Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time, and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space. While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes, vast areas of the tropics remain understudied. In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity, but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases. To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge, it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Desvendar os efeitos das descargas de águas residuais tratadas na qualidade da água em um sistema de lagoa costeira (Ria Formosa, Sul de Portugal): Relevância das condições hidrodinâmicas

This study aimed to assess the influence of treated wastewater disposal on Ria Formosa coastal lagoon (South Portugal), the largest national producer of bivalve mollusks. Water quality was evaluated at two areas under different wastewater loads and hydrodynamic conditions, using physico-chemical variables, bacterial indicators of contamination, chlorophyll-a concentration, phytoplankton abundance and composition. Samples were collected monthly, between October 2018 and September 2019. Minor influence of effluent discharge was detected at the eastern Olhao ˜ area, exposed to stronger hydrodynamics and higher wastewater load than the northwestern Faro area (ca. 2–4-fold total nitrogen and phosphorus). The lower load weakly flushed area showed a poorer water quality, up to 500 m from the discharge point, more marked during the spring-summer period. The intensity, persistence, and spatial extent of the wastewater footprint, lower for the highest-loading area, reflected the role of local hydrodynamic conditions, modulating the influence of wastewater discharge on lagoonal water quality.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Análise florística e estrutural de sistemas agroflorestais das várzeas do rio Juba, Cametá, Pará Floristic and structural analysis of agroforestry floodplain systems of the Juba river, Cametá, Pará

Estudou-se a composição florística e a estrutura de sistemas agroflorestais (SAF) nas várzeas do rio Juba, Município de Cametá-PA. Utilizou-se sete parcelas de 0,25 ha (50 m x 50 m) em SAF tradicionais. Cada parcela foi dividida em 25 sub-parcelas de 10 m x 10 m. As espécies foram classificadas quanto aos tipos de usos e em três níveis de comercialização. Nos sete SAF foram inventariados 21060 indivíduos/ha com CAP e" 10 cm ou (média de 3009 indivíduos/ha), pertencentes a 27 famílias, 53 gêneros e 61 espécies. Cinco espécies (8 %) são comuns aos sete SAF. O uso energético (lenha e carvão) foi o mais freqüente (63 %). Os SAF apresentaram maior percentual de espécies comerciais (46 %). Espécies comumente encontradas nas várzeas da Amazônia brasileira foram importantes nesse estudo: Euterpe oleracea Mart., Theobroma cacao L., Virola surinamensis (Rol.) Warb., Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg. e Carapa guianensis Aubl. Euterpe oleracea e Theobroma cacao, juntas apresentaram Dr média de 80 % e IVImédio de 48 %. Os valores médios de abundância, área basal e IVI, bem como os percentuais de espécies potenciais e comerciais indicam grandes possibilidades de sustentabilidade se adotado manejo adequado e racional nesses importantes ecossistemas antrópicos da Amazônia Oriental.<br>This study analyzed the floristic composition and the structure of traditional agroforestry systems (SAF) in the floodplains of the river Juba, Cametá, Pará. The survey was made on seven plots of 0.25 ha (50 m x 50 m). Each plot was divided into 25 sub-plots of 10 m x 10 m. The species were classified in types of use and levels of commercialization. In seven SAF were surveyed 21060 individuals/ha with CAP e" 10 cm or (average of 3009 individuals/ha), belonging to 27 families, 53 genera and 61 species. Five species (8%) were common to the seven SAF. The most frequent (63 %) use of species was energy (firewood and coal). Most species were commercial (46%). Species commonly found in Brazilian the Amazon floodplains were important in this study: Euterpe oleracea Mart., Theobroma cacao L., Virola surinamensis (Rol.) Warb., Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg. and Carapa guianensis Aubl. Euterpe oleracea and Theobroma cacao; together these presented Drmedium of 80 % and IVImedium of 48 %. The average of abundance, basal area and IVI, as well as the percentages of potential and commercial species, indicated great sustainability possibilities if appropriate and rational handling were adopted in these important anthropic ecosystems of the Eastern Amazonian