Tree diversity patterns of new forests across human-modified landscapes and heterogeneous biogeographical contexts

• Grant number: 22/01858-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: April 01, 2022
• End date: July 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Plant Taxonomy
• Agreement: Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)
• Principal Investigator: Ricardo Ribeiro Rodrigues
• Grantee: Cássio Augusto Patrocínio Toledo
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 18/18416-2 - Understanding restored forests for benefiting people and nature - NewFor, AP.BTA.TEM

Abstract

The state of São Paulo has a wide diversity of forest typologies, as consequence of the remarkable variation in climate, soil, and topography across its territory. In this context, the comprehension of the contribution of new forests to benefit people and nature rely on the proper identification of the tree species of these forests and on the assessment of their environmental functions in the ecosystem. The limitations imposed by the lack of generalist botanists can be partially overcome by the use of DNA barcoding, through which samples of plant tissue are collected and have their DNA sequenced, which allow for a precise identification of the species. The main barrier for using this novel approach for identifying plants is the creation of a library of DNA sequences of tree species, as it requires a large-scale assessment of the tree species occurring in a region and a reliable identification of them by an experienced botanist. In some cases, the DNA barcode based on a single-locus marker presents no adequate variation to tell apart some related plant species, in order to solve this, currently two approaches could be taken, the "specific barcode" which is based on a specific DNA region, with suitable variation to tell apart species on the target group, the second approach is based on the whole-chloroplast, called "super-barcode", it shows a great potential but still rely on elevates sequencing costs and a dependence of bio-informatic expert. The goals of this postdoctoral research project is to explore tree diversity patterns of new forests across humanmodified landscapes and heterogeneous biogeographical contexts and to create a DNAbarcoding library for the most abundant tree species in São Paulo state. The project will bedivided in three integrated phases: i) forest inventories, tree species identification, and collection of tissue samples for DNA barcoding; ii) analyses on the patterns of plant diversity in new forests; and iii) construction of a reference library of DNA sequences and test the DNAbarcoding performance on identifying trees from Atlantic forest. These research activities willallow the characterization of tree diversity in new forests and the comprehension of theircontribution for total tree diversity in human-modified landscapes, and create a foundation forthe use of DNA barcoding in forest inventories. (AU)