Banca de DEFESA: THAÍS ANDRADE FERREIRA DÓRIA

Uma banca de DEFESA de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
STUDENT : THAÍS ANDRADE FERREIRA DÓRIA
DATE: 03/12/2021
TIME: 14:00
LOCAL: Instituto de Biologia - UFBA
TITLE:

Planning actions for conservation of Caatinga: an multi-dimensional and integrative analysis

KEY WORDS:

Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP); Dry Tropical Forest; Vertebrates; Plants; Ecosystem Services; Species distribution modeling (SDM); Phylogeny; Functional Attributes; Conservation Goals; Gap Analysis; Spatial Prioritization; Zonation.

PAGES: 223
BIG AREA: Ciências Biológicas
AREA: Ecologia
SUBÁREA: Ecologia Aplicada
SUMMARY:

In uncertain times, marked by rapid changes that aggravate the various crises we face today (eg environmental, health, economic, social), scientists need to join and direct efforts to present practical and effective solutions that can mitigate the harmful effects of actions human beings, which put at risk the perpetuation of life on the planet in its most diverse manifestations. As a response to the continuous loss of biodiversity and unprecedented increase in species extinction rates, many have focused on proposing in situ conservation strategies, among which the establishment of protected areas (PAs) stands out. Underpinned by Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) and supported by goals agreed in inter-governmental treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), this strategy has been increasingly defended within a holistic perspective, capable of bringing together different aspects of the nature as conservation targets. Today, the multiple dimensions of biodiversity and ecosystem services have played a leading role in spatial planning proposals for the expansion of PAs. In biodiverse, but still little-known and severely threatened regions, such as the Caatinga biome, knowledge gaps about biodiversity along with anthropogenic pressures, conversion of natural habitats and people's strong dependence on natural resources and services arising from nature, figure among the main challenges for the implementation of conservation. Thus, strategies to support conservation today demand multi-dimensional and integrative approaches. With this perspective, we developed this thesis in three chapters in order to present the state of the art of spatial prioritization studies for conservation and to optimize the use of available data on the distribution of terrestrial vertebrates, plants and ecosystem services in the Caatinga to assess conservation actions implemented and/or proposed for this biome. Using systematic literature search methods, in the first chapter we summarize the main paths followed in studies of spatial prioritization and define the scope of the approach that founded the development of this thesis. Through the SCP approach, we performed a gap analysis to verify the representation of these conservation targets in the current network of PAs and indigenous lands (ILs) of the Caatinga, as well as in the priority area networks proposed through the Ministry of Environment Environment (MMA) and National Center for Flora Conservation (CNCFlora), to expand PAs in this biome. In order to improve the current Caatinga conservation framework, we also carried out spatial prioritization analyzes to identify areas that maximize the representation of species (considering their different profiles) and ecosystem services in scenarios that expand current protection to meet international goals of conservation for 2020 and 2030. In the second chapter, we focus on vertebrate analysis from a perspective of achieving conservation goals based on the taxonomic dimension of diversity. In general, PAs and ILs, covering 9.1% of the Caatinga, represent on average 9.8% of the species distribution, with 37 unprotected species. By protecting 15.3-32.0% of the biome, priority networks as proposed by the MMA can increase the current average to 15.2% -37.5% of the species distribution, still resulting in unprotected species. The solution we present represents on average 26.8-42.5% of the species distribution, including the entire set of species analyzed and effectively representing more than 91% of the tetrapods at greatest risk. Opportunity costs shifted priorities to areas less affected by human activities, mainly reducing the representation of threatened species. By focusing in the conservation of plants and its taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic dimensions together with ecosystem services, we observed, in the third chapter, that APs and ILs cover an average of 16.9% of the distribution of analyzed species, in addition to an average of 8.0% of the distribution of regulation services and 11.2% of the distribution of support services. According to the proposals of the MMA and CNCFlora, networks of priority areas whose territorial extension is close to the goal of protecting 30% of the biome can improve this representation, but with an increase in the spatial cost. Focusing on the conservation of threatened flora, the CNCFlora proposal represents the lowest mean distribution of the analyzed plants than the networks proposed by the MMA, which included different targets in addition to the plants. Aiming to protect 30% of the Caatinga, our solutions represented an average of over 60% of the species distribution, increasing up to 85% the representation of the most risky plants. Consequently, these solutions are more cost-effective in terms of area demand. Consequently, these solutions are more cost-effective in terms of area demand when compared to existing prioritizations. All evaluated networks represented ecosystem services in a homogeneous way, probably due to their wide distribution in the Caatinga. At the biome scale, species richness and phylogenetic and functional diversities were close to the maximum value (90-100%) in all analyzed networks. On the scale of planning units (ca. 30km²), however, our solutions concentrated the highest averages of these metrics. As noted in the second chapter, focusing on vertebrates, the inclusion of opportunity costs marginally reduced the representation of flora species in the selected areas. Overall, our solutions were able to represent biodiversity and ecosystem services. We therefore conclude that the optimal use of available information, through an approach that integrates different conservation targets, helps to support efficient conservation planning. In a region where people rely heavily on nature, improving conservation benefits becomes urgent. In this context, our multi-dimensional integrative approach can contribute to supporting more pragmatic and efficient conservation strategies in other vulnerable and little-known biomes, improving the protecting species in all dimensions of their biodiversity, in addition to protection of the ecosystem services.

BANKING MEMBERS:
Presidente - 1576452 - RICARDO DOBROVOLSKI
Externa à Instituição - ADRIANA PELLEGRINI MANHÃES - UFRJ
Externa à Instituição - FERNANDA THIESEN BRUM - UFPR
Externo à Instituição - BRUNO ROBERTO RIBEIRO
Externo à Instituição - BENJAMIN TIMOTHY PHALAN