25.01.2024
Tropical Ecology of South America in the Brazilian Mata Atlântica
March/April 2024 - Find out more about the program
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Module description
Tropical ecology of South America
Martin Ebner (UNI TÜBINGEN), Tatiana Miranda (Senckenberg), Mirco Sole (UESC)
The study module is aimed at analysis of geo-bio-anthroposphere relationships in ecosystems of South America with special focus on the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest (Mata Atlântica) (Fig. 1). It deals with structure, function, diversity and change of tropical ecosystems at different geologic and climatic conditions. Another important aspect are socioeconomic implications and options for sustainable land management.
We apply a wide range of field methods in order to characterize the geologic basement, meteorological conditions, hydrology, soil properties, vegetation structure, faunal assemblages and ecophysiology of plants at different forest, grassland and cultivated sites. Experiments, chemical analyses and microscope studies in field labs complement the program in order to assess ecosystem functions, history and structure. Meetings with local scientists, farmers and NGOs working on different projects give insight into environmental issues and the socioeconomic realities of Brazil. As an applied aspect we analyze agroforestry projects and even contribute by direct participation in one of them.
The course is addressed to students of the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen (EKUT) and to students of our partner universities in Brazil. It was organized and realized by Dr. Rainer Radtke at different locations of Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul state since 2002, under participation of different universities in Germany and Brazil. Unfortunately, it found an sudden end in March 2020 with the outbreak of the Covid pandemic. The continuation of the course is planned at March/April 2024.
The Mata Atlântica
The Mata Atlântica, the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil, is considered to be one of the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth. New species are still being discovered. The forest belt of the Mata Atlântica once ran along the entire Brazilian coast over a distance of more than 4000 km. Today only 5-10% of this forest is left. The condition of the remaining Mata Atlântica biome is of major concern to the Brazilian society as it provides important ecosystem functions like regulation of water budget, storage of carbon, supply of wood, food, purification of water and air. Maintenance and restoration of those ecosystems is of high importance as almost two thirds of the Brazilian population live in the range of this rainforest belt.
In the study module “Tropical ecology of South America” a variety of field methods are applied for monitoring structure, functioning, diversity and change of tropical ecosystems in the range of the Mata Atlântica and neighboring biomes.
Prevised course program
1) Bahia in collaboration with UESC
The first station of the course will be located in the state of Bahia in the northeastern region of Brazil. The course program there will be worked out together with our cooperation partner Prof. Dr. Mirco Solé from Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), who is an expert in the herpetofauna of tropical forests with focus on response of frogs and snakes to global warming and use of pesticides. This part of the course like in the past will be addressed to students of both universities. The program includes investigation of different biomes like primary Atlantic rainforest, Caatinga, Restinga coastal forest, mangrove forest and algal reefs. Apart from primary forest we will study the ecological structure and functioning of different land use types like rubber plantations and cabrucas (cacao forests), which have the potential to be are integrated into agroforest systems. The herpitofauna (frogs and snakes) will be applied as indicators for the environmental status of the sites considered. The diet of selected frogs will be studied for reconstruction of food webs. We will also explore the potential to conduct isotope studies at those diet components in the future in the framework of an advanced study course. Herve Bocherens (EKUT) is an expert on the use of that powerful tool for ecosystem analysis.
Contrasting river catchments will be characterized by the diatom and particle signature of effluent river water. There is profound expertise to this topic in the geoscience department of Tübingen. In this respect we cooperate with the group of applied geoscience at the EKUT under guidance of Prof. Dr. Peter Grathwohl. At the end of the line, where the river meets the sea, the state of the benthic community of an algal reef and the composition of mangrove-dominated lagoon sediments will be studied. This part is supported by Prof. Dr. James Nebelsick, palaeontologist at EKUT, who is specialized on marine invertebrates. In Bahia, on Brazil's cocoa coast, it is only thanks to the unique form of sustainable cocoa cultivation (Cabrucas), that the biodiversity of the Mata Atlântica could be preserved. In this context we meet the Ecological Assessment Initiative (EAI), a project that monitors long-term effects of land use change on ecosystem services and biodiversity in the cocoa growing region of Bahia. Socio-economic implications and management strategies, which combine preservation of biodiversity and economic welfare of the local people are discussed in this context. For comparative studies of primary forest with conventional plantations and agroforested areas we will also stay several days on a research field station within a 11000 ha testing field for rubber plantations, which is run by the Michelin enterprise.
2) Rio Grande do Sul in Cooperation with PUC
The second station on the course is in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS), located in the southernmost region of Brazil in collaboration with the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), PUCRS holds an 5000 ha ecological reserve named Pró-Mata in the araucaria highlands of RS, including a research station, where it is possible to combine field and laboratory practices. Pró-Mata was established in the framework of a binational research project,,which united PUC and EKUT, University of applied Forest Sciences, Rottenburg (HFR) and the Federal University of Rio Gande do Sul (UFRGS)
We will study of epiphyte life in the tree canopies as models for recovery of water directly from the atmosphere. In the Pró-Mata field lab we have the facilities to prepare soils and sediments of the Pro-Mata area for pollen analysis in order to reconstruct the vegetation dynamics - which is an indicator for ongoing climate change. The Pro-Mata area as well gives the opportunity for mapping exercises, referring to vegetation cover, soils and the geological basement
The second part of the program in RS takes place in the Atlantic forest directly underneath the Pro-Mata area. Here we have access to the Garapia area, where the agroforest project “Nossa Terra” is settled. The project.is aimed at restoration of a forest ecosystem at simultanous cultivation of fruit bearing trees and crop plants like Ilex paraguarensis (mate), Euterpe edulis (palm heart), banana and lime at a formerly deforested area with facing hillside instability.
The students will not only take part in monitoring of ecological conditions of this area but also get to know about sustainable cultivation measures. This project under supervision of Fernando Poli, Rosanna Keil Gustavo Bartelli and Tomasini Junio of the office for environmental planning (SUSTENTABIO) was already presented at the KNE-Kompetenzzetrum für nachhaltige Entwicklung (Ebner 2018).
Monitoring of ecological data will not only be carried out by direct mapping of vegetation and soil, but as well by analyzing the chemical signature and diatom, pollen and particle load of rivers draining the correspondent catchments. We also have the option for acquisition of remote sensing data by specialized drohnes
We also try to establish and renovate contacts with Candelaria, Sao Pedro do Sul and Santa Maria, where a fantastic paleontological record about the ecosystem of the triassic period exist, including therapsids and archosaurs. In 2015 the students of Tübingen participated 3 days at an excavation in the framework of the field course.