The Atlantic Forest of South America: Spatiotemporal dynamics of the vegetation and implications for conservation

The first record of the Uniform-Finch (Haplospiza unicolor Cabanis, 1851) in the Cerrado and Center-West of Brazil

“…On the other hand, it could be a case of an isolated H. unicolor population that has been residing in this area for decades, if not centuries. The Atlantic Forest has lost 77% of its original cover, and the remnants are mostly composed of isolated and small patches of forest, such as the one in which we recorded H. unicolor, spread all across its original biome range (Vancine et al 2024). As there have been few bird checklists at this location (according to eBird, there have only been 34 checklists since 2015), a sighting of H. unicolor could have been previously overlooked.…”

Birds from human-modified Atlantic Forest landscapes of the middle-lower Paraíba do Sul River basin, southeastern Brazil

“…The Atlantic Forest originally covered a total area of approximately 1.5 million km², stretching across 17 of the 26 Brazilian states and reaching eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina in its southern portion (Ribeiro et al 2009;Marques et al 2021). However, the Atlantic Forest is currently highly reduced and fragmented, with approximately only 22.9% of its original forest vegetation remaining (Vancine et al 2024). Owing to its high biological diversity and endemism levels, associated with a high number of threats, the Atlantic Forest is a biodiversity hotspot and a global priority area for conservation (Myers et al 2000;Mittermeier et al 2011).…”

“…These forests were largely devastated during the period known as the "coffee cycle" in the 19th century, when most of the native vegetation was replaced by coffee monocultures and later by cattle pastures, mainly in the state of Minas Gerais, the largest Brazilian coffee-producing state at that time (Câmara 2003;Paula 2006;Carlucci et al 2021). Currently, most of the remaining Atlantic seasonal forest fragments are small (<0.5 km²) and isolated from each other (Ribeiro et al 2009;Carlucci et al 2021;Vancine et al 2024).…”

Relative fire-proneness of land cover types in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

“…Today, the AF retains only about 36% of its original extent of natural vegetation. Most of this vegetation is highly fragmented, with 97% of forest patches being under 50 ha, isolated, and impacted by various human-induced disturbances (Ribeiro et al, 2009a;Vancine et al, 2024). Despite these challenges, recent decades have seen improvements due to conservation efforts led by the government and environmental organizations, reducing deforestation rates (Piffer et al, 2022a).…”

“…Despite these challenges, recent decades have seen improvements due to conservation efforts led by the government and environmental organizations, reducing deforestation rates (Piffer et al, 2022a). Also, land abandonment and the depopulation of rural areas contributed to the resurgence of natural vegetation, particularly in the form of secondary forests-areas of forest that have regrown after major disturbances such as fires, whose ecological value and recovery potential depend on the time since disturbance and the surrounding landscape context (Rezende et al, 2018;Souza et al, 2020;Vancine et al, 2024). Changes in Brazilian legislation, such as the Atlantic Forest Law in 2006 and the Brazilian Forest Code in 2012, are also expected to influence the fire-landscape dynamic over the years.…”