Tropical forests, particularly the Atlantic Forest, are among the most biodiverse and threatened ecosystems on Earth. Intense fragmentation, historical deforestation, and climate change have compromised their integrity and endangered endemic and rare species. The situation is even more critical in the Doce River Basin (DRB), a biodiversity hotspot in southeastern Brazil, due to the expansion of pastureland and mining, as well as the 2015 Mariana disaster. Understanding how future climate may affect the persistence of threatened tree species in the region is essential. This study evaluated the effects of climate scenarios on the distribution of 26 rare and/or threatened tree species in the DRB. We used Species Distribution Models (SDMs), combining algorithms (GLM, RDF, SVM, MaxEnt) into a consensus ensemble model under SSP3-7.0 and SSP5-8.5 scenarios for 2050 and 2090. Climatic, topographic, and edaphic variables were predictors, with climate explaining most environmental variation. Among the 26 species, 19 are projected to lose over 75

High seedling mortality is a key bottleneck in tropical forest restoration, but the mechanisms governing the survival–growth trade-off remain unclear. We evaluated seedling performance in a high-diversity restoration planting in Goytacazes National Forest (Tableland Atlantic Forest), monitoring 771 individuals from 54 native species over three years (2012–2015). Using Stratified Cox Proportional Hazards models for survival and Linear Mixed Models for relative growth rates (RGR), we also quantified spatial variance (ICC). Wood Density (WD) was the strongest predictor of survival: high-WD species had lower mortality risk (HR = 0.82), independent of spatial heterogeneity. The study period included a flood (2013) and a drought (2015), and this context—together with the very low herbivory—suggests that extreme climatic events drove the survival advantage of high-WD species. Contrary to expectations from the Plant Economics Spectrum, high WD did not reduce vertical or radial growth. Furthermore, we found a non-significant negative trend (p = 0.146) between potential maximum height (Hmax​) and early growth, indicating that initial performance was independent of the species’ eventual vertical niche. Our results suggest that high-WD species show higher survival without early-growth costs, highlighting their strategic value for restoration in high-stress environments.

Understanding the recovery of phylogenetic diversity during tropical forest succession is critical for informing ecosystem stability, conserving evolutionary history, and guiding restoration. To address these goals, we evaluated patterns of phylogenetic diversity, structure, and lineage turnover across 61 s-growth and 18 old-growth forest communities in three regions of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We asked whether second-growth forests recover the phylogenetic diversity found in old-growth forests over time, whether there is a consistent pattern of community assembly along succession, whether functional traits are phylogenetically conserved, and to what extent second-growth forests contribute to evolutionary history conservation at the landscape scale. Our results revealed that second-growth forests exhibit increasing species richness and phylogenetic diversity with forest age. However, standardized phylogenetic structure metrics (sesPD, sesMPD, sesMNTD) remained stable along succession and did not differ from old-growth forests, suggesting that successional time alone does not shape phylogenetic structure. Most functional traits showed low phylogenetic signal, indicating a decoupling between phylogenetic and functional recovery. Despite the absence of some rare and evolutionarily distinct lineages, particularly within Malpighiales, in second-growth forests, beta diversity analyses demonstrated that combining both forest types conserves a broader set of lineages than either type alone. This phylogenetic complementarity underscores the value of conserving both forest types as complementary components of regional biodiversity. Our findings emphasize the role of second-growth forests in preserving evolutionary history and support their inclusion in conservation and restoration strategies. By integrating broad-scale phylogenetic analyses with regional datasets, this study enhances our understanding of biodiversity recovery in one of the world's most threatened tropical biomes.

ABSTRACT Motivation The accelerated and widespread conversion of once continuous ecosystems into fragmented landscapes has driven ecological research to understand the response of biodiversity to local (fragment size) and landscape (forest cover and fragmentation) changes. This information has important theoretical and applied implications, but is still far from complete. We compiled the most comprehensive and updated database to investigate how these local and landscape changes determine species composition, abundance and trait diversity of multiple taxonomic groups in forest fragments across the globe. Main Types of Variables Contained We gathered data for 1472 forest fragments, providing information on the abundance and composition of 9154 species belonging to vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. For 2703 of these species, we obtained more than 20 functional traits. We provided the spatial location and size of each fragment and metrics of landscape composition and configuration. Spatial Location and Grain The dataset includes 1472 forest fragments sampled in 121 studies from all continents except Antarctica. Most datasets (77%) are from tropical regions, 17% are from temperate regions, and 6% are from subtropical regions. Species abundance and composition were collected at the plot or fragment scale, whereas the landscape metrics were extracted with buffer size ranging from a radius of 200–2000 m. Time Period and Grain Data on the abundance of species and community composition were collected between 1994 and 2022, and the landscape metrics were extracted from the same year that a given study collected the abundance and composition data. Major Taxa and Level of Measurement The studied organisms included invertebrates (Arachnida, Insecta and Gastropoda; 41% of the datasets), vertebrates (Amphibia, Squamata, Aves and Mammalia; 44%), and vascular plants (19%), and the lowest level of identification was species or morphospecies. Software Format The dataset and code can be downloaded on Zenodo or GitHub.

Under the UN-Decade of Ecosystem Restoration and Bonn Challenge, second-growth forest is promoted as a global solution to climate change, degradation and associated losses of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Second growth is often invaded by alien tree species and understanding how this impacts carbon stock and biodiversity recovery is key for restoration planning. We assessed carbon stock and tree diversity recovery in second growth invaded by two Acacia species and non-invaded second growth, with associated edge effects, in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Carbon stock recovery in non-invaded forests was threefold lower than in invaded forests. Increasingly isolated, fragmented and deforested areas had low carbon stocks when non-invaded, whereas the opposite was true when invaded. Non-invaded forests recovered threefold to sixfold higher taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity than invaded forest. Higher species turnover and lower nestedness in non-invaded than invaded forests underpinned higher abundance of threatened and endemic species in non-invaded forest. Non-invaded forests presented positive relationships between carbon and biodiversity, whereas in the invaded forests we did not detect any relationship, indicating that more carbon does not equal more biodiversity in landscapes with high vulnerability to invasive acacias. To deliver on combined climate change and biodiversity goals, restoration planning and management must consider biological invasion risk. This article is part of the theme issue 'Understanding forest landscape restoration: reinforcing scientific foundations for the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration'.

Landscape openness leads to harsher environmental conditions and reduced propagule dispersal, but how it affects different forest attributes and over what spatial scale remains unclear. We evaluate the effects of landscape openness (i.e., increased forest loss and fragmentation) on nine forest attributes related to structure, diversity, and composition for four different spatial scales, and three regions in Brazilian Atlantic forest. For 35 0.1 ha forest plots we calculated nine forest attributes related to structure (basal area, maximum height, structural heterogeneity), tree biodiversity (species richness, Simpson diversity, functional richness) and functional composition (proportion of animal-dispersed and shade-tolerant species, seed size). To assess at what spatial scales landscape characteristics play a role, we calculated for each plot local matrix openness and forest patch density using four concentric circles of 400 to 3200 m radius. Landscape openness negatively affected most forest attributes, but the magnitude of effect varied with 1) landscape attribute, 2) forest attribute, and 3) region. First, matrix openness had a negative stronger effect than patch density, indicating that landscape forest loss is more detrimental than forest fragmentation. Second, landscape openness reduced most strongly forest structure and animal-dispersed species, probably because open landscapes increase edge effects which especially affect large-sized trees, and reduce the abundance and activity of zoochorous seed dispersers, while landscape openness had opposite effects on diversity in different regions. Third, landscape openness had different effects in different regions, probably because of regional differences in tree species composition, landscape configuration and composition. Finally, landscape openness affected forest structural attributes at all spatial scales, animal-dispersed species at larger spatial scales (>1600 m), and seed size at small spatial scales (<400 m). In sum, landscape openness reduced most forest attributes, although the strength varied with the landscape attribute, forest attribute, and landscape context. Conservation and restoration projects should therefore restore landscape forest cover to improve forest structure, diversity and composition, and take into account the landscape context.

This investigation aimed to determine the density of viable seeds and to compare the floristic composition of the seed bank from different forest successional stages – initial and intermediate – at the Fonte Grande State Park, Vitória, state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Samples of 15 × 15 × 5 cm of soil and litter were collected, in 15 points, in each successional stage. After five months cultivating these samples in a greenhouse for botanical identification, the soil showed higher seedlings density and richness of species than the litter. A total of 1,414 seedlings was quantified: 78.3% of the individuals were in the initial stage (µ = 3,280 seedlings.m-2), and 21.7% were in the intermediate stage (µ = 910 seedlings.m-2). The richness of species between the stages was similar (53.2%), 33 species occurring in both areas. The predominant life form in both stages was herbaceous, though the intermediate stage presented more trees. These patterns indicate an early phase of the intermediate stage, which, over the successional time, will probably advance to an old-growth forest.

Introduction: Restingas are coastal plain ecosystems located along Eastern Brazil, corresponding to about 5 000 km. The restinga vegetation is associated with the Atlantic rainforest biome and comprises four distinct main formation zones: coastal grasslands, shrublands, open-forests and marsh zones. Especially due to coastal urbanization, this is a threatened ecosystem that, through its different shrub formations, exhibits a unique mosaic as a result of the vegetation distribution in nuclei of different covering, physiognomy and floristic composition. Objective: We aimed to characterize the above and belowground composition of a conserved, non-flooded, open-scrub, nuclei (patches of bushes) formation of restinga in Linhares, ES, southeastern Brazil. Methods: The vegetation survey was conducted using the line intercept method. Diameter and height of the first six nuclei were measured in five transects separated by 50 m, totaling 30 nuclei up to 350 m away from the shore line. The phytosociology and Shannon Index of the aboveground vegetation community were calculated. In the same 30 nuclei, leaf litter and topsoil layer (15 x 15 x 10 cm) samples were collected to survey the viable seed bank, which was later placed in a greenhouse for germination and seedling identification. The Sørensen Similarity index (SSi) was used to compare the floristic composition between the leaf litter and topsoil layer seed banks. Nuclei volume and number of species were calculated as well. Results: In the aboveground vegetation, 54 plant species belonging to 32 families were identified, totaling 1 098 individuals. The nuclei showed a diversity (H') of 3.08 nats, and an average diameter of 11.5 m (s = 9.1), area of 526.4 m2 (s = 1 081.7), and height of 2.9 m (s = 1.1). Davilla flexuosa, followed by Smilax rufescens, presented the highest IVI (Importance Value Index). A total of 1 839 seedlings from 32 species and 19 families were identified in the seed bank. Enydra sessilis (Asteraceae) had the highest seed density (544), while the family with highest species richness was Cyperaceae. A low similarity between the vegetation surveyed and the seed bank composition was found (only 5 species in common, SSi = 0.10). Conclusions: The results indicate that a post-disturbance early community, established from the seed bank, would have a substantially different species composition, but with other potential species to restore vegetation over the long-term succession.

Recent studies suggest that habitat amount is the main determinant of species richness, whereas habitat fragmentation has weak and mostly positive effects. Here, we challenge these ideas using a multi-taxa database including 2230 estimates of forest-dependent species richness from 1097 sampling sites across the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biodiversity hotspot. We used a structural equation modeling approach, accounting not only for direct effects of habitat loss, but also for its indirect effects (via habitat fragmentation), on the richness of forest-dependent species. We reveal that in addition to the effects of habitat loss, habitat fragmentation has negative impacts on animal species richness at intermediate (30–60%) levels of habitat amount, and on richness of plants at high (>60%) levels of habitat amount, both of which are mediated by edge effects. Based on these results, we argue that dismissing habitat fragmentation as a powerful force driving species extinction in tropical forest landscapes is premature and unsafe.

Tropical forests store large amounts of carbon and high biodiversity, but are being degraded at alarming rates. The emerging global Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR) agenda seeks to limit global climate change by removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through the growth of trees. In doing so, it may also protect biodiversity as a free cobenefit, which is vital given the massive shortfall in funding for biodiversity conservation. We investigated whether natural forest regeneration on abandoned pastureland offers such cobenefits, focusing for the first time on the recovery of taxonomic diversity (TD), phylogenetic diversity (PD) and functional diversity (FD) of trees, including the recovery of threatened and endemic species richness, within isolated secondary forest (SF) fragments. We focused on the globally threatened Brazilian Atlantic Forest, where commitments have been made to restore 1 million hectares under FLR. Three decades after land abandonment, regenerating forests had recovered ~20% (72 Mg/ha) of the above-ground carbon stocks of a primary forest (PF), with cattle pasture containing just 3% of stocks relative to PFs. Over this period, SF recovered ~76% of TD, 84% of PD and 96% of FD found within PFs. In addition, SFs had on average recovered 65% of threatened and ~30% of endemic species richness of primary Atlantic forest. Finally, we find positive relationships between carbon stock and tree diversity recovery. Our results emphasize that SF fragments offer cobenefits under FLR and other carbon-based payments for ecosystem service schemes (e.g. carbon enhancements under REDD+). They also indicate that even isolated patches of SF could help to mitigate climate change and the biodiversity extinction crisis by recovering species of high conservation concern and improving landscape connectivity.

1. Fragmentation of tropical forests is a major driver of the global extinction crisis. A key question is understanding how fragmentation impacts phylogenetic diversity, which summarizes the total evolutionary history shared across species within a community. Conserving phylogenetic diversity decreases the potential of losing unique ecological and phenotypic traits and plays important roles in maintaining ecosystem function and stability. 2. Our study was conducted in landscapes within the highly fragmented Brazilian Atlantic forest. We sampled living trees with d.b.h. >= 4.8 cm in 0.1 ha plots within 28 fragment interiors and 12 fragment edges to evaluate the impacts of landscape configuration, composition and patch size, as well as edge effects, on phylogenetic diversity indices (PD, a measure of phylogenetic richness; MPD, phylogenetic distance between individuals in a community in deep evolutionary time; and MNTD, phylogenetic distance between each individual and its nearest phylogenetic neighbour). 3. We found that PD and MPD were correlated with species richness, while MNTD was not. Best models suggest that MPD was positively related to edge density and negatively related to the number of forest patches, but that there was no effect of landscape configuration and composition metrics on PD or MNTD, or on standardized values of phylogenetic structure (sesPD, sesMPD and sesMNTD), which control for species richness. Considering all selected models for phylogenetic diversity and structure, edge density and number of forest patches were most frequently selected. 4. With increasing patch size, we found lower PD in interiors but no change at edges and lower sesMNTD regardless of habitat type. Additionally, PD and sesMNTD were higher in interiors than at edges. 5. Synthesis. Changes in MPD and sesMNTD suggest that extirpation of species at edges or in highly fragmented landscapes increases the dominance of species within a subset of clades (phylogenetic clustering), likely those adapted to disturbance. Smaller patch sizes are phylogenetically diverse and overdispersed, probably due to an invasion of edge-adapted species. Conservation must enhance patch area and connectivity via forest restoration; pivotally, even small forest patches are important reservoirs of phylogenetic diversity in the highly threatened Brazilian Atlantic forest.

The Cores Project, intent to collect biological and antropic informations on nine species of orchids that are included on the official list of threatened species of Brazil (Cattleya schilleriana, Laelia fidelensis, L. lobata, L. grandis, L. jongheana, L. virens, L. perrini, L. tenebrosa and L. xanthina) aiming to revaluate its conservation status and elaborate an action plan to each one in particular.

Tropical forests store vast amounts of carbon and are the most biodiverse terrestrial habitats, yet they are being converted and degraded at alarming rates. Given global shortfalls in the budgets required to prevent carbon and biodiversity loss, we need to seek solutions that simultaneously address both issues. Of particular interest are carbon-based payments under the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism to also conserve biodiversity at no additional cost. One potential is for REDD+ to protect forest fragments, especially within biomes where contiguous forest cover has diminished dramatically, but we require empirical tests of the strength of any carbon and biodiversity cobenefits in such fragmented systems. Using the globally threatened Atlantic Forest landscape, we measured above-ground carbon stocks within forest fragments spanning 13 to 23 442 ha in area and with different degrees of isolation. We related these stocks to tree community structure and to the richness and abundance of endemic and IUCN Red-listed species. We found that increasing fragment size has a positive relationship with above-ground carbon stock and with abundance of IUCN Red-listed species and tree community structure. We also found negative relationships between distance from large forest block and tree community structure, endemic species richness and abundance, and IUCN Red-listed species abundance. These resulted in positive congruence between carbon stocks and Red-listed species, and the abundance and richness of endemic species, demonstrating vital cobenefits. As such, protecting forest fragments in hotspots of biodiversity, particularly larger fragments and those closest to sources, offers important carbon and biodiversity cobenefits. More generally, our results suggest that macroscale models of cobenefits under REDD+ have likely overlooked key benefits at small scales, indicating the necessity to apply models that include finer-grained assessments in fragmented landscapes rather than using averaged coarse-grained cells.

Island Biogeography focuses on island species considering evolutionary aspects subject to patterns of isolation, rates of immigration and extinction, environmental standards, such as soil, predation rate and colonization. This work aims to compare morphologically diaspores of Guapira pernambucensis (Casar.) Lund., Schinus terebinthifolius Rad. and Canavalia rosea (Sw.) DC., occurring on the island and the mainland of Environmental Protection Area of Setiba, Guarapari, Espírito Santo State. The diaspores were collected, measured and weighed in order to verify possible variations due to their insular isolation It was found that the size of the diaspores of Guapira pernambucensis (Casar.) Lund. and Schinus terebinthifolius Rad. occurring on the island are larger than the continental diaspores. To explain this variation two possibilities were raised, the first is that individuals accompanied the insular evolutionary trend, and second, the variation was caused by ecological reasons in the insular environment. Canavalia rosea (Sw.) DC., on the other hand, presented larger diaspores in the continental environment. To explain this variation two other possibilities were raised, the first is that perhaps the species have not inhabit the island long enough so that insular evolutionary trend would be accompanied; or the soil variation on the insular environment was also caused by ecological reasons.

The objective of this work was to analyze tree community of three riparian successional forest stages in Environment Protection Area of Lagoa do Jacunem, in Serra, Espirito Santo. For the structural characterization, 60 plots of 10 m(2) were used, totalizing 0.6 ha of the sampled. The plots were equally distributed among each succession stage, where it was included specimens with CBH >= 15 cm at 1.30 m from the soil. In each stage, it was also collected composed samples of soil for posterior chemical analyses. The areas presented dystrophic soils and therefore low in nutrients and high acidity. It was sampled a total of 851 individuals, distributed in 79 species. The diversity (H') of species was gradually increasing its values, being 2.70 in the initial stage, 2.88 in the middle stage, and 2.96 in advanced stage, respectively. The equability J' was 0.77 in the initial and middle stages, and 0.73 in the advanced stage. The density decreased significantly (ANOVA; F=6.55; P<0.01) towards more advanced seral. The values of total basal area varied significantly among successional stages (ANOVA; F=24.87; P<0.0000001). These results evidenced the structural characteristics and differentiated diversity according to the stage of succession where each fragment was.

This study describes aspects related to the conservation stage, phytogeographic and phytophysionomics, to support decision making focusing the conservation of area of Serra das Torres, Espírito Santo, Brazil. The area lies in the Seasonal Semideciduais Forests and Dense Ombrofilas Forests domains where eight types of phytophysionomic were recognized. This heterogeneity allows to define this area as priority remnant that demands conservation efforts of the Espirito Santo plant biodiversity.

In this work we discussed aspects related to the floristic composition of Serra das Torres, south of the Espírito Santo state, Brazil, highlighting species threatened with extinction, aiming at subsidizing the decision as to the feasibility of creating a Conservation Unit of the region. About 201 species are identificated, belonging to 136 genera and 59 families. The family was of greater richness Bromeliaceae with 39 species. We found 17 species threatened with extinction, demonstrating that the study area can be considerate priority in biodiversity conservation, requiring actions of preservation and justifying the implantation of a conservation unit at the site.