Projeto Toucan Cipó
Vegetation survey of Fazenda Toucan Cipó and surrounding area (Santana do Pirapama, Minas Gerais, Brazil)
 Taxonomic and floristic research is now providing detailed evidence of the great botanical richness in the Espinhaço range, but there remains much to be done. Working towards improving conservation in one of the richest areas of plant biodiversity in Brazil, this project is investigating the flora of the campo rupestre vegetation and surrounding cerrado and other associated vegetation types.
Fazenda Toucan Cipó, in the municipality of Santana do Pirapama, is located between the presently protected Parque Nacional da Serra do Cipó and the Diamantina region, within an area highlighted for the importance of its biodiversity (Drummond et al. 2005). Despite not being presently included within a protected area, the specific situation of this municipality strengthens the case for detailed studies to justify its conservation, as the area is strategically placed in the middle of a corridor of high ecological significance. Recent development of steel manufacturing plants in the neighbouring cities of Sete Lagoas and Belo Horizonte have increased the demand for fuel and this has affected the local cerrado vegetation, which is being burned to make charcoal to feed the industry.
In February 2007 a joint expedition from the Herbarium and the Universidade de São Paulo undertook a first survey of the vegetation by means of general collection. Several different habitats were visited, alongside the campo rupestre, and three new plant species were discovered in that expedition alone, together with several new records of endangered/rare species occurring in this extremely rich area. The expedition also started ground-truthing for the vegetation mapping.
Vegetation mapping for the area started in 2008 and will be two-fold: detailed conservation survey of the different vegetation types within an area of 10 square km including the Faz. Toucan Cipó and the surrounding area, and a vegetation change study looking at the reduction of the area of cerrado vegetation and its impact in the municipality as a whole.
The outputs of this project will include detailed recommendations for conservation priorities in the region and publications raising public awareness of the importance of local biodiversity. In addition, a new private reserve will be created at Fazenda Toucan Cipó under the Brazilian RPPN system.
Bibliography
Drummond, G.M., Martins, C.S., Machado, A.B.M., Sebaio, F.A., Antonini, Y. 2005. Biodiversidade em Minas Gerais, ed. 2. Fundação Biodiversitas, Belo Horizonte, 222pp.
Kew project team
Project leader: Daniela Zappi
HLAA:
Daniela Zappi, William Milliken, Nicholas Hind, Susana Baena, Eve Lucas
HPE: Nigel Taylor
Project partners and collaborators
Brazil:
Charles Frewen (Fazenda Toucan Cipó)
Universidade de São Paulo
Jardim Botânico do Rio de Janeiro
Fundação Biodiversitas
Funders
The Rufford Maurice Laing Foundation |
