Ecological functions of secondary forests and their role in stream conservation in agricultural landscapes of the Brazilian Amazon

• Grant number: 18/12341-0
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctorate
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2018
• Effective date (End): December 31, 2021
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal researcher: Silvio Frosini de Barros Ferraz
• Grantee: Felipe Rossetti de Paula
• Home Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Forest cover in Amazonia has been constantly changed by the expansion of economic activities, like unmanaged logging extraction and deforestation. These activities have reduced the amount of primary forests in the landscape, increasing the amount of degraded forests (by selective logging and forest fragmentation) and secondary forests (by forest regeneration after land abandonment of unproductive agricultural areas). These altered forests provide less ecological functions than primary forests. This is also true for riparian forests, which perform important ecological functions for the structure and functioning of stream ecosystems. These ecological functions are extremely important in agricultural landscapes where stream ecosystems are constantly exposed to the impacts of the surrounding agriculture, putting at risk the aquatic ecosystems and the water resources. The objective of this research is to evaluate the role of secondary forests at providing ecological functions for the structure and functioning of stream ecosystems, like large wood input (important for habitat formation and biodiversity maintenance) and the maintenance of leaf litter decomposition rates (important for stream heterotrophy). We will use different data set already collected in two regions of the Brazilian Amazon. By the results of this proposal, it is expected to generate new important information for riparian forest and stream management in agricultural landscapes. (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)

DE MELLO, KALINE; TANIWAKI, RICARDO HIDEO; DE PAULA, FELIPE ROSSETTI; VALENTE, ROBERTA AVERNA; RANDHIR, TIMOTHY O.; MACEDO, DIEGO RODRIGUES; LEAL, CECILIA GONTIJO; RODRIGUES, CAROLINA BOZETTI; HUGHES, ROBERT M.. Multiscale land use impacts on water quality: Assessment, planning, and future perspectives in Brazil. Journal of Environmental Management, v. 270, SEP 15 2020. (17/02455-6, 14/19093-1, 18/12341-0, 17/24028-2, 17/25383-0, 18/21612-8)

DE PAULA, FELIPE ROSSETTI; LEAL, CECILIA GONTIJO; LEITAO, RAFAEL PEREIRA; FERRAZ, SILVIO FROSINI DE BARROS; POMPEU, PAULO SANTOS; ZUANON, JANSEN ALFREDO SAMPAIO; HUGHES, ROBERT M.. The role of secondary riparian forests for conserving fish assemblages in eastern Amazon streams. Hydrobiologia, FEB 2021. (18/12341-0, 17/25383-0)