Delimiting floristic biogeographic districts in the Cerrado and assessing their conservation status
Françoso, R; Dexter, KG; Machado, RB; et al.Pennington, T; Pinto, JRR; Brandao, RA; Ratter, JA
Date: 27 July 2019
Journal
Biodiversity and Conservation
Publisher
Springer
Publisher DOI
Abstract
The Cerrado is a biodiversity hotspot in central Brazil that represents the largest
expanse of savanna in the Neotropics. Here, we aim to identify and delimit
biogeographic districts within the Cerrado, to provide a geographic framework for
conservation planning and scientific research prioritisation. We used data from 588 sites
with ...
The Cerrado is a biodiversity hotspot in central Brazil that represents the largest
expanse of savanna in the Neotropics. Here, we aim to identify and delimit
biogeographic districts within the Cerrado, to provide a geographic framework for
conservation planning and scientific research prioritisation. We used data from 588 sites
with tree species inventories distributed across the entire Cerrado. To identify districts,
we clustered sites based on their similarity in tree species composition. To investigate
why districts differ in composition, we 1) determined the proportion of tree species in
different districts that derive from other biomes, to assess the influence of neighbouring
biomes upon geographically marginal districts and 2) assayed key climatic differences
between districts, to test the effect of environmental factors upon compositional
differences. We found seven biogeographic districts within the Cerrado. Marginal
districts have a large proportion of tree species characteristic of Amazonia and Atlantic
Forest, but the Cerrado endemic species are also important. Further, districts differed
significantly for multiple climatic variables. Finally, to provide a preliminary
conservation assessment of the different districts, we assessed their rate of land
conversion and current coverage by protected areas. We found that districts in the south
and southwest of the Cerrado have experienced the greatest land conversion and are the
least protected, while those in the north and northeast are less impacted and better
protected. Overall, our results show how biogeographic analyses can contribute to
conservation planning by giving clear guidelines on which districts merit greater
conservation and management attention.
Geography - old structure
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