Biodiversity and ecosystem services in the Campo Rupestre: a road map for the sustainability of the hottest Brazilian biodiversity hotspot

Global sustainability rests on a myriad of benefits provided by natural ecosystems that support human livelihoods and well-being, from biodiversity persistence to climate regulation. The undeniable importance of conserving tropical forests has drawn most of the conservation spotlight towards it. However, open ecosystems such as the Brazilian Campo Rupestre (rupestrian grassland), have been historically overlooked despite their high diversity and key associated ecosystem services. We highlight major current threats to the persistence of the Campo Rupestre emphasizing its ecological, social, cultural, geo-environmental, and economic importance. We call attention to the importance of the Campo Rupestre as a reservoir of biodiversity and ecosystem services and offer priority actions that resulted from discussions involving scientists, industry representatives, environmental managers, and other members of civil society. Proposed actions include efforts related to ecological restoration, sustainable ecotourism, protection of traditional ecological knowledge, identification of emerging research questions, and development of tailored public policies. Such issues are integrated into a framework that collectively represents a road map to safeguard the Campo Rupestre from further degradation and steer its historical overexploitation towards sustainable management. Safeguarding the future of non-forest biomes like this poses a challenge to current paradigms of nature conservation. By establishing priorities and guidelines, we propose an actionable plan, which we hope can support informed decision-making policy towards a sustainable use of the Campo Rupestre.Long Term Ecological Research PELD-CRSC-17Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas CNPq/MCTIFundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo 2013/50155-0, 2010/51307-0, 2019/07773-

A research agenda for seed-trait functional ecology

Trait-based approaches have improved our understanding of plant evolution, community assembly and ecosystem functioning. A major challenge for the upcoming decades is to understand the functions and evolution of early life-history traits, across levels of organization and ecological strategies. Although a variety of seed traits are critical for dispersal, persistence, germination timing and seedling establishment, only seed mass has been considered systematically. Here we suggest broadening the range of morphological, physiological and biochemical seed traits to add new understanding on plant niches, population dynamics and community assembly. The diversity of seed traits and functions provides an important challenge that will require international collaboration in three areas of research. First, we present a conceptual framework for a seed ecological spectrum that builds upon current understanding of plant niches. We then lay the foundation for a seed-trait functional network, the establishment of which will underpin and facilitate trait-based inferences. Finally, we anticipate novel insights and challenges associated with incorporating diverse seed traits into predictive evolutionary ecology, community ecology and applied ecology. If the community invests in standardized seed-trait collection and the implementation of rigorous databases, major strides can be made at this exciting frontier of functional ecology.Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Grant Number: R‐90470‐0

Scarabaeoidea (Insecta : Coleoptera) in the Brazilian Cerrado : current state of knowledge

Besouros pertencentes à superfamília Scarabaeoidea ocupam habitats variados, possuem hábitos alimentares diversifi cados, desempenham importante papel ecológico e diversas espécies apresentam importância agrícola. No entanto, estudos com esse grupo na região do Cerrado são escassos. Nesta revisão realizou-se um levantamento dos artigos publicados nos últimos 30 anos a respeito dos Scarabaeoidea no Cerrado. Foram recuperados 64 artigos, realizados em nove unidades da federação, que focavam quatro temas principais espécies praga, aspectos bioecológicos, biodiversidade e importância ecológica, e técnicas e metodologias de coleta de Scarabaeoidea. Os resultados desta revisão indicam que poucos estudos foram realizados com os Scarabaeoidea no Cerrado brasileiro nas últimas décadas frente à importância e diversidade desse grupo de insetos.Beetles belonging to the superfamily Scarabaeoidea occupy different habitats, present feeding habits diversifi ed, play an important ecological role and several species have agricultural importance. However, studies with this group in the Brazilian Cerrado are scarce. In this review we carried out a survey of scientifi c articles published in the past 30 years concerning Scarabaeoidea in the Cerrado. Were found 64 studies in nine Brazilian states. The studies focused on four main topics: pest species, bioecology, biodiversity and ecological importance, techniques and methodologies for collecting Scarabaeoidea. The results of this review indicate that few studies have been conducted with Scarabaeoidea in the Cerrado in recent decades compared to the importance and diversity of this group of insects

Avoiding tailings dam collapses requires governance, partnership and responsibility

Letter to the Edito

Études de la banque de graines et de la pluie de graines dans les pelouses tropicales et méditerranéenne: apport pour la restauration

International audiencePlant community assembly on recently degraded or newly restored ecosystem can be described through the hierarchical filter model. Understanding the functioning of key filters (dispersal, abiotic and biotic filters) is a major prerequisite for successful restoration. The model includes a global species pool, divided in the internal species pool already present on site (i.e. seed bank) and the external species pool, which may disperse to the site (i.e. seed rain). Seed bank studies are thus carried out to identify the resilience potential on degraded sites and topsoil transfer potential efficacy. However, because of scale issues (differences between sampling methods and size of seed bank studies vs. large scale restoration) and of differences in growing conditions (greenhouse studies vs. on-site), seed bank studies can be misleading for restoration. We show examples of reference ecosystem seed bank found to be scarce and poor in target species (4 sp. on average; mainly Brachypodium distachyon and Poa bulbosa) while topsoil transfer allowed the transfer of ca. 60 species / 4 m². Seed rain studies are complementary to seed bank studies to identify resilience issues. Sites with rare seedling establishment and virtually inexistent seed banks can be considered as requiring propagule reintroduction to promote their restoration. If seed rain studies show that some seeds are transported to these degraded sites, the restoration process should then not only focus on propagule reintroduction but mainly on germination and establishment as crucial filters

Études de la banque de graines et de la pluie de graines dans les pelouses tropicales et méditerranéenne: apport pour la restauration

International audiencePlant community assembly on recently degraded or newly restored ecosystem can be described through the hierarchical filter model. Understanding the functioning of key filters (dispersal, abiotic and biotic filters) is a major prerequisite for successful restoration. The model includes a global species pool, divided in the internal species pool already present on site (i.e. seed bank) and the external species pool, which may disperse to the site (i.e. seed rain). Seed bank studies are thus carried out to identify the resilience potential on degraded sites and topsoil transfer potential efficacy. However, because of scale issues (differences between sampling methods and size of seed bank studies vs. large scale restoration) and of differences in growing conditions (greenhouse studies vs. on-site), seed bank studies can be misleading for restoration. We show examples of reference ecosystem seed bank found to be scarce and poor in target species (4 sp. on average; mainly Brachypodium distachyon and Poa bulbosa) while topsoil transfer allowed the transfer of ca. 60 species / 4 m². Seed rain studies are complementary to seed bank studies to identify resilience issues. Sites with rare seedling establishment and virtually inexistent seed banks can be considered as requiring propagule reintroduction to promote their restoration. If seed rain studies show that some seeds are transported to these degraded sites, the restoration process should then not only focus on propagule reintroduction but mainly on germination and establishment as crucial filters

Luz, substrato e temperatura na germinação de sementes de cedro-vermelho Light, substrate and temperature in the germination of seeds of Cedrela odorata

O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o tipo de substrato, a temperatura e os regimes de luz mais adequados à germinação de sementes de Cedrela odorata L. O delineamento experimental adotado, em todos os ensaios, foi o inteiramente casualizado com quatro repetições de 25 sementes cada. As temperaturas constantes de 25 e 30ºC, a temperatura alternada de 20-30ºC e os substratos pó de coco e areia são as melhores condições para a germinação das sementes de C. odorata. A germinação das sementes da espécie estudada não se mostrou sensível aos diferentes regimes de luz aplicados.<br>This work aimed to evaluate the kind of substrate, and temperature and light conditions more suitable for seed germination of Cedrela odorata L. The experimental design adopted in all experiments was the completely randomized design with four repetitions of twenty-five seeds each. The constant temperatures (25 and 30ºC), the alternated temperature (20-30ºC), and the coconut fiber and sand substrates are the better conditions for seed germination of C. odorata. Seed germination of the studied specie showed no sensitiveness to the different levels of light applied