The stress-dominance hypothesis postulates that the importance of competition in plant communities declines with increasing environmental stress while the importance of environmental filters increases. To test this hypothesis for campo rupestre vegetation, we analyzed phylogenetic diversity and community structure of angiosperm communities at two study sites within the Itacolomi State Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Plots representing more favorable habitats, such as those with a higher percentage of rocky outcrops that might permit the tapping of deeper water and nutrient resources as well as higher contents of clay and loam thereby increasing water and nutrient availability, show higher phylogenetic diversity and therefore lower phylogenetic clustering than plots with more sever habitats. This observation is consistent with the stress-dominance hypothesis if we assume ecological niches to be conserved within evolutionary niches. However, more comprehensive studies including tests for phylogenetic signal of ecological niches are necessary before generalizations for larger regions may be carried out.

The environmental benefits and lower implementation costs of (assisted) natural forest regrowth (NFR) compared to tree planting qualify it as a viable strategy to scale up forest restoration. However, NFR is not suitable in all places, because the potential for forest regeneration depends on the socio‐environmental context and differs greatly over space and time. Therefore, it is critical to quantify the potential contribution of NFR for reaching forest restoration targets and complying with environmental policies. Here, we quantify the socio‐environmental consequences of NFR by considering four targets differing in restored area in the Atlantic Forest (6, 8, 15 and 22 Mha). We quantified the compliance with environmental policies, expected distribution of natural and restored vegetation within the biome and social fairness (distribution of restoration efforts and costs within small, medium and large‐sized properties) of two hypothetical forest restoration scenarios. We show that large‐scale forest restoration prioritizing the areas with the highest potential for NFR (Scenario I) allows us to comply with one‐third of the current environmental debt in the Atlantic Forest. Furthermore, this scenario disproportionately burdens specific types of land use, increases socioeconomic inequalities and concentrates restoration activities in regions in which the natural vegetation cover is already high. By contrast, Scenario II—eradicating the environmental debt that results from environmental policies, then prioritizing areas with the lowest overall restoration costs until reaching the restoration targets—is socially fairer and maximizes compliance with environmental policies. Its outcomes are more homogeneously distributed among counties and small, medium and large‐sized properties from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Despite doubling the implementation costs, the lower overall restoration costs in Scenario II result from significantly lower opportunity costs than in Scenario I. Synthesis and application. The environmental, social and economic outputs of large‐scale forest restoration in the Atlantic Forest can be maximized when NFR and tree planting are balanced (Scenario II). To achieve compliance with forest restoration commitments, we thus advocate for the site‐specific selection of the best forest restoration strategy to guarantee social fairness and compliance with environmental policies at minimum overall restoration costs.

Questions The growth–survival trade‐off is a central concept for the conflicting strategies of acquisitive species that grow quicker and conservative species that grow slower. Understanding which, and how, cross‐species functional traits contribute to the growth–survival trade‐off is a key topic for understanding the functioning of tropical forests. The present study aimed to: (a) determine if leaf traits, wood density and fruit size influence the growth–survival trade‐off at the community level; and (b) test the hypothesis that averaged leaf traits, averaged wood density and averaged fruit size among all trees of subplots explain tree height in a 50‐ha plot of secondary Atlantic Forest in Brazil. Methods All trees with DBH > 3 cm had their heights estimated and were taxonomically identified. The functional traits used were leaf length (LL), leaf width (LW), petiole length (PL), petiole width (PW), leaf width/petiole width (LW/PW), leaf length × leaf width (LL*LW), wood density (WD), fruit length (FL) and fruit width (FW). Results A total of 74,335 trees of 178 species were recorded in 5,076 subplots of 100 m2. Associations between functional traits and mean height (Hmean) and height mode (Hmode) were congruent with expected trends of LW, LL, LW/PW, WD and FW with the top‐ranked global model explaining most of the found variance suggesting that Hmean and Hmode are the best averaged response variables. The growth response represented by Hmean and Hmode had the most distinctive, congruent and consistent association with LW/PW, WD and FW. Conclusions Higher LW and higher LW/PW indicated higher dependence of leaf blade on local microclimatic conditions, and lower dependence on petiole support for plant growth, which is beneficial for the acquisitive strategy. Smaller fruits and higher WD were also associated with the acquisitive strategy. Therefore, LW, LW/PW, WD and FW influenced the growth–survival trade‐off at the community level and explained tree height variation in the studied tropical forest.

RESUMOA erosão laminar, devido a sua característica peculiar, é dificilmente detectada por grande parte da população, principalmente nos estágios iniciais, havendo assim a necessidade do estabelecimento de práticas corretas de conservação do solo. A Equação Universal de Perda de Solo (EUPS) busca estimar a perda de solo pela erosão laminar, considerando os fatores condicionantes da erosão. Contudo, existem fatores limitantes, inerentes da busca pela aproximação com a realidade, pois, a EUPS não considera a geometria das vertentes e aborda parcialmente a questão da extensão das vertentes, de grande influência no processo erosivo hídrico de superfície. Desta forma, o objetivo principal desta pesquisa foi aplicar sistemática de obtenção dos dados de comprimento de vertentes (Fator L), considerando como a dinâmica do escoamento superficial interfere nos resultados obtidos com a Equação Universal de Perda de Solo. Como área de estudo, foi selecionada uma bacia hidrográfica de um canal de segunda ordem, que banha a Floresta Escola do Instituto Hidroex em Frutal (MG). Os resultados obtidos indicaram que o Fator L influenciou sensivelmente nos dados, a técnica de obtenção dos dados de extensão de vertentes mostrou-se adequada, apresentando valores diferenciados do Fator LS (Fator Topográfico) ao longo da vertente, bem como a menor generalização dos dados.

Las cuencas de captación son importantes unidades de estudio para el establecimiento de políticas de manejo y conservación de ecosistemas acuáticos. Los embalses son ambientes artificiales directamente influenciados por procesos físicos, químicos y biológicos a los que se someten estas cuencas hidrográficas. Estas influencias determinan las comunidades biológicas en los embalses. Muchos estudios han establecido la relación entre la comunidad del zooplancton como bioindicadora de la calidad del agua. En este contexto, el objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar los efectos de las variables físicas y químicas del agua y el uso y ocupación de la tierra en la comunidad de zooplancton del embalse de São Simão (MG/GO). Las muestras fueron recogidas en dos períodos (sequía y lluvia), en estaciones en los brazos del margen izquierdo (Estado de Minas Gerais) y margen derecho (Estado de Góias) y en el canal principal región limnética del embalse de São Simão. La mayoría de los parámetros físicos y químicos no superaron los límites de calidad del agua y el Índice de Estado Trófico presentó valores entre 39 y 48, clasificando el embalse de São Simão como ultraoligotrófico u oligotrófico. La comunidad del zooplancton caracterizase por la dominancia de Rotifera y Copepoda con densidades más altas en las estaciones a los márgenes derechos del embalse. La razón Calanoida/Cyclopoida clasificó 18 de 22 estaciones de muestreo como oligotróficas en la estación de sequía, pero sólo 7 en la época de lluvias. El primer Análisis de Componentes Principales, considerando los parámetros físicos y químicos, no presentó correlación con los principales grupos de zooplancton. Sin embargo, en el segundo, considerando el uso y ocupación de la tierra, se pudo verificar los efectos de las actividades humanas alrededor del embalse en la comunidad de zooplancton (74.3% de la explicación), donde se observaron densidades más altas de microcrustáceos en estaciones con más embarcaderos, bancos de macrófitas y la vegetación original ahogada, además de extensas áreas de cultivos, ganadería u ocupación humana, predominando en el margen derecho del embalse de São Simão, en el Estado de Goiás. Aunque pueden ser espúrias, estas correlaciones no pueden ser ignoradas porque reflejan, aunque sea indirectamente, el proceso de eutrofización que este embalse se somete.