ABOUT US! THE GROUP MEMBERS!

Anne Schneider: 

1.     Identify the spatial scale (global, regional, local) of this ecosystem (or pick one to focus on if it spans more than one scale).

2.     A map of the study area (cite the source)

3.     An image of your ecosystems (if possible, historic and present) (cite the source)

4.     A paragraph describing the historical state of the ecosystem.

5.     What did the ecosystem historically look like?

Mary Isaac: 

6.     How have people impacted the ecosystem? (Good, Bad, Ugly?)

7.     A paragraph or two describing the current human impacts on the ecosystem.

8.     Table with data that support your assessment of the current impacts (cite the source). These data will likely be part of the basis for how you arrived at this assessment.

9.     What benefits do people get from the ecosystems?

10.  What can be done to maintain balance between people and the ecosystem?

11.  A paragraph on what you think can be done to improve (or maintain positive) human impacts on the ecosystem.

Sandy Jimenez: 

12.  A paragraph describing the likely future prospects for this ecosystem, as you understand them from your research on the current human impacts. 

13.  Are there any protected areas for that ecosystem? 

14.  What is the status of that protected area? 

15.  What is likely to happen in the future to that ecosystem? 

Blog editing by: Anne Schneider 

Presentation by: Mary Isaac, Sandy Jimenez, & Anne Schneider 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Augenfeld, K. H., Franklin, S. B., & Snyder, D. H. (2008). Breeding bird communities of upland hardwood forest 12 years after shelterwood logging . Forest Ecology and Management , 225(3-4), 1271-1282. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2007.10.031

Butler , R. A. (2009, May 31). Destruction of Brazil's most imperiled rainforest continues . Retrieved from http://news.mongabay.com/2009/0601-mata_atlantica.html

Butler, R. A. (2008, November 22). Brazil moves to protect and restore endangered Atlantic rainforest . Retrieved from http://news.mongabay.com/2011/0527-atlantic_forest.html

Calmon, M., Brancalion, P. S., Paese, A., Aronson, J., Castro, P., da Silva, S. C., &  Rodrigues, R. R. (2011). Emerging Threats and opportunities for large-scale ecological restoration in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil. Restoration Ecology, 19(2), 154-158. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1526-100X.2011.00772.x/abstract

Duffy, J. Emmet, Fonseca, Gustavo, Rylands, Paglia, Adriando, and Mittermeier, Russell.  (2007). Encyclopedia of Earth: Biological diversity in the Atlantic Forest. Retrieved from http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biological_diversity_in_the_Atlantic_Forest

Fonseca , C. R., Ganade, G., Baldissera, R., & Becker , C. G. (2009). Towards an ecologically-sustainable forestry in the Atlantic Forest . Biological Conservation , 142(6), 1209-1219. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.02.017

Galindo-Leal, C., & Gusmao Camara , I. D. (2003). The Atlantic Forest of South America: Biodiversity status, threats, and outlook . (pp. 3-57). Washington, DC : Island Press Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=FkPy-K4iroAC&oi=fnd&pg=PA43&dq=atlantic+forest+brazil&ots=XNtwlzDtKT&sig=tvyGNuEljKgDA39zslSNhUYXwc8#v=onepage&q&f=false

Giorgi , A. P. (2007, October 01). Preserving biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil and its Araucaria Moist Forest ecoregion .Retrieved from http://www.environment.ucla.edu/news/article.asp?parentid=1043

Hozempa , M. (2001, December 11). Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund: Atlantic Forest. Retrieved from http://www.cepf.net/where_we_work/regions/south_america/atlantic_forest/Pages/default.aspx

Prado , C. P. A., & Haddad , C. F. B. (2005). Reproductive modes in frogs and their unexpected diversity in the Atlantic Forest Brazil . BioScience , 55(3), 207-217. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1641/0006-3568(2005)055[0207:RMIFAT]2.0.CO;2

Ribiero , M. C., Metzger , J. P., Martensen, A. C., Ponzoni, F. J., & Hirota, M. M. (2009). The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: How much is left, and how is the remaining forest distributed? Implications for conservation. Biological Conservation , 142(6), 1141-1153. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.02.021

Tabarelli, M., Pinto, L. P., Silva, J.M. C., Hirota, M. & Bede, L. (2005), Challenges and Opportunities for Biodiversity Conservation in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. Conservation Biology, 19(3), 695–700. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00694.x/abstract

Tercek , M. (2011, January 31). Brazil Atlantic Forest . Retrieved from http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/southamerica/brazil/placesweprotect/atlantic-forest.xml

Zachos , F. E., & Habel , J. C. (2011). Biodiversity hotspots: Distribution and protection of conservation priority areas . (pp. 1121-1124). Berlin, Germany : Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=MRp9NoUfLVwC&pg=PA426&dq=Atlantic+forest+in+Brazil+benefits+to+humans&hl=en&sa=X&ei=8KSHUqeWNsSYiALY_oDYDA&ved=0CDIQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Atlantic%20forest%20in%20Brazil%20benefits%20to%20humans&f=false

PROTECTED AREAS

Are there any protected areas?

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the regions in South America with the highest number of strictly protected areas such as parks, reserves, ecological stations, and private reserves (Tabarelli et al., 2005). 

In the last 40 years alone, more than 600 new protected areas were created (Tabarelli et al., 2005). Even so, the system still is not in good shape for a number of reasons:

1. Protected areas ONLY cover less than 2% of the entire biome! 
2. Strictly protected areas protect ONLY 24% of the original forest landscape
3. Most of these remnants are far too small to guarantee long-term species existence
4. Out of the 104 threatened vertebrate species, 57 have yet to be recorded in any other protected area

Legislation has been passed also in efforts to protect the forest. For example, the Forest Code of 1965 demands that 20% of the area of rural land in the region surrounding the forest is managed as a legal forest reserve and that gallery forest and forest on slopes be areas under permanent protection (Tabarelli et al., 2005).

However, such legislation is not being enforced properly. The amount of deforestation occurring in the Atlantic Forest contradicts such policies.

It is alarming to think that one of the world’s 25 biodiversity hotspots is not being sufficiently protected. 

What is the status of protected areas in the Atlantic Forest?

The status of protected areas in the Atlantic Forest is slowly improving.


Although public interest and involvement in the forest’s well being has increased, many areas are still not sufficiently protected from the increasing demands of the region’s growing human population.

Furthermore, the majority of land available for preservation is privately owned. In response, legislation such as Reservas Particulares do Patrimônio Natural (RPPN) has developed, which allows landowners to designate their part of the forest as protected. The program has been proven to be successful; in 2005 alone, landowners designated 443 RPPNs (Tabarelli et al., 2005).

Another way state governments have incentivized forest preservation is by giving subsidies to municipalities based on the area under government protection in their state.
Recently, environmental legislation has stirred human desire to improve ecological restoration but again not enough to make a big enough impact.

With necessary funding and equipment and strict enforcement of environmental laws, the status of these protected areas can improve.

Ultimately, the people must decide whether or not they find the Brazilian Atlantic Forest to be of importance to them. 

What is likely to happen in the future to that ecosystem?

The Atlantic Forest stretches into multiple different countries such as Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay and is home to about 70% of Brazil’s 169 million people (Galindo-Leal et al., 2008).


Human interference is the main cause of the Atlantic Forest’s destruction. As the population continues to grow, the demand for charcoal, wood, and other human necessities also continues to grow. Clearing forest for timber, cattle-ranches, and sugar/coffee plantations, only exacerbates the current problems. Furthermore, Agricultural and industrial productions have contaminated the air and water, which consequently has harmed the forest’s biodiversity. 

In spite of all this, the future of the Atlantic Forest cannot be easily determined. It may turn out good or bad depending on how seriously society takes these issues.

Current legislation seeks to restrict the clearing of the forest’s remaining areas that are used for plantations. Additionally, restoration programs such as the Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact continue to protect the forest’s remaining fragments.

The key to preserving these protected areas is to stimulate people’s interest and involvement, so that they become aware of the effects deforestation and mismanagement of resources on the environment.

Ultimately, new technological improvements, accessibility of conservation tools, and availability of funding, set a bright future for the Atlantic Forest’s remaining areas. 

PEOPLE'S IMPACT

People's Impact on the Ecosystem

The destruction of the Brazilian Atlantic Forest is one of the most alarming conservation problems in the world largely because tropical moist forests are victims of devastating human impact (Prado et al., 2005)


Since the occupation of Brazil by Europeans in the 1500’s, there has been mass deforestation occurring in the Atlantic Forest. The original area covering the forest was 1,300,000 km² (Prado et al., 2005). 

(Galindo-Leal et al., 2003)

Clearing of the forest can primarily be attributed to the need for timber, firewood, charcoal, agriculture, cattle ranching, and construction of cities. 

The 1900s brought about rapid industrialization and population growth which further exacerbated the waning state of the forest. Cities and railways were erected, bleeding into forest territory at an uncontrolled rate. 

(Galindo-Leal et al., 2003) 

Occupation, without appropriate urban and environmental planning, caused a reduction of the forest to 98,800 km² or 7.6% of the original forest (Prado et al., 2005). 

Today, 120 million Brazilians live in more than 3,000 cities of the Atlantic Forest’s cleared lands (Prado et al., 2005). 

Species extinction and endangerment is rampant in the Atlantic Forest. Although it is a biodiversity hotspot, the forest is losing much of its endemic species due to continued deforestation and overall mistreatment of the land. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) published in its Global Red List of Endangered Species that more than 110 species living in the Atlantic Forest are threatened, 29 of which are endangered critically.  

(Galindo-Leal et al., 2003)

     Human pollution, like the oil crisis of the 1970s in which Alcohol was used to substitute fuel, have had a strong impact on the state of the forest (Galindo-Leal et al., 2003). 

      Logging, agriculture, and cattle ranches have taken a huge toll on the Atlantic Forest. Brazil has recently embarked on the journey to improve conditions in its forests. People on a grassroots scale and on a national scale have advocated for this effort. Regardless, the effort to restore and preserve biodiversity in the Atlantic Forest is sufficiently underfunded (Bulter, 2008).  

      In November 2009, Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva signed a decree to protect and restore the Atlantic Forest to 20% of its original cover. Separately, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) created a program to plant a billion native trees in the region. Even with all the initiative taken by politicians and environmentalists, the environment remains in a state of improving disrepair. This is because years of human damage have taken their toll on the ecosystem. It will take a lot of time before the forest can return to a healthier condition (Bulter, 2009). 

(Butler, 2009) 

(Butler, 2008) 

How do people benefit from the Atlantic Forest?

The Brazilian Atlantic Forest provides 50% of the freshwater needed by the Brazilian population that lives in its coastal areas.

Like many forests, the Atlantic Forest has also helped keep increasing carbon emission levels down. Its trees successfully take in pollutants like CO₂ and emit Oxygen that is safe for human breathing.

The Forest also provides people with a place to live, for timber for building, hardwood for burning for energy/warmth, and for farmland for either cattle or for monoculture plantations such as sugarcane and coffee (Zachos et al., 2011). 

What can be done to maintain balance between people and the Atlantic Forest?

Although humans need the resources that the Atlantic Forest provides to live, such practices can be carried out sustainably.

Deforestation can also be practiced more sustainably. For example, companies can practice shelterwood cutting. This allows for some original, elderly trees to remain so that they may provide shade for new saplings to grow (Augenfeld et al., 2008). 


To decrease the negative impacts of agriculture, farmers can practice crop rotation and intercropping. Such practices will minimize famine, disease and increase nutrients in the soil, producing a better crop yield. (Fonseca et al., 2009). 



Studies show that animals in the forest are among those that can survive in both open and closed ecosystems. However, those primarily found in the Atlantic Forest survive best in closed ecosystems (without human interference in their landscape). Such species can be satisfied by ecologically-tree monocultures that simulate the Forest’s original composition. One example of this is shade coffee, which is grown without disturbing the closed canopy found in tropical forests.

How can we improve/maintain positive impacts on the Atlantic Forest?

Improvements can be made to the Atlantic Forest in a number of ways. The practice of healthy agricultural methods is a good place to start. Continuing to plant trees that are a part of the forest’s original canopy is also a productive thing to do. Enforcing environmental standards on pollution levels can protect the current state of the forest from worsening. Furthermore, protecting the endemic, endangered, and threatened species in the Atlantic Forest from exploitation and extinction can really help.