The Atlantic Forest of South America: spatiotemporal dynamic of remaining vegetation and implications for conservation

Vancine, M. H.; Muylaert, R. L.; Niebuhr, B. B.; Oshima, J. E. d. F.; Tonetti, V.; Bernardo, R.; De Angelo, C.; Rosa, M. R.; Grohmann, C. H.; Ribeiro, M. C.

doi:10.1101/2023.09.16.558076

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2023.09.16.558076

The Atlantic Forest of South America: spatiotemporal dynamic of remaining vegetation and implications for conservation

Vancine, M. H.·Muylaert, R. L.·Niebuhr, B. B.·Oshima, J. E. d. F.·Tonetti, V.·Bernardo, R.·De Angelo, C.·Rosa, M. R.·Grohmann, C. H.·Ribeiro, M. C.

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Abstract

The Atlantic Forest in South America (AF) is one of the worlds most diverse and threatened biodiversity hotspots. We present a comprehensive spatiotemporal analysis of 34 years of AF landscape change between 1986-2020. We analyzed landscape metrics of forest vegetation only (FV), forest plus other natural vegetation (NV), and investigated the sensitivity of metrics to linear infrastructure. Currently, remnants comprise about 23% of FV and 36% of NV, and have decreased by 2.4% and 3.6% since 1986, respectively. Linear infrastructure negatively affected large fragments (>500,000 ha) by breaking them apart. Our findings suggest that AF protection legislation adopted in mid-2005 has taken effect: between 1986-2005, there was a loss of FV and NV (3% and 3.45%) and a decrease in the number of FV and NV fragments (8.6% and 8.3%). Between 2005-2020, there was a relative recovery of FV (1 Mha; 0.6%), slight loss of NV (0.25 Mha; 0.15%) and increase in the number of FV and NV fragments (12% and 9%). Still, 97% of the vegetation fragments are small (<50 ha), with an average fragment size between 16 and 26 ha. Furthermore, 50-60% of the vegetation is <90 m from its edges, and the isolation between fragments is high (250-830 m). Alarmingly, protected areas and indigenous territories cover only 10% of the AF and are very far from any fragments (>10 km). Our work highlights the importance of legislation and landscape dynamics analysis to help monitor and keep track of AF biodiversity conservation and restoration programs in the future. HighlightsO_LIThere is 23% forest and 36% natural vegetation cover remaining in the Atlantic Forest. C_LIO_LIBetween 1986-2020, native forest cover decreased by 2.4% and natural vegetation by 3.6%. C_LIO_LISince 2005, there has been a 1 Mha increase in forest area by small fragments (1 ha). C_LIO_LIRoads and railways reduced by 56%-89% fragment size, especially on large fragments. C_LIO_LIAlarmingly, 97% of fragments are small (<50 ha) and 60% are under edge effect (<90 m). C_LI

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Vancine, M. H., Muylaert, R. L., Niebuhr, B. B., Oshima, J. E. d. F., Tonetti, V., Bernardo, R., De Angelo, C., Rosa, M. R., Grohmann, C. H., Ribeiro, M. C.. 2023-09-17. The Atlantic Forest of South America: spatiotemporal dynamic of remaining vegetation and implications for conservation. https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.09.16.558076

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