Levantamento florístico de plantas medicinais de um fragmento de campos de altitude da mata atlântica

A mata atlântica apresenta uma grande biodiversidade de espécies vegetais, algumas ameaçadas. Com usos diversos, muitas sofrem com a pressão humana e pela ausência de manejo de áreas relevantes no bioma. O objetivo do presente estudo foi realizar o levantamento florístico de um campo de altitude sobre corpos de bauxita, identificando espécies com potencial medicinal, no município de Poços de Caldas, Minas Gerais. Fez-se uma revisão de literatura dessas espécies, inferindo sobre sua respectiva importância no uso popular, seus componentes químicos e sua atividade biológica. Identificaram-se 42 espécies com potencial medicinal, distribuídas em 19 famílias, com destaque para Asteraceae (22 espécies). Do total de 42 espécies com potencial medicinal, 39 foram relatadas na literatura quanto ao seu uso popular, 37 têm seus componentes químicos estudados e 27 apresentaram registros de pesquisas com aspectos relacionados à atividade biológica. Percebeu-se a questão de diferença de gênero e de diferença etária em relação ao conhecimento sobre plantas medicinais. Verificou-se que as pesquisas sobre plantas medicinais são fragmentadas e realizadas em menor escala. A elaboração de planos de manejo sustentáveis de produtos não madeireiros com potencial medicinal é uma estratégia para conservar a sociobiodiversidade da mata atlântica

Brazils Highway BR-319: The road to the collapse of the Amazon and the violation of indigenous rights

One of the greatest threats to the Brazilian Amazon is the reconstruction and paving of the formerly abandoned Highway BR-319, which would link one of the most conserved blocks in the Amazon forest to the “arc of deforestation” on the southern edge of the region where most forest has already been destroyed. BR-319 and its planned side roads would allow the actors and processes from the arc of deforestation to move into vast areas of unprotected rainforest. In the specific case of this highway, a judicial decision that is not subject to further appeal established that environmental studies for the first section of the highway to be reconstructed (“Lot C”) must be carried out before paving. The federal highway department and the “Civil House” of President Bolsonaro’s presidential office ignored this decision and issued a call for bids for the construction work. Due to the current lack of governance in the BR-319 area and the history of deforestation whenever Amazonian highways are built, the decision on whether to suspend the contract for the “Lot C” is critical for the maintenance of both the ecosystem services of the Amazon forest and the way of life of indigenous and riverside people. This decision is expected to be made shortly by a single person

Organic Soils: Formation, Classification and Environmental Changes Records in the Highlands of Southeastern Brazil

Soils constitute the largest terrestrial carbon (C) pool, representing more than the sum of carbon contained in the atmosphere and vegetation. In this context, organic soils stand out, storing 21% of the global soil organic C stock in only 3% of the Earth’s land surface. Moreover, these soils are a key component in our climate system, biodiversity, water cycle and records of environmental changes. Organic soils require specific attention as they provide a large variety of ecosystem services, but also because of their vulnerability to climate change. In this paper, we present a review of terms and concepts related to organic soils, their formation, pedoenvironments, and taxonomic classification. We also present a synthesis of studies in the highlands of southeastern Brazil using these soils as records of environmental change