Plant Hunting in the Cerrado of Unesp: selection of shrub species with landscape potential

• Grant number: 24/20557-4
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: December 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Landscaping
• Principal Investigator: Marta Enokibara
• Grantee: Laura Lua Filippon Vilela
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura, Artes, Comunicação e Design (FAAC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Cerrado, one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, is the second most devastated biome in Brazil, retaining only 19.8% of its original native vegetation cover. In the field of landscaping, some authors, mainly from Brasília-DF, have identified herbaceous and shrub species with landscape potential and sought to incorporate them into garden designs. However, in the state of São Paulo, the same species do not always occur, or exhibit different behaviors compared to those observed in Brasília. In this context, the objective of the proposal is to conduct exploratory research through Plant Hunting, seeking to select native shrub species that have landscape potential. The exploration area will be on the Campus and surroundings areas of the São Paulo State University (Unesp), in the city of Bauru, where several fragments of the Cerrado biome remain preserved. The exploratory research will be conducted throughout the entire research period, aiming to document species with georeferenced records, scaled photographs, and specimen collection across different seasons and phenological stages (flowering, fruiting, and seed production). The data collected will be organized in spreadsheets and files containing images and relevant information for each species. Baes on this data, a catalog will be prepared with species that occur in the cerrado of São Paulo, enabling future testing for seedling production and serving as a reference to support the development of landscaping projects. It is anticipated that the results will contribute to the preservation of the biome, the promotion of biodiversity, and the development of more sustainable gardens, using species that are better suited to the local environment.