News - 2019
Publication addresses the effects of climate change on the conservation of Araucaria
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Each tree species lives in a “niche”, with preferential climate and soil. Araucaria needs a cold and humid climate; the species is adapted and competitive in this climate. The study published in the British journal Global Change Biology identified the areas currently occupied by the species according to climate data. Temperatures were estimated in these areas under the effect of climate change (applying various “scenarios”) and according to their topography.
We identified a few areas that will still be tolerable for Araucaria even under the effects of climate change: we found 3.5% of today's forested areas and 28% of natural field areas (above 1500m altitude).
In the altitude fields the presence of Araucaria is not observed nowadays, but they will likely be occupied by the species, due to the predicted rise in temperatures. It has already occurred in Brazil (about 1.5 degrees between 1900 and 2018) and will occur more sharply in the coming decades (between 2 and 6 degrees by 2100, depending on the success of initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions causing such as the Paris Agreement).
By considering altitude and terrain relief, it was also possible to identify special areas, called “microrefuges”. They consist in valleys of small rivers in the mountains and plateau, where temperatures will be lower and humidity higher than in the surroundings. These stands are likely to host Araucaria in the future. As only a small part of these stands are located in protected areas (National and State parks), these refuges need protection so that the species can survive in them.
Araucaria has already shown its ability to survive in small spaces in adverse conditions and then expand after the climate becomes more favorable again. This was about 3,200 years ago, when Araucaria expanded after surviving a very cold and dry period that reigned after the last glacial age about 18,000 years ago.
In other areas currently occupied by the Araucaria forest, the species will suffer strong competition from hardwood species adapted to the warmer climate, and will not be able to regenerate. Therefore, major changes in the distribution of Santa Catarina forests are in sight and will strongly impact our lives. What should be done to minimize these effects?
a) we must protect the remaining areas with araucaria so that we will have seeds for reforestation;
b) we must plant Araucaria, especially in resilient areas (less impacted by climate change);
c) we must reduce our emissions and CO2: reduce deforestation and reduce the burning of fossil fuels (diesel oil, gasoline in transportation and industries)
Finally, we need to recognize the existence of climate change and public policy needs to be adapted to minimize it!
IFFSC Team attended the largest world's forest research event
Friday, October 11, 2019
IUFRO (International Union of Forest Research Organizations) is an organization with 127 years of history and has held the world forestry congress every 4-5 years in different parts of the world. In its 25th edition, this was the first time the congress took place in Latin America. The IFFSC team, could surely not miss the opportunity to expose the results of their research.
The event was held in Curitiba (PR), from 09/29 to 10/05, and was organized by the Brazilian Forest Service and Embrapa. More than 2,500 scientists from over 90 countries exchanged information and knowledge on technological innovations, up-to-date research results, and future worldwide trends in forest research.
The IFFSC team was represented at the event by six researchers: Alexander C. Vibrans, Daniel A. da Silva, Debora V. Lingner, Heitor P. Uller, Janine K. Likoski and Laio O. Zimmermann.
The researchers attended plenary and technical sessions, poster sessions and side events, undertook oral and poster presentations, promoted the project, and got in contact with researchers from Brazil and other countries.
The team undertook 4 oral presentations and 5 poster presentations, as follows:
A common problem: how to make the NFI data being used (and shared)
Adding value to forest products of secondary atlantic forests in Southern Brazil
Communicating about forest issues with schoolchildren
Integrating canopy structure measurements in national inventories: challenges and opportunities
Large scale assessment of forest attribute dynamics in Southern Brazil
Using Hemispherical Photographs to evaluate the impacts of selective logging
For the IFFSC team, participating in such an event represented more than acquiring new knowledge. It was also an opportunity to share experiences, seek inspiration for future studies, and exchange contacts with other scientists and institutions in the hope of establishing future partnerships.
The next edition of the IUFRO World Congress will take place in 2024, in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
Publication in the journal Scientia Agricola discloses the IFFSC's main results
Monday, August 05, 2019
The paper entitled Insights from a large-scale inventory in the southern Brazilian Atlantic Forest was recently published in the journal Scientia Agricola; it summarizes the main achieved results based on the data collected on the 1st measurement cycle of the IFFSC (2007-2010).
One of the main challenges of large-area inventories, especially those conducted in highly-diverse forests, is defining a suitable design and sampling effort to obtain reliable estimates of species richness and forest attributes. The IFFSC used data gathered within 418 sample plots systematically distributed over the state of Santa Catarina.
Estimates of forest attributes of both live and dead trees were generated for each of the three forest types in Santa Catarina (Table aside).
Sampling sufficiency was evaluated for variables such as number of individuals, basal area and stem volume. A relevant finding was that estimates did not become significantly more precise when more than 70% of the reference sample (n = 418) was used, suggesting that the sample size could be reduced in future remeasurements.
The study also highlights the effect of human impacts on forest conservation. Although our forests shelter a large number of tree/shrub (a total of 831 species), the species richness at the local level is smaller, as well as the basal area, stem volume and biomass stocks are smaller when compared to old-growth forests. Illegal logging and extensive cattle grazing inside forest stands are the main factors that contribute to biodiversity loss and forest productivity decline.
Click here to access the paper. You are invited to visit the Scientific Publications page to check all our papers.
The third publication in the journal Nature
Friday, May 17, 2019
The IFFSC continues to increase its international reach. It was once again part of a study published in the journal Nature. This scientific journal is one of the most respected in the world and has an online audience of about 3 million readers per month.
The article has the title Climatic controls of decomposition drive the global biogeography of forest - tree symbioses. André Luis de Gasper, a member of the project, is a co-author in this publication and participated in the study along with researchers from Stanford University and more than 200 scientists.
In the study, symbiotic relationships among trees and microorganisms were mapped around the world. The data used in the project bring together more than one million sample plots of regional and national forest inventories, integrated by the Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative (GFBI) consortium, which the IFFSC is a member.
The study aimed at characterizing and mapping the global distribution of symbioses and identifying the factors that control this distribution. The researchers point out that the study can help scientists to understand how symbiotic relationships structure the world's forests and how they can be affected by a warmer climate. The study projected the change in symbioses by 2070 if carbon emissions would remain unchanged. This scenario resulted in a reduction of 10% in the biomass of trees of species that are associated with a type of fungus found mainly in colder regions. The researchers cautioned that such a loss could lead to more carbon in the atmosphere because these fungi tend to increase the amount of carbon stored in the soil.
In 2015, another publication with the participation of the IFFSC was published in the journal Nature, entitled Mapping tree density at a global scale, in which the coordinator of the project, Professor Alexander C. Vibrans, was a co-author. The study was even stamped on the cover of the journal.
Monitora-SC/IFFSC at the XIX Brazilian Symposium on Remote Sensing
Thursday, Abril 25, 2019
The XIX Brazilian Symposium on Remote Sensing - SBSR, organized by INPE and Selper Brasil, took place at Santos (SP), from April 14 to 17. The Symposium is held every two years and aims to bring together the technical-scientific community and companies interest in Remote Sensing and Geotechnology to present papers, to debate on research, technological development, teaching and scientific policy carried out in the country and in the world.
The forest engineers and researchers, Adilson Luiz Nicoletti, Alexander Christian Vibrans, and Marcus Boeno, participated in the event. They are involved in the forest monitoring project in Santa Catarina - MonitoraSC, which is inserted into the IFFSC. The purpose of MonitoraSC is to monitor and map the land use coverage of the state and to integrate the IFFSC's field observations and remote sensing data.
During the event, the researchers had the opportunity to meet new technologies, tools and methodologies in remote sensing through lectures and courses, and also to expand their technical-scientific contacts. The MonitoraSC's team also presented two studies at the event aiming to disclose some of the obtained results of the project:
1) Nicoletti, A.L.; Boeno, M.M.; Pessatti, T.B. et al. Accuracy of maps of native and planted forests in Santa Catarina, Southern Brazil. Abstract
2) Boeno, M.M.; Nicoletti, A.L.; Bizon, A.R. et al. Effects of topographic correction methods on natural forest reflectance in a montane region of southern Brazil. Abstract
Professional photographer of the Brazilian Forest Service registers the work of the IFFSC field crew
Friday, March 1, 2019
The IFFSC field crew was joined by the photographer André Dib Ferreira, hired by the Brazilian Forest Service to document the work of the National Forest Inventory's field crews throughout Brazil, in the field campaign at state's beautiful highlands.
One of the highlights of the field campaign was the return to the sample plot 193, located at the head of 'Cânion dos Espraiados'. This plot is located at an altitude of 1,450 m a.s.l. in the region popularly known as "Campo do Padres". The plot had been measured for the first time in March 2009. With the new measurements, it will be possible to quantify tree growth and mortality and changes in species composition, as well as changes in biomass and carbon stocks for this sample point.
The beauty of the region is breathtaking...
Another species was discovered!
Tuesday, February 12, 2019.
Begonia trevisoensis (Begoniaceae) was named after the municipality of Treviso (Southern Santa Catarina), where it was collected.
The species was collected for the first time in 2009 by the biologist Juliane Luzia Schmitt Pereira and collaborators during the IFFSC epiphyte survey carried out in the 1st measurement cycle of the IFFSC. The plant was located in a relatively well-preserved evergreen rainforest remnant in Nova Brasília, Treviso, at 572 m a.s.l. The voucher is stored at Dr. Roberto Miguel Klein Herbarium with the number 698, and it can be consulted at Reflora Virtual Herbarium by the code FURB15200.
The species was described by Julio C. Jaramillo, Ludovic Jean Charles Kollmann and Pedro Fiaschi in the Phytotaxa journal. When studying the Begoniaceae of Santa Catarina, the researcher Julio Jaramillo identified this new species after visiting the Dr. Roberto Miguel Klein Herbarium.
Click here too see the publication with the detailed description of the new species.
Participation in workshop on National Action Plans and Ecological Corridors
Friday, February 08, 2019.
On February 6th and 7th, the IFFSC members, Débora Vanessa Lingner and Laio Zimermann Oliveira, participated in a workshop coordinated by the Instituto do Meio Ambiente de SC – IMA. The event took place at Epagri Training Center (CETREJO), in São Joaquim (SC).
Members of the MMA, ICMBio, WWF Brasil, IMA, CNCFlora, SDS, SEMA-RS, Epagri, UFRGS, Apremavi, Projeto Charão-UPF, Fundação Certi e Fundação Grupo Boticário were also present in the workshop.
The objectives of the workshop were: (1) to prepare for the elaboration of the National Action Plan (PAN) "Planalto Sul"; and (2) to discuss the proposal of creation of a new ecological corridor in Santa Catarina.
The PAN "Planalto Sul" covers part of the territory of the states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul; it will be coordinated by the IMA, in partnership with the SEMA-RS. This PAN integrates the project GEF-Pró-Espécies, a national Strategy for the conservation of critically endangered (CR) species, which is funded by the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund (GEF). The project is an initiative of the Ministry of the Environment (MMA), which seeks to minimize the impacts on endangered species in Brazil, especially those that are critically endangered that do not occur in protected areas, nor are they contemplated by conservation instruments.
The new Ecological Corridor being proposed for Santa Catarina covers a large part of its plateau. The Ecological Corridor includes important remnants of native vegetation that have the power to increase the interaction among the fauna and flora and to stimulate economic development together with biodiversity conservation. Up to now, two projects have been implemented in Santa Catarina (Ecological Corridor in the watersheds of Chapecó and Timbó rivers) that sum up to 10,000 km² in 34 municipalities.