IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v11y2020i1d10.1038_s41467-020-20217-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The erosion of biodiversity and biomass in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot

Author

Listed:
  • Renato A. F. Lima

    (Universidade de São Paulo
    Tropical Botany, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2)

  • Alexandre A. Oliveira

    (Universidade de São Paulo)

  • Gregory R. Pitta

    (Universidade de São Paulo)

  • André L. Gasper

    (Universidade Regional de Blumenau)

  • Alexander C. Vibrans

    (Universidade Regional de Blumenau)

  • Jérôme Chave

    (Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, UMR 5174 CNRS, Université Paul Sabatier)

  • Hans Steege

    (Tropical Botany, Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Darwinweg 2
    Systems Ecology, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, De Boelelaan 1087)

  • Paulo I. Prado

    (Universidade de São Paulo)

Abstract

Tropical forests are being deforested worldwide, and the remaining fragments are suffering from biomass and biodiversity erosion. Quantifying this erosion is challenging because ground data on tropical biodiversity and biomass are often sparse. Here, we use an unprecedented dataset of 1819 field surveys covering the entire Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot. We show that 83−85% of the surveys presented losses in forest biomass and tree species richness, functional traits, and conservation value. On average, forest fragments have 25−32% less biomass, 23−31% fewer species, and 33, 36, and 42% fewer individuals of late-successional, large-seeded, and endemic species, respectively. Biodiversity and biomass erosion are lower inside strictly protected conservation units, particularly in large ones. We estimate that biomass erosion across the Atlantic Forest remnants is equivalent to the loss of 55−70 thousand km2 of forests or US$2.3−2.6 billion in carbon credits. These figures have direct implications on mechanisms of climate change mitigation.

Suggested Citation

  • Renato A. F. Lima & Alexandre A. Oliveira & Gregory R. Pitta & André L. Gasper & Alexander C. Vibrans & Jérôme Chave & Hans Steege & Paulo I. Prado, 2020. "The erosion of biodiversity and biomass in the Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-20217-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-20217-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-20217-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/s41467-020-20217-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:11:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-020-20217-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.