Ant Assemblage Structure in a Secondary Tropical Dry Forest: The Role of Ecological Succession and Seasonality

This study identified the main biological mechanisms governing the diversity of ants on different ecological time scales. Ants were sampled in 15 plots distributed in early, intermediate and late stages of succession (five plots per stage) at the Parque Estadual da Mata Seca, Brazil. At each sample point, unbaited pitfall traps were installed in hypogaeic, epigaeic and arboreal strata. We collected 95 ant species from 26 genera and nine subfamilies. Our results indicated that there was an increase in species richness in advanced stages of succession. We also observed that ant assemblages were different among successional stages. For the arboreal and epigaeic strata, species richness did not change with succession progression, but species composition of these two strata differed among successional stages. Unlike to arboreal and epigaeic ants, hypogaiec ant species richness was higher in the intermediate and late stages of succession and the composition of hypogaeic ants differed among successional stages. Similarity between ant species foraging in arboreal and epigaeic strata decreases with succession progression and β-diversity was higher in advanced successional stages. Additionally, species richness was higher in the dry season, whereas the composition of ant assemblages did not change between seasons. A considerable fraction of the ant assemblage was found only in advanced stages of succession, demonstrating the importance of secondary habitats in maintaining biodiversity in dry forests

Composição, uso e conservação de espécies arbóreas em quintais de agricultores familiares na região da mata seca norte-mineira, Brasil

Homegardens contain agroforestry systems that provide diverse resources for familyconsumption in rural communities. The aim of this study was to perform an ethnobotanical inventory of the tree speciesand their uses in the homegardens of two small-scale rural farming communities situated near the Mata Seca State Park,Minas Gerais, Brazil, and to understand the potential role of these agroecosystems in the conservation of native treespecies. Local knowledge about species used was assessed using free lists with 20 small-scale farmers selected using thesnowball sampling technique in each community. All shrub and tree species with a circumference at the soil level 10 cmwere sampled in each homegarden. We confirmed that most plant species listed provided food (48.3%) and shade (35.6%),showing the importance of fruit trees and evergreens in the homegarden flora in this local semi-arid context. Other specieswere also cited as medicinal and ornamental plants. Besides that, some species listed were used for construction, fuel,fodder, fertilizer and other uses. Amongst the 87 tree species, 44 are Brazilian natives, and 23 can be found in the dryforests of the region. These results showed that homegardens can contribute to conservation and enhancement of localbiodiversity functioning as a reservoir of species with different biogeographic origins, including regionally endemic andnative trees. Furthermore we conclude that homegardens are important sources of plant resources for home consumptionand contribute towards a balanced diet and to the welfare of the people living in the communities of north Minas Gerais’semi-arid region.Quintais podem ser considerados sistemas agroflorestais domésticos que fornecem diversos recursos para finsde subsistência às famílias que vivem em comunidades rurais e urbanas, especialmente em países tropicais. Este estudoobjetivou realizar um levantamento etnobotânico das espécies arbóreas reconhecidas e utilizadas em quintais de duascomunidades de agricultores familiares situadas no entorno do Parque Estadual da Mata Seca, Minas Gerais, Brasil, bemcomo compreender o papel destes agroecossistemas para a conservação de árvores nativas. O conhecimento local sobre osusos atribuídos às espécies foi acessado por meio de listas livres com 20 agricultores selecionados pela técnica bola-deneveem cada comunidade. Em cada quintal, foram amostradas todas as espécies arbustivas e arbóreas com circunferênciano nível do solo > 10 cm. Verificou-se que a maioria das espécies registradas foi citada por fornecer alimentos (48,3%) esombra (35,6%), evidenciando a importância das árvores frutíferas e perenifólias na composição de quintais no contextosemiárido local. Também foram citadas plantas medicinais e ornamentais, além de espécies mencionadas como material deconstrução, combustível, forragem, adubo, dentre outros usos. Dentre as 87 espécies arbóreas amostradas nos quintais, 44são nativas do território brasileiro e 23 podem ser encontradas nas matas secas da região. Estes resultados evidenciam queos quintais podem contribuir para conservação e incremento da biodiversidade local, funcionando como reservatório deespécies com diversas origens biogeográficas, incluindo árvores endêmicas e nativas da região. Além disso, tambémconcluiu-se que os quintais são importantes fontes de recursos vegetais para autoconsumo, contribuindo principalmentepara complementação alimentar e para o bem-estar das famílias nas comunidades que habitam o Semiárido norte-mineiro.Palavras-chave adicionais: agrobiodiversidade, etnobotânica, Floresta Estacional Decidual

Expanding tropical forest monitoring into Dry Forests: The DRYFLOR protocol for permanent plots

This is the final version. Available on open access from Wiley via the DOI in this recordSocietal Impact Statement Understanding of tropical forests has been revolutionized by monitoring in permanent plots. Data from global plot networks have transformed our knowledge of forests’ diversity, function, contribution to global biogeochemical cycles, and sensitivity to climate change. Monitoring has thus far been concentrated in rain forests. Despite increasing appreciation of their threatened status, biodiversity, and importance to the global carbon cycle, monitoring in tropical dry forests is still in its infancy. We provide a protocol for permanent monitoring plots in tropical dry forests. Expanding monitoring into dry biomes is critical for overcoming the linked challenges of climate change, land use change, and the biodiversity crisis.Newton FundNatural Environment Research Council (NERC)Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São PauloCYTE

Data from: Interception of Rainfall in Successional Tropical Dry Forests in Brazil and Costa Rica

Daily data in mm to estimate rainfall interception in sucessional dry forests of Costa Rica and Brazil, these data include: daily gross rainfall, daily throughfall, daily stemflowl, daily rainfall interception and daily net rainfall collected in three succesional stages of tropical dry forest in Costa Rica and Brazil. This data is linked to the following publication. Calvo-Alvarado, J.C.; Jiménez-Rodríguez, C.D.; Calvo-Obando, A.J.; Marcos do Espírito-Santo, M.; Gonçalves-Silva, T. Interception of Rainfall in Successional Tropical Dry Forests in Brazil and Costa Rica. Geosciences 2018, 8, 486. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences8120486 If you would like to use the database, we request that you: 1. Notify the main address of correspondence (Julio Calvo Alvarado) if you plan to use the database in a publication. 2. Provide recognition of the efforts of this group by using the following citation for the database. Calvo-Alvarado, J. C., Rodríguez, C. J., Calvo-Obando, A. J., Espírito-Santo, M. M. d, & Gonçalves-Silva, T. (2020, August 10). Data from: Interception of Rainfall in Successional Tropical Dry Forests in Brazil and Costa Rica. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/RDM3H 3. This data base is License CC0 1.0 Universa

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Data Bas

Interception of Rainfall in Successional Tropical Dry Forests in Brazil and Costa Rica

Tropical dry forests (TDF) are endangered ecosystems characterized by a matrix of successional forest patches with structural differences across the Neotropics. Until now, there have been few studies that analyze the partitioning of rainfall by forest interception in TDF. To contribute to the understanding of the TDF impact on the hydrological dynamic at the ecosystem and landscape levels, a rainfall interception study was conducted in Santa Rosa National Park in Costa Rica (SRNP) and in Mata Seca State Park in Brazil (MSSP). In each site, three plots per successional stage were studied. The successional stages were early, intermediate, and late. In each plot the rainfall, throughfall, and stemflow were monitored during one rainy season. The relationship between gross rainfall and water fluxes was evaluated using linear regression models. In general, net rainfall oscillated from 79.3% to 85.4% of gross rainfall in all the plots in MSSP without any trend related to forest succession, due to the effect of a high density of lianas in the intermediate and late stage plots. In SRNP, there was a clear trend of net rainfall among successional stages: 87.5% (early), 73.0% (intermediate), and 63.4% (late). Net rainfall correlated negatively only with plant area index in SRNP (r = −0.755, p < 0.05). This study highlights the need to study rainfall interception in successional stages to estimate net rainfall that reaches the soil. This would provide better hydrological information to understand water balance and water fluxes at the level of forest ecosystems and landscapes

Sensoriamento remoto como suporte para quantificação do desmatamento de floresta estacional decidual no Norte de Minas Gerais

This study aimed to evaluate and quantify the deforestation occurred in the area of tropical deciduous forest in northern Minas Gerais State for the years 1986, 1996 and 2006. To this purpose, we used data for the series of TM - Landsat 5, provided by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), and indices derived from these images according to the methodology presented by Carvalho (2005). We also used data provided by the State Forestry Institute (IEF) for the year 2006. Ou results showed that deforestation rates were high during the last 20 years, with strong pressures on the deciduous forest in northern Minas Gerais, especially by cattle raising and irrigated agriculture. Thus, there is an urgent demand for initiatives to stimulate the economic zoning and sustainable use of tropical dry forests in this region. Together with the enforcement of environmental laws, it might mitigate the impacts of deforestation in northern Minas Gerais in the forthcoming decades.Pages: 8583-859

Data from: Understanding patterns of land-cover change in the Brazilian Cerrado from 2000 to 2015

Clearing tropical vegetation impacts biodiversity, the provision of ecosystem services, and thus ultimately human welfare. We quantified changes in land cover from 2000 to 2015 across the Cerrado biome of northern Minas Gerais state, Brazil. We assessed the potential biophysical and social-economic drivers of the loss of Cerrado, natural regeneration and net cover change at the municipality level. Further, we evaluated correlations between these land change variables and indicators of human welfare. We detected extensive land cover changes in the study area, with the conversion of 23,446 km2 and the natural regeneration of 13,926 km2, resulting in a net loss of 9,520 km2. The annual net loss (-1.2% per year) of the cover of Cerrado is higher than that reported for the whole biome in similar periods. We argue that environmental and economic variables interact to underpin rates of conversion of Cerrado, most severely affecting more humid Cerrado lowlands. While rates of Cerrado regeneration are important for conservation strategies of the remaining biome, their integrity must be investigated given the likelihood of encroachment. Given the high frequency of land abandonment in tropical regions, secondary vegetation is fundamental to maintain biodiversity and ecosystem services. Finally, the impacts of Cerrado conversion on human welfare likely vary from local to regional scales, making it difficult to elaborate land use policies based solely on social-economic indicators

Replication Data for: Land use policies and deforestation in Brazilian tropical dry forests between 2000 and 2015

ABSTRACT Tropical Dry Forests (TDFs) have been broadly converted into pastures and crops, with direct consequences to biodiversity, ecosystem services, and social welfare. Such land use and cover changes (LUCC) usually are strongly influenced by government environmental and development policies. The present study aimed at analyzing LUCC in Brazilian TDFs between 2000 and 2015, using the north of Minas Gerais state (128 000 km2) as a case study. We evaluated the potential biophysical and social-economic drivers of TDF loss, natural regeneration and net area change at the county level. Further, we determined the effects of these LUCC variables on socioeconomic indicators. We identified a considerable change in TDF cover, expressed as 9825 km2 of deforestation and 6523 km2 of regeneration, which resulted in a net loss of 3302 km2. The annual rate of TDF cover change was −1.2%, which is extremely high for a vegetation type that is protected as part of the Atlantic Rain Forest biome since 1993. TDF deforestation was directly affected by county area and by the increase in cattle density, and inversely affected by terrain declivity, indicating that land conversion is mostly driven by cattle ranching in flat regions. TDF regeneration was directly affected by county area and inversely affected by the increase in population density and terrain declivity. LUCC variables did not affect welfare indicators, undermining claims from rural sectors that TDF protection would cause a socioeconomic burden for northern Minas Gerais. Our results highlight the importance of naturally regenerating secondary forests to the maintenance of ecosystem integrity and its services, which are frequently neglected in conservation strategies. Hegemonic macroeconomic policies affecting TDFs have been deeply rooted in deforestation for commodities production, and need urgent review because they cause long-term environmental impacts without evidence of welfare gains