MotivationThe BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community‐led open‐source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables includedThe database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grainBioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2).Time period and grainBioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurementBioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.Software format.csv and .SQL.

The high species richness of tropical forests has long been recognized, yet there remains substantial uncertainty regarding the actual number of tropical tree species. Using a pantropical tree inventory database from closed canopy forests, consisting of 657,630 trees belonging to 11,371 species, we use a fitted value of Fisher's alpha and an approximate pantropical stem total to estimate the minimum number of tropical forest tree species to fall between ∼ 40,000 and ∼ 53,000, i.e., at the high end of previous estimates. Contrary to common assumption, the Indo-Pacific region was found to be as species-rich as the Neotropics, with both regions having a minimum of ∼ 19,000-25,000 tree species. Continental Africa is relatively depauperate with a minimum of ∼ 4,500-6,000 tree species. Very few species are shared among the African, American, and the Indo-Pacific regions. We provide a methodological framework for estimating species richness in trees that may help refine species richness estimates of tree-dependent taxa.

Patches of natural vegetation remaining in landscapes occupied by man are continuously under threat due to the edge effects and also to land use types around these remnants. The most frequent threats and land use types in the vicinity of 81 Cerrado (tropical savanna type) fragments in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, were analyzed in order to verify if the frequency of every type of disturbance to the natural ecosystem depends on the neighboring land use. The hypothesis of the study assumes that environmental threats are correlated with land use around protected areas. From the 81 areas, the most frequent human-induced land cover types around the Cerrado remnants were: pasture (recorded in 78% of the areas), sugarcane plantations (26%), roads (19%), annual crops and reforestation (14% each). The most frequent sources of threats were invasive grasses (35% of the areas partially or totally invaded) and cattle (observed in 32% of the areas), followed by deforestation (21%), and fire (21%). The chi-square analysis revealed that, with the exception of deforestation, which does not depend on land use, all other threats are influenced by the neighboring land use. The occurrence of invasive grasses and fires are strongly favored by the presence of roads and urban areas. Sugarcane, reforestation, and permanent crops were the less impacting land use types found in the study area, when only considering impact frequency. These land use types have fire and weed control, and also exclude cattle, indirectly protecting natural ecosystems. Key words: savanna, conservation, impact, fragmentation, land use AMEAÇAS A FRAGMENTOS DE CERRADO NO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO, BRASILRESUMO: Fragmentos remanescentes de vegetação natural em paisagens antropizadas sofrem ameaças permanentes, devido aos efeitos de borda e às atividades antrópicas nas áreas limítrofes. Para verificar a hipótese de que o tipo de ameaça ao ecossistema e a sua freqüência dependem do uso da terra no seu entorno, foram analisados 81 fragmentos de Cerrado no estado de São Paulo. Para cada fragmento foram registrados os tipos de perturbação no ecossistema e os tipos de uso da terra no seu entorno. Os usos mais freqüentes foram pastagens cultivadas (registradas em 78% das áreas), plantio de canade-açúcar (26%), rodovias (19%), reflorestamento (14%) e culturas anuais (14%). As ameaças mais freqüentemente registradas foram gramíneas invasoras (35% das áreas parcial ou totalmente invadidas), presença de gado (32%), desmatamento (21%) e fogo (21%). A análise da freqüência observada de cada tipo de impacto mediante a freqüência esperada caso não houvesse influência do uso da terra (qui-quadrado), mostrou que as ameaças dependem do uso da terra nas áreas ao redor dos fragmentos, exceto para o desmatamento, que tem ocorrido indiferentemente ao tipo de uso. Gramíneas invasoras e fogo são muito mais freqüentes na vizinhança de rodovias e zonas urbanas, enquanto que o plantio de cana-de-açúcar, silvicultura e fruticultura têm sido os usos da terra menos impactantes para a vege...

-(Structure and diversity of the arboreal component of the forest at Caetetus Ecological Station, Gália, SP). Phytosociology of distinct tree strata in tropical forests can be an important tool to understand community dynamics. The arboreal community of an area (6,000 m 2 ) of mature forest was surveyed at the Caetetus Ecological Station, Gália, São Paulo State, Brazil. This protected area has one of the last significant forest remnants in Western São Paulo State, covering an area of 2,178.84 ha in a region where coffee plantation and pasture are dominant. Although the fragment has been protected against fire and exploitation for many years, there are visible edge effects. The sampling area in this study was intended to be representative of the original primary forest, free from edge effects. The arboreal community was divided into three strata: DBH equal to or higher than 5 cm (upper), DBH between 1 and 5 cm (intermediate) and DBH below 1 cm (lower). In each layer, 60 permanent plots, with different sizes were installed, being: 10 x 10 m (upper layer); 10 x 2 m (intermediate layer) and 2 x 2 m (lower layer). The upper stratum had 1,080 ind.ha -1 , 62 species (28 families), being the most important (decreasing order): Metrodorea nigra, Savia dictyocarpa, Ocotea indecora, Aspidosperma polyneuron and Trichilia catigua. The intermediate stratum had 3,525 ind.ha -1 , 30 species (17 families), being the most important: Metrodorea nigra, Actinostemon concolor, Trichilia catigua, Aspidosperma polyneuron and Trichilia claussenii. The density in the lower stratum was 28,875 ind.ha -1 , from 37 species (19 families), being the most abundant, in decreasing relative density: Metrodorea nigra, Actinostemon concolor, Trichilia catigua, Aspidosperma polyneuron and Eugenia blastantha. Some of the species of the upper stratum was absent in the other strata, especially heliophytes, typical from early sucessional stages (e.g. Croton floribundus). Other species had decreasing importance values from the upper to the lower stratum (e.g. Savia dictyocarpa and Ocotea indecora). There were species whose seeds germinated but plants did not grow in the shade (e.g. Cariniana estrellensis). Finally, there was a group of species, typical from late successional stages, that had similar relative density in all strata, e.g. Metrodorea nigra and Aspidosperma polyneuron.RESUMO -(Estrutura e diversidade do componente arbóreo da floresta na Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, Gália, SP). O estudo fitossociológico, se realizado em diferentes estratos verticais da floresta, fornece dados de grande valia para a compreensão da dinâmica da comunidade. Efetuou-se levantamento das espécies arbóreas presentes em diferentes estratos, em área de 6.000 m 2 de floresta madura, na Estação Ecológica dos Caetetus, Gália, SP. Foram utilizadas 60 parcelas de 10 x 10 m, para indivíduos com diâmetro do caule a 1,30 m acima do nível do solo (DAP) a partir de 5 cm (estrato superior); 10 x 2 m, para indivíduos com DAP entre 1 e 5 cm (estrato intermediário) e 60 sub...

The main objective of this study was to characterize the tree arboreal species composition and to compare secondary and mature forests of the Morro Grande Forest Reserve (Cotia, metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil). Based on this evaluation, we discuss the forest type classification and the conservation value of this Reserve. We used the point centered quarter method, sampling 2,400 trees in six different sites, three with secondary forests and three other ones with a predominance of mature forests. In each site, four blocks of 25 points were assessed, totalizing 100 points or 400 individuals. The blocks were 200 m apart from each other. Data were analyzed through cluster and Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA). Results showed differences among sites, essentially differentiating the secondary and mature sites. DCA and cluster analyses were particularly useful to detect characteristic species for these two main successsional stages. Among the 260 species observed, only 12 were sampled in the six sites. Richness and diversity were surprisingly high when compared with previous studies in the study region. The Shannon diversity values were among the highest in the state of São Paulo, with 4.75 nats/tree for the whole sampling, 4.25 nats/tree for the three secondary sites, and 4.54 nats/tree for the three mature sites. The studied forest may be essentially classified as "Dense Mountain Rain Forest" presenting species from the Araucaria mixed forest, and also from the semi-deciduous forest and Cerrado (woody savanna) region. Those results seem to confirm the hypothesis of a "high montane refuge" in drier climatic conditions in the past. The high richness and mixed composition of different floras highlighted the importance to preserve the Morro Grande forest.