover change data from 1990 to 2010 for ~4000 protected areas to evaluate their effectiveness. Our results show that protected areas in the tropics avoided 83,500 ± 21,200 km2 of deforestation during the 2000s. Brazil’s protected areas have the largest amount of avoided deforestation at 50,000 km2. We also show the amount of international aid received by tropical countries compared to the effectiveness of protected areas. Thirty-four tropical countries received USD 42 billion during the 1990s and USD 62 billion during the 2000s in international aid for biodiversity conservation. The effectiveness of international aid was highest in Latin America, with 4.3 m2/USD, led by Brazil, while tropical Asian countries showed the lowest average effect of international aid, reaching only 0.17 m2/USD.

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Effects of roads, topography, and land use on forest cover dynamics in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Forest Ecology and Management ◽

10.1016/j.foreco.2009.10.036 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 259 (3) ◽

pp. 410-417 ◽

Cited By ~ 101

Author(s):

Simone R. Freitas ◽

Todd J. Hawbaker ◽

Jean Paul Metzger

Keyword(s):

Land Use ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest

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Scat detection dogs, DNA and species distribution modelling reveal a diminutive geographical range for the Vulnerable small red brocket deer Mazama bororo

Oryx ◽

10.1017/s0030605316000405 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 51 (4) ◽

pp. 656-664 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

José Maurício Barbanti Duarte ◽

Ângela Cristina Talarico ◽

Alexandre Vogliotti ◽

José Eduardo Garcia ◽

Márcio Leite Oliveira ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Species Distribution ◽

Species Distribution Modelling ◽

Geographical Range ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

Distribution Modelling ◽

Dense Forest ◽

Genetic Sampling ◽

Brocket Deer

AbstractThe small red brocket deer Mazama bororo is endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, a biome that has been greatly fragmented and altered by human activities. This elusive species is morphologically similar to the red brocket deer Mazama americana and the Brazilian dwarf brocket deer Mazama nana, and genetic typing is necessary for reliable identification. To determine the geographical range of M. bororo more accurately, we conducted non-invasive genetic sampling using scat detection dogs trained to locate deer faeces. We surveyed 46 protected areas located within the species’ potential distribution and collected a total of 555 scat samples in 30 of the protected areas. Using a polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism approach, we genotyped 497 scat samples (89%) and detected M. bororo in seven localities in three Brazilian states. The results support a range extension of the small red brocket deer to latitudes 23 and 28°S and longitudes 47 and 49°W. We show that the species’ distribution is associated with 37,517 km2 of the Ombrophilous Dense Forest in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, and this conclusion is supported by species distribution modelling. The small red brocket deer is the largest endemic species in Brazil and may have the smallest geographical distribution of any Neotropical deer species. This species occupies fragmented landscapes and is threatened by human encroachment, poaching, and predation by dogs, and based on our findings we recommend policy intervention for conservation planning of the Ombrophilous Dense Forest.

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Forest cover, extinction thresholds and time lags in woody plants (Myrtaceae) in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest: resources for conservation

Biodiversity and Conservation ◽

10.1007/s10531-013-0575-4 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 22 (13-14) ◽

pp. 3141-3163 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Dary Moreira Gonçalves Rigueira ◽

Pedro Luís Bernardo da Rocha ◽

Eduardo Mariano-Neto

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Woody Plants ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Forest Resources ◽

Time Lags ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest

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Forest cover influences occurrence of mammalian carnivores within Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Journal of Mammalogy ◽

10.1093/jmammal/gyx103 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 98 (6) ◽

pp. 1721-1731 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

André Luis Regolin ◽

Jorge José Cherem ◽

Maurício Eduardo Graipel ◽

Juliano André Bogoni ◽

John Wesley Ribeiro ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest

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The magnitude and extent of edge effects on vascular epiphytes across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-020-75970-1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Edicson Parra-Sanchez ◽

Cristina Banks-Leite

Keyword(s):

Atlantic Forest ◽

Edge Effects ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Species Abundance ◽

Conservation Strategy ◽

Suitable Habitat ◽

Forest Fragments ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

Vascular Epiphytes ◽

Epiphyte Communities

Abstract Edge effects are ubiquitous landscape processes influencing over 70% of forest cover worldwide. However, little is known about how edge effects influence the vertical stratification of communities in forest fragments. We combined a spatially implicit and a spatially explicit approach to quantify the magnitude and extent of edge effects on canopy and understorey epiphytic plants in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Within the human-modified landscape, species richness, species abundance and community composition remained practically unchanged along the interior-edge gradient, pointing to severe biotic homogenisation at all strata. This is because the extent of edge effects reached at least 500 m, potentially leaving just 0.24% of the studied landscape unaffected by edges. We extrapolated our findings to the entire Atlantic Forest and found that just 19.4% of the total existing area is likely unaffected by edge effects and provide suitable habitat conditions for forest-dependent epiphytes. Our results suggest that the resources provided by the current forest cover might be insufficient to support the future of epiphyte communities. Preserving large continuous ‘intact’ forests is probably the only effective conservation strategy for vascular epiphytes.

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Management practices may lead to loss of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal diversity in protected areas of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Fungal Ecology ◽

10.1016/j.funeco.2018.05.001 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 34 ◽

pp. 50-58 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Camilla Maciel Rabelo Pereira ◽

Danielle Karla Alves da Silva ◽

Bruno Tomio Goto ◽

Søren Rosendahl ◽

Leonor Costa Maia

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Fungal Diversity ◽

Management Practices ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal

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Effectiveness of Protected Areas in the Pan-Tropics and International Aid for Conservation

10.20944/preprints202012.0532.v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Do-Hyung Kim ◽

Anupam Anand

Keyword(s):

Protected Areas ◽

Forest Conservation ◽

Forest Cover ◽

International Aid ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Forest Cover Change ◽

Forest Change ◽

Conservation Policies ◽

Socio Economic Variables ◽

The Tropics

Evaluation of the effectiveness of protected areas is critical for forest conservation policies and priorities. To evaluate their effectiveness, we used 30-m resolution forest cover change data between 1990 and 2010 for ~4,000 protected areas and analyzed the relationships of the effectiveness of protected areas with socio-economic variables. Our results show that protected areas in the Tropics avoided 83,500 ± 21,200 km2 of deforestation during the 2000s. Brazil’s protected areas have the largest amount of avoided deforestation of 50,000 km2. We also show the amount of international aid received by tropical countries compared to the effectiveness of protected areas. International aid had major benefits in Latin America led by Brazil while tropical Asian countries used the resource ineffectively. Our results demonstrate that protected areas have been relatively more efficient in countries where deforestation pressures were increasing, and governance and forest change monitoring capacity are important factors for enhancing the efficacy of international aid.

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Early Response of Soil Properties under Different Restoration Strategies in Tropical Hotspot

Land ◽

10.3390/land10080768 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (8) ◽

pp. 768

Author(s):

Katarzyna A. Koryś ◽

Agnieszka E. Latawiec ◽

Maiara S. Mendes ◽

Jerônimo B. B. Sansevero ◽

Aline F. Rodrigues ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Soil Moisture ◽

Ecosystem Services ◽

Soil Quality ◽

Atlantic Forest ◽

Natural Regeneration ◽

Forest Cover ◽

Early Stage ◽

Organic Matter Content ◽

Brazilian Atlantic Forest ◽

The Impact

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has undergone adverse land-use change due to deforestation for urbanization and agriculture. Numerous restoration initiatives have been taken to restore its ecosystem services. Deforested areas have been restored through active intervention or natural regeneration. Understanding the impact of those different reforestation approaches on soil quality should provide important scientific and practical conclusions on increasing forest cover in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome. However, studies evaluating active planting versus natural regeneration in terms of soil recovery are scarce. We evaluate soil dynamics under those two contrasting strategies at an early stage (<10 years). Reforestation was conducted simultaneously on degraded lands previously used for cattle grazing and compared to an abandoned pasture as a reference system. We examined soil physicochemical properties such as: pH, soil organic matter content, soil moisture, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn, Cu, Al, and soil texture. We also present the costs of both methods. We found significant differences in restored areas regarding pH, Na, Fe, Mn content, and the cost. Soil moisture was significantly higher in pasture. Our research can contribute to better decision-making about which restoration strategy to adopt to maximize restoration success regarding soil quality and ecosystem services in the tropics.

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