The Conservation of the cerrados

The cerrados are South American savannas which occupy vast areas of central Brazil and neighbouring parts of Bolivia and Paraguay. They are mostly flat plains but these are broken by extensive mountain ranges which often exceed 1000 m in height. The vegetation is mostly of the open parkland type vegetation, which is deciduous in the dry season. Soils are mostly poor and with little agricultural potential until recently.

Today all is changing. Huge areas of cerrado vegetation have been destroyed. In Mato Grosso vast areas have been converted to soya cultivation. In other areas the original vegetation is grubbed up and replaced by monocultures of imported grasses to feed the growing cattle industry. Some see intensive cultivation of the cerrados as the solution to world food shortages. A recent triumphalist article in the Economist argues this case (How to Feed the World, The Economist Aug 26th 2010, print edition Aug 24th 2010 pp. 10-11).

But are the cerrados useless scrub? Should they be sacrificed to divert attention from the Amazonian rainforest? Will their destruction result in a serious loss of diversity? The answer in three words is: no, no, yes. The cerrados are one of the great but sadly unappreciated hotspots of biodiversity in the world. WWF regards the cerrados as the biologically richest savannah in the world. It is estimated by Conservation International that there are about 4400 plant species endemic to the Cerrado Biome. This total may be larger than that of Amazonia and consequently the argument presented in the Economist that the cerrados can be sacrificed to conserve the Amazon is based on the false premise that the Amazon is a more important hotspot than the cerrados. This is news to most people, even those literate conservationally.

How is Oxford’s Department of Plant Sciences working to promote the conservation of the cerrados?

Since 2007 Oxford plant Sciences has been working in Bolivia collaboration with The Natural History Museum in Santa Cruz, Bolivia in the Darwin Initiative Project “Conservation of the Cerrados of Eastern Bolivia” (darwin.defra.gov.uk/project16004. One of the features of this project is that it brings together institutions from Bolivia and Brazil (Universidade de Brasilia) in the work of conservation seeing cerradão conservation not simply at a national level. The international aspect of the threat to the cerrados is well illustrated by the proposal to construct an iron smelting plant in the region of Corumbá in Brazil close to the Bolivian border. There is no coal in the region so the fuel for the smelting plant would be charcoal obtained from both Brazil and neighbouring Bolivia. This example illustrates the need to build conservation efforts at an international level.

Although further outcomes will be posted on this website, four can be immediately given here:

Awareness raising. The project produces educational posters and information leaflets, it holds meetings with communities, school teachers and environmental groups and provides information for the Bolivian government and other official and voluntary organisations. Our links with the Fundacion para la Conservación para la Conservación del Bosque Seco Chiquitano (www.fcbc.org.bo) will hopefully sustain awareness of the importance of conserving the cerrados within Eastern Bolivia.

Hotspots. The project has identified two outstanding hotspots of cerrado vegetation in Eastern Bolivia:

The Serranía de Huanchaca. This is the “Lost World“ of Colonel Fawcett and Conan Doyle and is situated within the Noel Kempff National Park, itself a World Heritage Site, which enjoys full legal protection at National Level. It is a very large area of perhaps 50,000 square kilometres protected additionally by its remoteness and inaccessibility. Botanically it is outstanding for the diversity of different cerrado habitats present here and a long list of around 200 plant species known nowhere else in Bolivia. There are approximately 20 species endemic to the zone, some of which are being described as a new as a result of activities by our Darwin Project.

The Serranías Chiquitanas between Chochís and Santiago de Chiquitos. This line of spectacular hills belongs to The Reserva Departamental del Valle de Tucavaca. The degree of legal protection provided to this area is inadequate as it is not recognised nationally and is vulnerable to mining and agricultural interests. There are small but significant centres of population in and around the reserve and raising the awareness of these communities of the important biodiversity on their doorsteps is an important part of the project’s work. Botanically the area is the most important centre of endemism in eastern Bolivia with at least 35 species found nowhere else in the world. Additionally there is a wide range of cerradão habitats and a considerable number (about 50) of isolated species unknown elsewhere in Bolivia but found in distant locations in Paraguay or Brazil.

Serranias Chiquitos plus Hippeastrum starkiorum and Blepharodon philibertioides, two species endemic to this area.

Threatened species. The project has highlighted the threats to individual cerrado species of Eastern Bolivia in a book “El Libro Rojo de las Plantas delos Cerrados del Oriente Boliviano”. This book highlights the dangers to 30 species identified following criteria established by the IUCN. Species listed are endangered by a variety of threats principally the small size of their populations combined with habitat alteration through conversion to seeded pasture for cattle ranching, mining activities and competition from invasive species. Two of the species discussed in this book are shown below and a third, Stryphnodendron fissuratum is the subject of an article in the 2011 edition of Oxford Plant Systematics.

Libro Rojo cover and Aspidosperma nobile and Chamaecrista chiquitana, two species assessed in the Red Book.

New species. One of the remarkable aspect of this project has been the large number of new species discovered, over 40 in number at the present count. This draws attention yet again to how little the cerrados are known and to the rich biodiversity of this threatened region. Clearly more intensive work will reveal many more new species. A few are shown here.

New species of Eugenia, Ipomoea, Mimosa and Vernonia.

All images are copyright © Darwin Initiative except the Serrania de Huanchaca which is copyright © Hermes Justiniano. The images are all linked to full sized versions which should open in a new window when clicked.

Further information in English and Spanish on the Darwin project can be found at www.darwincerradosdebolivia.org.