Modelling Amazon nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) current and future distribution to subsidize plantations and conservation sustainable strategies

• Grant number: 15/04749-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: August 01, 2015
• End date: November 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Nature Conservation
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Maria Victoria Ramos Ballester
• Grantee: Daiana Carolina Monteiro Tourne
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 16/16718-6 - Modelling Amazon nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) current and future distribution to subsidize plantations and conservation sustainable strategies, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

The amazon biodiversity has been impaired by historical forms of occupation and land-use that cause habitat loss and forest fragmentation. These anthropogenic disturbances associated with climate change have direct consequences on the distribution of species. Modeling capabilities with added ecological foundations have been employed as potential alternatives for acquiring knowledge about species and guide efficient and less damaging management and conservation practices. However, most species are exploited without any planning, due limited information and/or poor knowledge dissemination on their real capabilities and favorable areas for planting. The Amazon nut (Bertholetia excelsa Bonpl.) is a native species, historically exploited in Brazil, due to its socioeconomic and environmental significance. The species is protected at State of Pará since 2006 and at different vulnerability level according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) since 2014. Thus, this project main objective is to identify areas with higher suitability for this species by modeling its potential distribution. By employing modeling tools, we aim to also identify its current distribution, as well as potential areas for planting in current and future climate conditions. Forest fragments with amazon nut occurrence will be investigated in terms of ecological, socioeconomic and landscape factors that influence the species dynamics and the production chain in Para State. Primary and secondary data on natural incidence will be collected and organized in a Geographic Information System (SIG) environment. We also will acquire data on census nut production, population, and deforestation rate, among other categorical and continuous variables available. These biotic and abiotic variables will be integrated by complex models recommended by previous rare species scientific studies or in endangered risk of extinction, such as MAXENT and Classification and Regression Trees support (CART). Moreover, we will produce robust information to enable and subsidize planting and conservation actions in the Amazon region, indicating the species current status and the potential future distribution on optimistic and pessimistic scenarios for the next 50 years. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

TOURNE, DAIANA C. M.; BALLESTER, MARIA V. R.; JAMES, PATRICK M. A.; MARTORANO, LUCIETA G.; GUEDES, MARCELINO CARNEIRO; THOMAS, EVERT. Strategies to optimize modeling habitat suitability of Bertholletia excelsa in the Pan-Amazonia. ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION, v. 9, n. 22, p. 12623-12638, NOV 2019. (15/04749-1)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

TOURNE, Daiana Carolina Monteiro. Combining species distribution modelling and environmental perceptions to support sustainable strategies for Amazon-nut (Bertholletia excelsa Bonpl.) planting and conservation. 2018. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALA/BC) Piracicaba.