Integrating Environmental Compensations and LPVN Deficits in the Modeling of Ecological Corridors Between Conservation Units

• Grant number: 24/16062-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: February 28, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering - Nature Conservation
• Principal Investigator: Matheus Pinheiro Ferreira
• Grantee: Eduardo Oliveira Toledo
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/11940-0 - Restoration of native vegetation in the Atlantic Forest through the strategic combination of mandatory measures and voluntary commitments - CCD-EMA, AP.CCD
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/07024-0 - Use of CONEFOR software to create modelling of ecological corridors between two conservations units in Brazil, BE.EP.IC

Abstract

The fragmentation of native vegetation due to anthropogenic actions occurs when deforestation is carried out to make way for other land uses, such as agriculture or urbanization. This process promotes the formation of habitat "islands," where certain species are unable to migrate between habitats due to the impermeability of the landscape imposed by the anthropogenic matrix. This population isolation prevents gene flow and disrupts the ecological cycle of local ecosystems. In landscape ecology studies, it is possible to quantify this issue using metrics that analyze spatial patterns, connectivity, and habitat matrices in a heterogeneous landscape mosaic. Through such studies, critical points can be identified to ensure the connectivity of fragments, emphasizing the importance of creating ecological corridors to achieve this linkage. Ecological restoration is crucial to recover degraded areas and reestablish connectivity between habitats. When considering the Atlantic Forest, a biome that is highly fragmented and degraded, this becomes a key tool in combating native vegetation fragmentation. On the other hand, ecological restoration faces challenges due to high costs. Therefore, identifying the most suitable areas for restoration and securing funding for implementation is of utmost importance for its feasibility. The use of resources from environmental compensation is an alternative to enable restoration in degraded areas and contribute to landscape improvement. In this context, geoprocessing techniques have been widely used to diagnose areas for restoration and map ecological corridors, forming a native vegetation recovery plan focused on fragment connectivity. This approach is essential to ensure the effectiveness of conservation strategies, especially when the focus is on linking large, disconnected habitat patches. Conservation Units (CUs) play an essential role in ecosystem and biodiversity conservation, as they act as main hubs in a landscape connectivity network, serving as starting or destination points for ecological corridors. Therefore, proposing ecological corridors between CUs contributes to increasing landscape connectivity and conserving biodiversity.