Mollinedia ruschii (Monimiaceae, Mollinedioideae), a new Critically Endangered species microendemic to the Atlantic rainforest, eastern Brazil

Background – Studies of neotropical Monimiaceae revealed a new species of Mollinedia endemic to the state of Espírito Santo, eastern Brazil. In this study, we describe, illustrate, and compare the new species with related taxa. In addition, ecological comments and extinction risk assessment of the new species are provided.Methods – This study was based on herbarium material and field work observations. The risk of extinction assessment follows the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species’ Criteria and Categories and the latest version of the IUCN Guidelines.Results – Mollinedia ruschii sp. nov. has habitat specificity with few individuals recorded, mainly in the Estação Biológica de Santa Lúcia, a protected area created by Augusto Ruschi, a Brazilian naturalist and researcher, to whom we dedicate the name of the new species. Phytosociological and forest dynamics studies and intensive field work in the area where the species occurs, enabled the detection of the decline of mature individuals in previous decades. Following the IUCN Red List criteria, the species is assessed as Critically Endangered

A list of land plants of Parque Nacional do Caparaó, Brazil, highlights the presence of sampling gaps within this protected area

Brazilian protected areas are essential for plant conservation in the Atlantic Forest domain, one of the 36 global biodiversity hotspots. A major challenge for improving conservation actions is to know the plant richness, protected by these areas. Online databases offer an accessible way to build plant species lists and to provide relevant information about biodiversity. A list of land plants of “Parque Nacional do Caparaó” (PNC) was previously built using online databases and published on the website "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil." Here, we provide and discuss additional information about plant species richness, endemism and conservation in the PNC that could not be included in the List. We documented 1,791 species of land plants as occurring in PNC, of which 63 are cited as threatened (CR, EN or VU) by the Brazilian National Red List, seven as data deficient (DD) and five as priorities for conservation. Fifity-one species were possible new ocurrences for ES and MG states

Dimensioning of bioreactors tanks by computer simulation

Este trabajo tiene el objetivo de dimensionar un biorreactor de forma optimizada. El dimensionamiento correcto y la elección de materiales son ítems imprescindibles para garantizar un buen funcionamiento y rendimiento de la planta para la generación de biogás. Las herramientas computacionales pueden ayudar en el proyecto y dimensionamiento de plantas de biogás. En este trabajo se han ejecutado simulaciones computacionales para conocer el espesor mínimo de las paredes del biorreactor, considerando tres aceros: AISI 318, AISI 316 L y ASTM A36. La simulación de los biorreactores para dimensionamiento y la elección de los materiales se han desarrollado con el uso de software de CAE FEMAP NASTRAN 10.0.2. Los resultados muestran que el material óptimo es el acero AISI 318 mientras que los aceros AISI 316 L y ASTM A36 tuvieron un comportamiento semejante en la simulación.The objective of this work is to optimize and scale a bioreactor. The design and choice of materials are essential aspects to ensure proper operation and performance of the plant for biogas generation. Computational tools can assist in the design and sizing of biogas plants. Computer simulations were performed to determine the minimum plate thickness of the bioreactor considering three types of steels: AISI 318, AISI 316 L y ASTM A36. The simulation of bioreactors for the design and for the choice of materials is done using the software CAE FEMAP NASTRAN 10.0.2. The results show that the optimum material is steel AISI 318 while the steels AISI 316 L y ASTM A36 presented a similar behavior during simulation

Dimensioning of bioreactors tanks by computer simulation

Este trabajo tiene el objetivo de dimensionar un biorreactor de forma optimizada. El dimensionamiento correcto y la elección de materiales son ítems imprescindibles para garantizar un buen funcionamiento y rendimiento de la planta para la generación de biogás. Las herramientas computacionales pueden ayudar en el proyecto y dimensionamiento de plantas de biogás. En este trabajo se han ejecutado simulaciones computacionales para conocer el espesor mínimo de las paredes del biorreactor, considerando tres aceros: AISI 318, AISI 316 L y ASTM A36. La simulación de los biorreactores para dimensionamiento y la elección de los materiales se han desarrollado con el uso de software de CAE FEMAP NASTRAN 10.0.2. Los resultados muestran que el material óptimo es el acero AISI 318 mientras que los aceros AISI 316 L y ASTM A36 tuvieron un comportamiento semejante en la simulación.The objective of this work is to optimize and scale a bioreactor. The design and choice of materials are essential aspects to ensure proper operation and performance of the plant for biogas generation. Computational tools can assist in the design and sizing of biogas plants. Computer simulations were performed to determine the minimum plate thickness of the bioreactor considering three types of steels: AISI 318, AISI 316 L y ASTM A36. The simulation of bioreactors for the design and for the choice of materials is done using the software CAE FEMAP NASTRAN 10.0.2. The results show that the optimum material is steel AISI 318 while the steels AISI 316 L y ASTM A36 presented a similar behavior during simulation

A new species of Mollinedia (Monimiaceae, Laurales) from the Quadrilátero Ferrífero, Brazil

Monimiaceae comprises approximately 26 genera and 250 species, with a pantropical distribution, predominantly occurring in humid forests. In Brazil, it is represented by five genera and 47 species, most of which are found in the Atlantic Forest, particularly in dense ombrophilous forest. Nevertheless, studies on this family in other biomes and vegetation types in Brazil are still scarce. The Quadrilátero Ferrífero (QF), a region located in the state of Minas Gerais, exhibits high plant species richness and endemism. During collections and analysis of herbarium materials from this region, some specimens of Mollinedia caught our attention due to a combination of characteristics that do not match those of any described species within the genus. For this reason, we describe this new taxon and assess its risk of extinction. Additionally, we review the occurrences of Monimiaceae in the QF and provide maps of its geographical distribution. With the description of this new species, the region now hosts eight species of Monimiaceae, two from the genus Macropeplus and six from Mollinedia. The new species is the first endemic species of the Monimiaceae family to be described in the QF. Concerning the extinction risk assessment, the new species was assessed as critically endangered

Extinction risk and threats to plants and fungi

Societal Impact Statement There is increasing awareness that plants and fungi, as natural solutions, can play an important role in tackling ongoing global environmental challenges. We illustrate how understanding current and projected threats to plants and fungi is necessary to manage and mitigate risks, while building awareness of gaps and bias in current assessment coverage is essential to adequately prioritize conservation efforts. We highlight the state of the art in conservation science and point to current methods of assessment and future studies needed to mitigate species extinction. Summary Plant and fungal biodiversity underpin life on earth and merit careful stewardship in an increasingly uncertain environment. However, gaps and biases in documented extinction risks to plant and fungal species impede effective management. Formal extinction risk assessments help avoid extinctions, through engagement, financial, or legal mechanisms, but most plant and fungal species lack assessments. Available global assessments cover c. 30% of plant species (ThreatSearch). Red List coverage overrepresents woody perennials and useful plants, but underrepresents single‐country endemics. Fungal assessments overrepresent well‐known species and are too few to infer global status or trends. Proportions of assessed vascular plant species considered threatened vary between global assessment datasets: 37% (ThreatSearch), and 44% (International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species). Our predictions, correcting for several quantifiable biases, suggest that 39% of all vascular plant species are threatened with extinction. However, other biases remain unquantified, and may affect our estimate. Preliminary trend data show plants moving toward extinction. Quantitative estimates based on plant extinction risk assessments may understate likely biodiversity loss: they do not fully capture the impacts of climate change, slow‐acting threats, or clustering of extinction risk, which could amplify loss of evolutionary potential. The importance of extinction risk estimation to support existing and emerging conservation initiatives is likely to grow as threats to biodiversity intensify. This necessitates urgent and strategic expansion of efforts toward comprehensive and ongoing assessment of plant and fungal extinction risk

Using online databases to produce comprehensive accounts of the vascular plants from the Brazilian protected areas: The Parque Nacional do Itatiaia as a case study

Brazil is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world, with about 37,000 species of land plants. Part of this biodiversity is within protected areas. The development of online databases in the last years greatly improved the available biodiversity data. However, the existing databases do not provide information about the protected areas in which individual plant species occur. The lack of such information is a crucial gap for conservation actions. This study aimed to show how the information captured from online databases, cleaned by a protocol and verified by taxonomists allowed us to obtain a comprehensive list of the vascular plant species from the "Parque Nacional do Itatiaia", the first national park founded in Brazil. All existing records in the online database JABOT (15,100 vouchers) were downloaded, resulting in 11,783 vouchers identified at the species level. Overall, we documented 2,316 species belonging to 176 families and 837 genera of vascular plants in the "Parque Nacional do Itatiaia". Considering the whole vascular flora, 2,238 species are native and 78 are non-native.The "Parque Nacional do Itatiaia" houses 13% of the angiosperm and 37% of the fern species known from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Amongst these species, 82 have been cited as threatened, following IUCN categories (CR, EN or VU), seven are data deficient (DD) and 15 have been classified as a conservation priority, because they are only known from a single specimen collected before 1969

Floristic survey of vascular plants of a poorly known area in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (Flona do Rio Preto, Espírito Santo)

The Atlantic Forest is one of the most threatened biomes in the world. Despite that, this biome still includes many areas that are poorly known floristically, including several protected areas, such as the "Floresta Nacional do Rio Preto" ("Flona do Rio Preto"), located in the Brazilian State of Espírito Santo. This study used a published vascular plant species list for this protected area from the "Catálogo de Plantas das Unidades de Conservação do Brasil" as the basis to synthesise the species richness, endemism, conservation and new species occurrences found in the "Flona do Rio Preto".The published list of vascular plants was based on field expeditions conducted between 2018 and 2020 and data obtained from herbarium collections available in online databases. Overall, 722 species were documented for the "Flona do Rio Preto", 711 of which are native to Brazil and 349 are endemic to the Atlantic Forest. In addition, 60 species are geographically disjunct between the Atlantic and the Amazon Forests. Most of the documented species are woody and more than 50% of these are trees. Twenty-three species are threatened (CR, EN and VU), while five are Data Deficient (DD). Thirty-two species are new records for the State of Espírito Santo. Our results expand the knowledge of the flora of the Atlantic Forest and provide support for the development of new conservation policies for this protected area