The Amazon Forest Inventory Network (RAINFOR) completed another fieldwork campaign in Acre, Brasil. The team led by Fernanda Coelho (University of Leeds), Wendeson Castro (Universidade Federal do Acre) and Edmar Oliveira (Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso- UNEMAT- Campus Nova Xavantina) remeasured 9 permanent forest plots: 3 plots in Alto Jurua, 4 plots in Reserva Extrativista Chico Mendes, 1 plot in Floresta Experimental Catuaba and 1 plot in Reserva Florestal Humaita. Over 45 days on fieldwork and a long trip by flight and long hours by boat the team:
remeasured trees in 9 hectares
collected nearly 700 botanical vouchers
measured tapper in 4 plots
collected soil, charcoal and fine root data in 5 pits per plot
The joint PPBio/RAINFOR Amazon monitoring campaign started in July 2015, funded by a Newton grant from NERC to Oliver Phillips and Flavia Costa. For 4 weeks a team formed by Fernanda Coelho, Adriane Esquivel and Thaiane Sousa led a research expedition joined by 9 local assistants to re-measure 8 permanent plots of 1-ha each along the BR 319 road. These plots were installed in 2010 and 2011 between the Purus and Madeira Rivers along an 850-km federal road that connects Manaus-AM to Porto Velho-RO, in the heart of the Amazon and addressing one of the biggest un-sampled gaps in the world. During the field campaign the team recorded diameter measurements, heights, additional informations in relation to liana infestation and tree mode of death, and collected hundreds of recruits and other individuals to improve species identifications for the plots.
All recensused plots are well distributed along BR 319 transect: Manaquiri Km 100 (3 plots), Igapo-Acu km 260 (2 plots) and Orquestra km 300 (3 plots). In August the team is continuing on to re-measure 5 more plots closer to Porto Velho: Capana km 400 (3 plots) and Puruzinho km 620 (2 plots). The re-measurement of these plots provides the first ever ground data to help address fundamental questions concerning forest dynamics and carbon fluxes from this part of the Brazilian Amazon.
BR-319, Brasil (photo: Fernanda Coelho de Sauza 2015)
We have had an extremely active campaign throughout the dry season, establishing and recensusing more than twenty RAINFOR plots across Mato Grosso and the southern part of the neighouring Para state. Much of this area lies within the natural transition zone between Amazonia and drier ecosystems to the south. Fieldwork led by Professor Beatriz and Ben-Hur Marimon of the Universidade de Mato Grosso team included important contributions from several post-doctoral and student colleagues, and was supported by grants from the PVE (Special Visiting Researcher) programme of CNPq as well as on-going UNEMAT projects with PELD and PPBio.
While large areas have now been converted to agriculture, the remaining natural vegetation contains a fascinating diversity of species. Much of the vegetation is hyper-dynamic, with stem turnover rates reaching or exceeding 3% a year, and in some localities may be especially vulnerable to climate change.
Eder: Pausa para tirar os carrapatos SAA/SATBeatriz, Eder, Bianca, Denis, Bem HurDa esquerda para a direita, Eder, Denis, Bia e Bianca SSA/SATMSc student Eder Carvalho das Neves SAA/SATAbraço mortal. A figueira mata-pau (Ficus sp.) cresce em volta de uma árvore, que acaba morrendo. No final, sobra apenas o vazio deixado pelo tronco apodrecido da vítima.Zanthoxylum sp. Os espinhos são possíveis remanescentes de uma época de atividade da mega-fauna, hoje extinta.Bugio. SAA/SAT campaignÁrvores de cerrado. Proteção eficiente contra o fogo. Sinop-Sorriso CampaignFloresta em Sinop-MT Sinop-Sorriso CampaignOliver and Bia measuring cerrado in SOR-01 – Sinop-Sorriso Campaign Floresta emWhere is the Cerrado? Prof. Oliver na plantação de milhares de hectares de milho ao lado do Plot SOR-01 no sul da Amazônia: ilha de cerrado em um oceano de milho. Sinop/Sorriso campaignSinop/Sorriso campaign. Paulo Morrandi, PhD studant supervised by Bia Marimon with his hut bee belt WhereLei inócua Devido à proibição do corte, fazendeiros deixam castanheiras (Bertholletia excelsa) como testemunhas silenciosas de um passado recente de floresta. Sem o seu ambiente natural e imersas em um mar de soja, as árvores acabam morrendo sem se reproduzir. Sinop/Sorriso campaign
Santana do Araguaia (SAA-01, SAA-02 e SAT-01. Com Bia e Ben Hur Marimon (Professores), Bianca Oliveira (MSc, bolsista PELD), Dr. Denis Nogueira (Pós-Doc) e Eder Carvalho (MSc student).
Sinop/Sorriso campaign Remedindo as áreas SIP-01 (Floresta) and SOR-01 (cerrado) para Rainfor e PPBio. Com Beatriz e Ben Hur Marimon, Oliver Phillips, Edmar Olveira e Paulo Morandi Lei