The vanishing Brazilian Atlantic forest

doi:10.1016/0006-3207(85)90055-2

Biological Conservation

Volume 34, Issue 1, 1985, Pages 17-34

https://doi.org/10.1016/0006-3207(85)90055-2 Get rights and content

Abstract

The Brazilian Atlantic forest constitutes a unique biome characterised by a high species diversity and a high level of endemism. A long history of land clearing for crops, pastures, timber and firewood has resulted in over two centuries of widespread destruction. Today, less than 6·8% of the total area of the Atlantic forest of Minas Gerais has any form of forest cover and forests in primaeval state are not far from becoming extinct. The remaining forest patches are small, isolated and unprotected. In order to preserve some of the original diversity of the Atlantic forest, urgent efforts must be channelled toward protecting the remaining forest fragments.

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Outbreaks of dermatopathy caused by Tephrosia noctiflora intoxication in Brazilian cattle
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This study aims to update the knowledge concerning the intoxication by Tephrosia noctiflora in Brazilian cattle herds by reporting new cases of intoxication in lactating cows, their calves and bulls and highlight the epidemiology, clinical signs, pathogenesis, gross, and microscopic lesions. The morbidity and mortality of this intoxication in the farms studied was low. Gross lesions in all affected cattle consisted of dermatitis with hyperpigmentation, crusts, ulceration, erythema, and lichenification in the skin of limbs, ventral abdomen, perianal and perineal areas of lactating calves and adult cattle. Microscopically, the main lesion observed consisted of severe dermatitis with parakeratotic hyperkeratosis, papillated proliferation, and diffuse, accentuated lymphoplasmacytic inflammatory infiltrate in the epidermis and dermis. The presence of skin lesions mainly in the limbs and ventral abdomen of cattle implies the pathogenesis of intoxication is related to a primary contact dermatitis, and the occurrence of similar lesions on the skin of nursing calves reinforces this hypothesis. The putative toxins of T. noctiflora have been thought to be rotenoids. Additional work is needed to define better if these compounds are the main toxin responsible for the dermatopathy observed in these herds.
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Green crimes are violations of environmental laws that aim to protect human well-being, natural resources, and ecosystems. Brazil has recorded an increase in green crimes in recent years. In this study, we used Spatial Durbin and other regression models to analyze the relationship between land use and green crime. We test whether there is a positive association between green crimes and the following land uses: urban edge areas, rural edge areas, and mixed urban uses. The results show that green crimes are spatially related to areas of high contact and exposure between human activity and the natural environment (urban and rural mixed uses), but that human presence by itself (presence of industrial activity) is not particularly associated with the occurrence of green crimes. These findings can serve to design and deploy data-driven policies and policing of green crimes.
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Biological Conservation

Abstract

References (40)

Os dominos morfoclimaticos da America do Sul.

Geomorfologia

Vegetacao. Regiao Sudeste

Surge a caatinga no lugar do verde

Folha de Sao Paulo

Arvores por ferro

Veja

O massacre da fauna Brasileira

Isto E

Desmatamento

O Globo

A history of Brazil

Taxonomy of the genus Leontopithecus

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An outine of the vegetation of South America

Plano de manejo da Reserva Biologica de Sooretama

The role of deforestation and private reserves in the conservation of the woolly spider monkey Brachyteles arachnoides

Avian speciation in tropical South America

In urgent need of protection—habitat for the woolly spider monkey

Oryx

Red gold. The conquest of the Brazilian Indians

As florestas da America do Sul. Sao Paulo

Anuario Estatistico do Brasil, 1975

Cited by (206)

Forest restoration rehabilitates soil multifunctionality in riparian zones of sugarcane production landscapes

Outbreaks of dermatopathy caused by Tephrosia noctiflora intoxication in Brazilian cattle

Land use and green crime: Assessing the edge effect

Governance lessons from the Atlantic Forest to the conservation of the Amazon

How different farming practices influence the activity of insectivorous Neotropical bats

Edges as hotspots and drivers of forest cover change in a tropical landscape