An unprecedented study analyzed 420,000 occurrence records for 3,060 Caatinga plant species and concluded that 99% of the plant communities there are expected to lose species by 2060.
The Amazon Rainforest — together with other forests around the globe — lies at the center of concern over climate changes inside Brazil and worldwide. Yet little is studied and even less said about the dry, hot tropical biomes like the Caatinga, which occupies around 800,000 square kilometers in mostly Northeastern Brazil. But this is beginning to change.
“These data were complemented by the growth form of each species, which specifies if the plant is a tree, a bush, an herbaceous perennial, a succulent, an herb or a vine,” says UNICAMP biologist Mario Ribeiro de Moura, the study’s main author. Moura also explains that plants store carbon from the atmosphere during photosynthesis so they can grow branches, roots and leaves while releasing oxygen. “These ecosystem services are called carbon storage and sequestering, respectively. A reduction in the number of trees will reduce the volume of these services, further worsening the climate crisis.
UNICAMP biologist and zoologist Thaís Guedes, who was not on the research team, says he believes the study’s results serve as yet another warning to government leaders and society: The topic of climate change must be addressed, and serious, long-term planning created, if the dry tropical forests of the Caatinga are to be kept alive.
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