The Brazilian Pampa: A Fragile Biome

Abstract

Biodiversity is one of the most fundamental properties of Nature. It underpins the stability of ecosystems, provides vast bioresources for economic use, and has important cultural significance for many people. The Pampa biome, located in the southernmost state of Brazil, Rio Grande do Sul, illustrates the direct and indirect interdependence of humans and biodiversity. The Brazilian Pampa lies within the South Temperate Zone where grasslands scattered with shrubs and trees are the dominant vegetation. The soil, originating from sedimentary rocks, often has an extremely sandy texture that makes them fragile—highly prone to water and wind erosion. Human activities have converted or degraded many areas of this biome. In this review we discuss our state-of-the-art knowledge of the diversity and the major biological features of this regions and the cultural factors that have shaped it. Our aim is to contribute toward a better understanding of the current status of this special biome and to describe how the interaction between human activities and environment affects the region, highlighting the fragility of the Brazilian Pampa

Escarabeíneos (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Scarabaeinae) de uma área de campo nativo no bioma Pampa, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

“…Possui uma riqueza única, apresentando altos índices de diversidade e endemismo (Brasil 2002, Behling et al 2009, Bencke 2009). Contudo, apenas pequena parte de sua diversidade biológica é conhecida cientificamente ), e esta se encontra ameaçada devido às intensas transformações deste bioma (Pillar et al 2006, Roesch et al 2009), que são geradas principalmente por atividades econômicas agropecuárias e silviculturais, as quais têm crescido e se expandido em área sobre os campos nativos a ritmos cada vez maiores (Pillar et al 2006, Behling et al 2009). As gramíneas e espécies vegetais herbáceas que constituem este bioma apresentam grande valor forrageiro, e por este motivo, a pecuária tem sido a principal atividade econômica da região (Boldrini 1997, 2002, Gonçalves 1999, Bilenca & Miñarro 2004, Overbeck et al 2009).…”

Ethnobotany and antioxidant evaluation of commercialized medicinal plants from the Brazilian Pampa

“…While it is much probable that several important new drugs remain hidden in plants from the species rich tropical forests (such as the Amazonian and Atlantic Forests, in Brazil), they may also lie hidden in other less studied biomes, as the Brazilian Pampa. While the Atlantic Forest is widely investigated concerning biodiversity and its potential uses (Ritter et al 2015), the Brazilian Pampa is one of the most fragile, unprotected and less known environments in Brazil, even though a very rich biodiversity is expected for this region (Roesch et al 2009). …”

“…The people living in the Brazilian Pampa sensu stricto have incorporated the nature in their culture and implemented an extractive system strongly based on a mix of Portuguese, Spanish, Argentinian and Uruguayan traditions (Suertegaray & Silva 2009;Roesch et al 2009). Brazilian Pampa sensu stricto corresponds to the area of the biome primarily dominated by a steppic-savanna environment and with a long tradition of cattle ranching and crop plantations (Lemos et al 2014).…”

A new species of Andocaeculus (Acari, Caeculidae) from the Pampa biome, southern Brazil

“…This region includes some very fragile environments and is of common sense that the presence of grasslands and the hindering of forest expansion over the area are nowadays greatly influenced by the human activities. In the other hand this activities has great negative influence on the conservation of the natural areas and the biodiversity of the region (roeSch et al, 2009). The region focused in this paper (Área de Proteção Ambiental -APA -do Ibirapuitã; approximate coordinates 29°57'22" -30°51'55"S, 55°21'02" -55°55'13"W) is a federal protection area which includes private owned land around the almost whole extension of the Ibirapuitã River (icMBio, 2014).…”