Understanding Brazil’s catastrophic fires: Causes, consequences and policy needed to prevent future tragedies

The handicrafts made from Syngonanthus nitens scapes have been an important source of income for rural communities in the Jalapao region of Brazil since the late 1990s. This study analyzed S. nitens harvest and management techniques and the economic importance of the handicrafts. We also tested the effects of harvest on S. nitens population ecology. Handicrafts provide about US$1,800/year per artisan, being especially important to women. Experimental scape harvesting in mid-October, which is when knowledgeable artisans harvest and when the seeds are mature, had no consistent effects on population density, plant survival, or reproduction (clonal or sexual) after one year. Since 40% of the new recruits come from seeds, harvest after seed maturation, combined with removal of only the scapes and not the flowerheads, can allow for S. nitens seeds to remain in the populations and help ensure sustainability of the growing S. nitens handicraft activity. Important economic aspects of S. nitens harvest sustainability include the high value of the handicrafts and the fact they are not perishable.

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Ethnobotany and Effects of Harvesting on the Population Ecology of Syngonanthus nitens (Bong.) Ruhland (Eriocaulaceae), a NTFP from Jalapão Region, Central Brazil

The Espinhaco Range, located in the states of Minas Gerais andBahia, has a type of vegetation with one of the highest degrees of endemism inBrazil: the campos rupestres. In this area, Asclepiadoideaeis among the most diverse angiosperm groups, including species with broaddistributions and others restricted to small areas. This study attempts toevaluate the species richness and the degree of endemism in this region, as wellas the influence of collecting efforts on the perception of biodiversity. It isbased especially on the Asclepiadoideae from the Espinhaco Range of MinasGerais (ERMG), though a brief consideration of the situation in Bahia is alsointroduced. For comparative studies, the ERMG was divided into four regions:South, Serra do Cipo, Diamantina Plateau, and North. The species werethen characterized according to their distribution and occurrence in each ofthese regions. Ninety-seven species of Asclepiadoideae are native to the ERMG;about 30% of them are endemic to this area and almost 25% are restricted to onlyone of the four regions. The Serra do Cipo and the Diamantina Plateaupresent the highest degrees of endemism, and the highest richness innumber of species is found in the South. Nevertheless, there is a progressive decrease in collectingefforts northwards, which may distort species distribution and occurrence, andlead to misinterpretations about centers of diversity and endemism. TheEspinhaco Range should be considered vulnerable in its entirety becauseof the singular flora still incompletely known and the restricted distributionof many species. Programs that establish priority areas of conservation withoutconsidering the region as a whole will only offer temporary, partial protectionfor its biodiversity.

Richness and endemism in Asclepiadoideae (Apocynaceae) from the Espinhaço Range of Minas Gerais, Brazil – a conservationist view

"Sempre-vivas" is the name given in Brazil to parts of plants, usually scapes and inflorescences, that conserve the appearance of the living structures even after dryed out (everlasting). They are sold locally and exported for interior decoration. In a smaller scale, leaves, fruits and seeds are also used. "Sempre-vivas" species are gathered in the savanna-like formations ("cerrados") of the Central-West and Southeast regions of Brazil, while species of greater commercial value originate from the grasslands with rocky outcrops ("campos rupestres") from the States of Minas Gerais, Bahia and Goias. Species of Eriocaulaceae, Poaceae (Gramineae), Xyridaceae, Cyperaceae and Rapateaceae predominate in a decreasing order. The largest commercial center for this material is the city of Diamantina, in the State of Minas Gerais, where 25 species of Eriocaulaceae, 12 of Poaceae, 9 of Xyridaceae, 2 of Cyperaceae and 1 of Rapateaceae are commercialized. Identification keys for the genera based on characters found in the commercialized parts, brief descriptions, illustrations, list of the analysed material, popular names and comments on the species are presented.

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Estudos em "sempre-vivas": taxonomia com ênfase nas espécies de Minas Gerais, Brasil

The pantropical family Eriocaulaceae includes ten genera and c. 1,400 species, with diversity concentrated in the New World. The last complete revision of the family was published more than 100 years ago, and until recently the generic and infrageneric relationships were poorly resolved. However, a multi-disciplinary approach over the last 30 years, using morphological and anatomical characters, has been supplemented with additional data from palynology, chemistry, embryology, population genetics, cytology and, more recently, molecular phylogenetic studies. This led to a reassessment of phylogenetic relationships within the family. In this paper we present new data for the ITS and trnL-F regions, analysed separately and in combination, using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference. The data confirm previous results, and show that many characters traditionally used for differentiating and circumscribing the genera within the family are homoplasious. A new generic key with characters from various sources and reflecting the current taxonomic changes is presented.

/pdf/molecular-phylogeny-morphology-and-their-implications-for-6pxm9jq7by.pdf

Molecular phylogeny, morphology and their implications for the taxonomy of Eriocaulaceae

The present work is a study of "everlasting flowers" as a natural product of importance for interior decoration. The term "everlasting flowers" is used for scapes and inflorescences which, even after being detached from the plant, still maintain the appearance of living structures. The economic activities related to this group of plants are considered; their importance is demonstrated, as a source of income and employment in the region of Diamantina (State of Minas Gerais, Brazil), and also as a source of revenue for the country: production is largely exported to Europe and the U.S.A. A survey was made of the quantity of such flowers marketed, of prices paid to collectors, and of the wholesale prices of the species most extensively commercialized in the region (18 Eriocaulaceae, 10 Gramineae, 3 Xyridaceae and 2 Cyperaceae); from these figures were calculated the values involved in production and commercialization, thus providing some idea of the income created and the quantity of plants concerned. The importance of exportation of everlasting flowers as a source of revenue was also considered. Analysis of data permits inference of a decline in export; this may be due to a fall in production as a result of over-collection and subsequent difficulty in recuperation of populations, or of market competition from other countries. It is suggested that research should be increased with a view to making viable the systematic cultivation of those species which can be cultivated, as an important contribution to the economy of regions of campo rupestre

http://www.scielo.br/pdf/abb/v1n2s1/v1n2s1a18.pdf

Nelson Giulietti

Papers

Estudos em sempre-vivas: importância econômica do extrativismo em Minas Gerais, Brasil