Matrix influence on the functional connectivity of Brazilian Savanna landscapes

• Grant number: 22/02570-8
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Initial Project
• Start date: February 01, 2023
• End date: January 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Nature Conservation
• Principal Investigator: Elisa Hardt Alves Vieira
• Grantee: Elisa Hardt Alves Vieira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciências Ambientais, Químicas e Farmacêuticas (ICAQF). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus Diadema. Diadema , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Carlos Tomás López de Pablo ; Erico Fernando Lopes Pereira da Silva ; Victoriano Ramón Vallejo Calzada
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/00660-5 - Journalistic production for the dissemination of activities carried out in the project: influence of the matrix on the functional connectivity of Cerrado landscapes., BP.JC; 24/00797-0 - Influence of silviculture matrix on the dispersion of Cerrado tree species, BP.MS; 23/03584-5 - Structural connectivity diagnosis of anthropized landscape units in the Cerrado, BP.TT

Abstract

The conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services is related to landscape connectivity, which is variable with the matrix structure and type, which makes it relevant to evaluate the particularities of dispersion responses of species, especially of the flora that is influenced by the dispersion vectors and capacity of establishment in the matrix. In the case of the Cerrado, the lack of studies in this field has led to the use of simple measures of structural connectivity, which could affect the conservation of the most diverse and threatened tropical savanna. In this direction, this project aims to understand the effects of rural matrices on functional connectivity thresholds in Cerrado landscapes. We also propose alternative scenarios of adequacy for the ease of flora movement and the availability of associate ecosystem services, variable with the type of matrix. To do so, we analyze the landscape connectivity for livestock and silviculture matrices using structural measures in GIS for landscape unit selection on a regional scale; where functional measurements of local scale are made, with stratified samplings distributed along a distance gradient of habitat-matrix for quantification of the flora abundance and richness, classified by dispersion syndrome and ecosystem services of provision. The results should evidence the functional connectivity trade-offs that may be important to landscape sustainability, offering direct application to the regional planning and assistance for restoration actions of the Cerrado landscape connectivity. (AU)