Summary
In spite of the existence of a vast body of information on the plant diversity of the Amazon, there remain significant obstacles to informed decision-making and management for conservation. Species distributions are poorly understood and the relationships between diversity and composition of vegetation, ecosystem services and resilience to climatic fluctuations are insufficiently clear. The geographic distribution of phylogenetic diversity in relation to current protected areas is unexplored and very little is known about intraspecific genetic variability and its practical significance. Interpretation of vegetation differentiation and distribution remains relatively simplistic; there are still large parts of the basin for which few or no botanical data exist, and many rare and sparsely distributed species remain undiscovered. Improved understanding of the ecological roles, dynamics and associations of the species of greatest importance for the maintenance of sustainable livelihoods and ecosystem services, habitat restoration and adaptation to climate change is a high priority. In many cases these are common and widespread species. Some of these issues are explored by looking at the Cristalino region in northern Mato Grosso as a case-study. Effective integration, quality assessment, synthesis and application of existing data on the plant diversity of the Amazon will help to address these issues. However, more targeted information is needed from the ground. Future prioritisation of research effort will require a careful and pragmatic balance between the ‘traditional’ focus on rare and endemic species and species-rich communities, and the growing need to understand the key ‘framework’ elements that will determine the future of the Amazon environment. Similar situations are faced elsewhere in the tropics: for botanical research institutes in the 21st century this demands an urgent re-evaluation of core activities and concerted engagement with the issues and challenges facing conservation in a context of rampant population growth, climate change and environmental destruction.
Resumo
Apesar da existência de um grande volume de informação a respeito da diversidade vegetal da Amazônia, uma série de obstáculos ainda dificulta a tomada de decisões devidamente informadas sobre conservação e manejo sustentável da região. Falta conhecimento com relação à distribuição das espécies, e às interações entre diversidade e composição da vegetação, aos serviços do ecossistema e sua adaptabilidade e resistência às flutuações climáticas. A distribuição da diversidade filogenética das espécies em relação às áreas atualmente protegidas ainda é desconhecida, e muito pouco é sabido sobre o significado prático da variabilidade intraespecífica. A interpretação dos diferentes tipos de vegetação permanece extremamente simplificada, com grandes áreas da bacia para as quais não há dados botânicos disponíveis ou os mesmos são insuficientes, e muitas espécies raras ou esparsamente distribuídas ainda aguardam descobrimento. Uma melhor compreensão dos papéis ecológicos, da dinâmica e das associações das espécies mais importantes para a manutenção de estilos de vida sustentáveis e dos serviços do ecossistema, recuperação de áreas degradadas e adaptabilidade às mudanças climáticas, são as grandes prioridades. Em muitos casos essas espécies são comuns e amplamente distribuídas. Alguns desses temas são explorados utilizando a região do Cristalino, no norte do Mato Grosso, como um estudo de caso. A integração efetiva, o controle da qualidade, a síntese e a aplicação dos dados existentes da diversidade vegetal da Amazônia serão fundamentais para a solução dessas questões. No entanto, ainda é necessário gerar a informação relevante a partir do estudo da área. A priorização das pesquisas futuras requer um equilíbrio cuidadoso e prático entre o foco ‘tradicional’, interessado em espécies raras e endêmicas e nas comunidades ricas em termos de espécies e a necessidade crescente de compreender os elementos da ‘estrutura’ que irá determinar o futuro do bioma amazônico. Situações semelhantes estão sendo enfrentadas nos trópicos como um todo: os institutos botânicos do século 21 precisam reavaliar urgentemente as suas principais atividades e engajar-se de modo coordenado para incluir os tópicos e desafios causados pelo crescimento populacional desordenado, mudanças climáticas e destruição ambiental.
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Notes
In the first quarter of 2009 Mato Grosso was listed as the state with the highest deforestation rate in the Brazilian Amazon (INPE-DETER — http://www.amazonia.org.br/noticias/print.cfm?id=296443; Imazon — http://www.imazon.org.br/novo2008/publicacoes_ler.php?idpub=672).
RAINFOR is an international project bringing together a network of researchers and permanent forest plots in Amazonia to improve understanding of ecosystem dynamics and relationships with climate.
Malvaceae and Apocynaceae are here used in their broad sense following Souza & Lorenzi (2005).
Analysing the range of 131 species found in this vegetation type, 23% (31% of the trees) were linked to campinarana vegetation, 23% (25% of the trees) to cerrado and 12% (8% of the trees) were widely distributed Amazonian species. The remaining species were classified as widely distributed and, although many of these do occur in campo/cerrado, they are not exclusive to these habitats, occurring scattered throughout Brazil and other countries e.g. Bolivia, Guiana, Venezuela and Colombia.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Terry Pennington for sharing his unpublished Meliaceae data, Justin Moat of Kew’s GIS Unit for help with maps, two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments, and the organisers of the Kew 250th anniversary conference, particularly Mike Fay and Rhian Smith, for arranging a stimulating and diverse meeting.
Regarding Projeto Flora Cristalino, we would like to thank CNPq for the collecting permit (EXC 13/07), Renato de Mello-Silva and staff at Universidade de São Paulo, Renato A. de Farias, Gracieli S. Henicka, José H. Piva and all staff at Fundação Ecológica Cristalino, Cristalino Jungle Lodge and Hotel Floresta Amazônica, José F. Ramos, Carlos Franciscon and José Eduardo L. S. Ribeiro from INPA, Célia Soares, staff and students from Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso - AF, staff from SEMA (Eliani Fachim, Eliani Pena, Elton Silveira, Martinho Philippsen, Marcos Bessa and Ênio Beltrante), Jovita Yesilyurt, Nicky Biggs, Sue Frisby and many colleagues and students who participated in the fieldwork.
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Milliken, W., Zappi, D., Sasaki, D. et al. Amazon vegetation: how much don’t we know and how much does it matter?. Kew Bull 65, 691–709 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-010-9236-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12225-010-9236-x