Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1007/s11258-025-01514-0 |
| Document | Shareable Link |
| Title (Primary) | Assessment climate change impacts on a key species of campos rupestres: can we preserve the everlasting flower? |
| Author | de Azevedo, M.L.; Sperandio, H.V.; de Aguiar Coelho, F.; Siqueira da Silva, R.; Gorgens, E.B. |
| Source Titel | Plant Ecology |
| Year | 2025 |
| Department | OESA |
| Volume | 226 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Page From | 587 |
| Page To | 601 |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T5 Future Landscapes |
| Supplements | https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1007%2Fs11258-025-01514-0/MediaObjects/11258_2025_1514_MOESM1_ESM.docx |
| Keywords | Conservation; Sustainable use; Management; Protected Areas; CLIMEX |
| Abstract | Climate change is one of the greatest threats to global biodiversity, especially in tropical montane ecosystems such as the campos rupestres, which harbor a unique richness of endemic species. Comanthera elegans, a keystone species within this ecosystem, is particularly vulnerable to these impacts, and understanding this vulnerability is essential for effective conservation. We used the CLIMEX software, widely recognized for its integration of climatic and ecological data, to assess the climate suitability of C. elegans in the present and future projections. We used data from four global climate models from the CMIP5 project under the RCP8.5 scenario from 2040 to 2059 for future projections. Our results indicate a reduction of up to 50% in high-suitability areas within the campos rupestres for the species in the coming decades. This pattern highlights fragmentation of suitable habitats in response to climate change. This projected habitat loss poses a risk to C. elegans, broader ecosystem services, and local economies of traditional communities that depend on this species. In addition, we developed a specific growth index curve for C. elegans, providing insights into its ecological dynamics and environmental sensitivities. Analysis of this growth curve reveals that fire management practices, particularly prescribed burns early in the dry season, can negatively impact recruitment. Our results provide crucial information for the conservation and sustainable management of the species, highlighting climate refugia. The conservation of this emblematic species is essential for its survival and as a strategy to protect other endemic and threatened species that share the same habitat. |
| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=30707 |
| de Azevedo, M.L., Sperandio, H.V., de Aguiar Coelho, F., Siqueira da Silva, R., Gorgens, E.B. (2025): Assessment climate change impacts on a key species of campos rupestres: can we preserve the everlasting flower? Plant Ecol. 226 (6), 587 - 601 10.1007/s11258-025-01514-0 |
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