Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Comment
  • Published:

The highly threatened and little known Amazonian savannahs

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 1, Article number: 0100 (2017) Cite this article

Save article
View saved research

Subjects

The biodiversity of the Amazonian savannahs may be lost before it is known, unless scientists, conservationists and policymakers come together quickly to protect it.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: The distribution of Amazonian savannahs and the three types of protected area throughout the Amazon biome.
Figure 2

References

  1. Strassburg, B. B. N. et al. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 1, 0099 (2017).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Silva, J. M. C. & Bates, J. M. BioScience 52, 225–234 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Barbosa, R. I., Campos, C., Pinto, F. & Fearnside, P. M. Funct. Ecosyst. Communities 1, 29–41 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Plotkin, R. L. & Riding, S. Geogr. Helv. 3, 183–192 (2011).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Sanderson, E. W. et al. Conserv. Biol. 16, 58–72 (2002).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Ministério do Meio Ambiente Portaria 126, de 27 de Maio de 2004 (2004); http://go.nature.com/2l47PId

  7. Nepstad, D. et al. Conserv. Biol. 20, 65–73 (2006).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Fearnside, P. M. Science 353, 746–748 (2016).

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Diniz, A. M. A. & Santos, R. Cad Geografia 15, 23–44 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia Área plantada, área colhida, quantidade produzida, rendimento médio e valor da produção das lavouras temporárias (2016); http://go.nature.com/2mvQ1TA

  11. Vera-Diaz, M. C., Kaufmann, R. K. & Nepstad, D. C. The Environmental Impacts of Soybean Expansion and Infrastructure Development in Brazil's Amazon Basin (Global Development and Environment Institute, 2009).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Silva, E. Revista Globo Rural 371, 28–33 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Mayle, F. E., Langstroth, R. P., Fisher, R. A. & Meir, P. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 362, 291–307 (2007).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Fernandes, G. W. et al. Nat. Conservação 14, 146–151 (2016).

  15. Ministros assinam contrato que estuda ligação de RR ao Pará pela BR-210. GLOBO G1 (27 June 2016); http://go.nature.com/2lYa3sa

  16. Mittermeier, J. C., Zyskowski, K., Stowe, E. S. & Lai, J. E. Bull. Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist. 51, 97–122 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Barni, P. E., Fearnside, P. M. & Graça, P. M. L. A. Env. Manage. 55, 259–278 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Turcios, M. M., Jaramillo, M. M. A., do Vale J. F. Jr, Fearnside, P. M. & Barbosa, R. I. Glob. Change Biol. 22, 190–197 (2016).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Barbosa, R. I. & Fearnside, P. M. Forest Ecol. Manage. 204, 371–384 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank H. R. da Silva for comments on this manuscript. W.D.C. was supported by a post-doctoral scholarship (Programa Nacional de Pós Doutorado, PNPD) from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçomento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. William Douglas de Carvalho is at the Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biodiversidade Tropical, Universidade Federal do Amapá, Rod. Juscelino Kubitscheck, S/N - Jardim Marco Zero, Macapá-AP, 68903-419, Brazil.,

    William Douglas de Carvalho

  2. Karen Mustin is at the Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TE, UK.,

    Karen Mustin

Authors
  1. William Douglas de Carvalho
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Karen Mustin
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

W.D.C. conducted the literature search to quantify the number of studies carried out in the Amazonian savannahs. K.M. conducted the GIS analyses to calculate total areas, and areas protected. Both authors contributed equally to the ideas and writing of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to William Douglas de Carvalho.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information (download PDF )

Supplementary Methods; Supplementary Table 1; Supplementary References (PDF 271 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

de Carvalho, W., Mustin, K. The highly threatened and little known Amazonian savannahs. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 0100 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0100

Download citation

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0100

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing Anthropocene

Sign up for the Nature Briefing: Anthropocene newsletter — what matters in anthropocene research, free to your inbox weekly.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing: Anthropocene