Biodiversity, threats and conservation challenges in the Cerrado of Amapá, an Amazonian savanna

By

Mustin, Karen
Carvalho, William Douglas
Hilário, Renato R.
Costa Neto, Salustiano Vilar da
Silva, Claudia Regina
Vasconcelos, Ivan M.
Castro, Isai Jorge de
Eilers, Vivianne
Kauano, Érico E.
Mendes-Junior, Raimundo N. G.
Funi, Cláudia
Fearnside, Philip Martin
Silva, José Maria Cardoso da
Euler, Ana M. C.
Toledo, José Julio

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017

Original Publication

Subterranean Biology

Volume

22

Pages

107--127

Subjects

Brazil , Development policy , Land clearing , Protected areas

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.22.13823

 

Abstract

An Amazonian savanna in northern Brazil known as the Cerrado of Amapá is under imminent threat from poor land-use planning, the expansion of large-scale agriculture and other anthropogenic pressures. These savannas house a rich and unique flora and fauna, including endemic plants and animals. However, the area remains under-sampled for most taxa, and better sampling may uncover new species. We estimate that only ~9.16% of these habitats have any kind of protection, and legislative changes threaten to further weaken or remove this protection. Here we present the status of knowledge concerning the biodiversity of the Cerrado of Amapá, its conservation status, and the main threats to the conservation of this Amazonian savanna. To secure the future of these unique and imperilled habitats, we suggest urgent expansion of protected areas, as well as measures that would promote less-damaging land uses to support the local population.