Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (124)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by RATTER, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by BRIDGEWATER, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by RATTER, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by BRIDGEWATER, S.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by RATTER, J. A.
Right arrow Articles by BRIDGEWATER, S.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Annals of Botany 80: 223-230, 1997
© 1997 Annals of Botany Company

COMMUNICATION

The Brazilian Cerrado Vegetation and Threats to its Biodiversity

J. A. RATTER+,, J. F. RIBEIRO and S. BRIDGEWATER

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh, EH3 5LR, UK EMBRAPA, Centro de Pesquisa Agropecuária dos Cerrados (CPAC), BR 020-km 18, CEP 73301–970, Planaltina, DF, Brazil

March 6, 1997 ; May 22, 1997 .

ABSTRACT

The Brazilian cerrado (savanna) biome covers 2 million km2representing 23% of the area of the country. It is an ancient biome with rich biodiversity, estimated at 160000 species of plants, fungi and animals. There are about 800 species of trees and large shrubs in the savanna vegetation and several times that number of ground species (herbs and subshrubs). When the flora of gallery forests, mesophytic forests and other habitats occurring in the biome are included, the total number of vascular plant species is estimated to reach about 10000. During the last 25 years modern agriculture has been developed in the cerrado to produce soya, maize, rice, etc and enormous numbers of cattle are raised in planted pastures. Charcoal production for the Brazilian steel industry also causes great destruction of the cerrado. By 1994 an estimated 695000 km2of cerrado (representing 35% of its area) had been converted to ‘anthropic landscape’. This compares to the destruction of about 400000 km2of Brazilian Amazonian forest representing 12 or 13% of the area of this biome. Conservation initiatives are now desperately needed. Only 1.5% of the cerrado biome is preserved as Federal Reserves and this area needs to be at least tripled. Surveys of the vascular flora aimed at discovering biogeographic patterns are now in progress with the objective of choosing representative areas and biodiversity ‘hot spots’ for conservation.

Brazil; cerrado; biodiversity; conservation


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Food Science and Technology InternationalHome page
M.I. Genovese, M. Da Silva Pinto, A.E. De Souza Schmidt Goncalves, and F.M. Lajolo
Bioactive Compounds and Antioxidant Capacity of Exotic Fruits and Commercial Frozen Pulps from Brazil
Food Science and Technology International, June 1, 2008; 14(3): 207 - 214.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
E. A. A. da Silva, D. L. B. de Melo, A. C. Davide, N. de Bode, G. B. Abreu, J. M. R. Faria, and H. W. M. Hilhorst
Germination Ecophysiology of Annona crassiflora Seeds
Ann. Bot., May 1, 2007; 99(5): 823 - 830.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Bot.Home page
B. Marazzi, P. K Endress, L. P. d. Queiroz, and E. Conti
Phylogenetic relationships within Senna (Leguminosae, Cassiinae) based on three chloroplast DNA regions: patterns in the evolution of floral symmetry and extrafloral nectaries
Am. J. Botany, February 1, 2006; 93(2): 288 - 303.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.