Ex Situ Conservation in the Brazilian Semiarid: Cactaceae Housed in the Collection of the Guimarães Duque Cactarium

Abstract

Nearly 1/3 of all cacti species in the world are at risk of extinction because of human impacts. In Brazil, Cactaceae is among the 10 most endangered families of national flora, making conservation measures essential for this family. In this paper, we document the species preserved in the ex situ collection at the Guimarães Duque Cactarium (CAGD) located in the National Institute of Semiarid, Paraíba state, Brazil. The collection consists of 158 species and 1013 specimens, including mostly Cactaceae and succulent representatives of eight other botanical families. The cacti collection covers 952 specimens belonging to 123 species and 36 genera. Of this total, 104 species are native to Brazil and 19 are exotic species from nine countries. The CAGD collection includes representatives from several phytogeographic domains of the country, highlighting endemic and threatened cacti species occurring in the Caatinga. 70% (N = 83) of the cacti species recorded in the Brazilian Semiarid region are represented in the CAGD collection. Furthermore, in the collection, there are cacti species classified with different threat categories (Near threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered and Critically endangered), with 21 species classified according to MMA/2014 list and 35 species according to

Brazilian ornamental phytogenetic resources in Embrapa germplasm banks: obstacles and opportunities

“…The cactus species are differentiated plants adapted to coexist with climate change and contribute to the production chain of ornamental plants by offering alternative products to the cultivation of exotic plants, however they represent one of the most threatened taxonomic groups, mainly due to the high anthropic pressure on naturally occurring environments of arid climate, 1/3 of all species of this genus are at risk of disappearing, due to anthropic actions (Goettsch et al, 2015;Gomes et al, 2020).…”

Conservation of seeds of cactaceae species endemic to the caatinga biome: Pilosocereus pachycladus and Tacinga inamoena

“…pernambucoensis is an arboreal columnar cactus that can reach up to 6.0 m height, and T. inamoena is a subshrub cactus that presents plain cladodes and red-orangish flowers (BATISTA et al, 2018). Both species are found over almost the whole Semiarid region of Brazil and have a high importance for the sustainability and conservation of the Caatinga biodiversity, as their flowers and fruits serve as food for the local fauna (NASCIMENTO et al, 2015;SOUSA NETO;GOMES;QUIRINO, 2021;PAIXÃO;GOMES;VENTICINQUE, 2021).…”

“…Although Cactaceae species are an important component of the Caatinga flora (BARBOSA et al, 2020a), populations of many species have been subjected to predatory exploitation and degradation of their habitats (MEIADO; ALMEIDA, 2022), making Cactaceae one of the ten most threatened botanical families in the Brazilian flora (GOMES et al, 2020). Natural Cactaceae populations are subjected to strong anthropogenic pressures, which considerably increases risks of extinction (OLIVEIRA et al, 2020).…”