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

Coberturas do solo e crescimento da macieira na implantação de um pomar em sistema orgânico de produção Soil coverage and apple tree growth on the establishment of an orchard under organic production system

O uso de coberturas é uma estratégia de manejo do solo que pode influenciar no desenvolvimento de plantas de espécies frutíferas. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o crescimento da macieira, na fase de implantação de um pomar, em resposta ao uso de diferentes materiais e plantas de cobertura de solo. O pomar foi implantado em 2003, em Vacaria-RS, com a cv. Galaxy, sendo conduzido no sistema de produção orgânico. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, com três repetições, envolvendo os seguintes tratamentos nas linhas de plantio: testemunha (sem manejo da cobertura do solo), capina, plástico preto, sombrite, serragem de pínus, acícula de pínus, palha de capim-rabo-de-burro, azevém, aveia-preta, aveia-preta + ervilhaca, aveia-preta + nabo-forrageiro, azevém + trevo-branco + espécies espontâneas e roçada. A cobertura do solo por plantas espontâneas foi avaliada mensalmente no período de primavera-verão, durante dois anos, sendo relacionada com o desenvolvimento da macieira. Os tratamentos capina, plástico preto, acícula de pínus e palha de capim-rabo-de-burro mantiveram a cobertura do solo por plantas espontâneas inferior a 20 %. A altura e o diâmetro das plantas de macieira diminuíram à medida que aumentou a cobertura do solo por plantas espontâneas, evidenciando competição entre ambas.<br>Soil cover is one of the options for weed management in the orchard but this might affect fruit trees development. The objective of this work was to evaluate apple trees growth during the orchard establishment stage by using different materials and soil cover plants. The experimental apple orchard was planted in 2003, in Vacaria, RS, Southern of Brazil, with the cv. Galaxy managed under organic system. The experiment followed the randomized block design, with three replications. The treatments were applied in the tree rows, as follows: control (without weed management), manual weeding, black plastic film, black net, pinus sawdust, pinus needle mulch, Andropogon sp mulch, annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), black oat (Avena strigosa), black oat + common vetch (Vicia sativa), black oat + fodder radish (Raphanus sativus), annual ryegrass + white clover (Trifolium repens) + spontaneous plant cover, weed mowing. The soil covered by weeds was monthly measured, during the spring/summer season, over the second and third years of the orchard establishment, and this was related to the apple trees growth. The treatments with manual weeding, black plastic film, pinus needle and Andropogon mulch maintained the soil cover by weeds below 20 %. The apple tree height and diameter decreased with the increase of soil cover by weeds, reflecting weeds competition with apple trees

Utilização de resíduo agroindustrial de abacaxi desidratado em dietas para caprinos em crescimento: digestibilidade e desempenho Use of dehydrated pineapple by-product in diets for growing goats: digestibility and performance

Avaliou-se o efeito da substituição do feno de coastcross (Cynodon dactylon) pelo resíduo agroindustrial de abacaxi desidratado sobre o desempenho, a digestibilidade aparente e o consumo de nutrientes digestíveis em caprinos em crescimento. Foram utilizadas 24 fêmeas mestiças Saanen x Crioula com peso vivo médio inicial de 19,2 kg, em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com quatro tratamentos, representados pelos níveis de 0, 33, 66 e 100% de inclusão de resíduo agroindustrial de abacaxi desidratado (RAD) em substituição ao feno de coastcross. Não houve efeito dos níveis de substituição sobre os coeficientes de digestibilidade aparente da MS, PB e FDN. A digestibilidade da MO e celulose (CEL) aumentaram linearmente, enquanto a da FDA apresentou efeito quadrático. Os consumos médios de nutrientes digestíveis, em g/kgPV0,75, para os níveis de substituição de 0, 33, 66 e 100% foram, respectivamente, de 62,35; 63,58; 59,53 e 54,47 (MS), 60,40; 61,51; 57,94 e 51,83 (MO), 7,91; 7,86; 7,27 e 6,44 (PB), 24,85; 22,94; 21,61 e 18,75 (FDN), 7,62; 5,30; 5,96 e 7,11 (FDA) e 37,62; 27,83; 32,91 e 31,98 (CEL), resultando em ganhos de peso de 204, 215, 198 e 196 g/dia. A utilização de resíduo agroindustrial de abacaxi desidratado em rações para caprinos melhora os coeficientes de digestibilidade de MO, CEL e FDA e proporciona ganhos de peso satisfatórios em fêmeas em crescimento.<br>The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of replacing coastcross (Cynodon dactylon) hay with a dehydrated pineapple by-product (DPB) on performance, apparent digestibility, and intake of digestible nutrients in growing goats. Twenty-four crossbred Saanen x Criola female goats averaging 19.2 kg of body weight (BW) at the beginning of the trial were used in a completely randomized design. Animals were assigned to one of the following four treatments: 0, 33, 66, or 100% of DPB in the diet. Replacing coastcross hay with DPB did not significantly affect the apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). However, the apparent digestibility of both organic matter (OM) and cellulose (CEL) increased linearly while that of acid detergent fiber (ADF) showed a quadratic effect with the increasing levels of DPB in the diet. The average intake of digestible nutrients, expressed in g/kg BW0.75, for treatments with 0, 33, 66, or 100% of dietary DPB were in this order: 62.35, 63.58, 59.53 and 54.47 for DM; 60.40, 61.51, 57.94 and 51.83 for OM; 7.91, 7.86, 7.27 and 6.44 for CP; 24.85, 22.94, 21.61 and 18.75 for NDF; 7.62, 5.30, 5.96 and 7.11 for ADF; and 37.62, 27.83, 32.91 and 31.98 for CEL. Replacing coastcross hay by DPB in the diet improved the apparent digestibility of OM, CEL, and ADF and resulted in BW that was considered satisfactory for growing female goats