Amazonian savannas are an integral part of Brazil’s Amazon “biome”: implications for environmental policies

Le résumé fourni par la source

Abstract Conservation policies in Brazil differ between the “biomes” into which the country has divided its territory since 2004. The Amazon biome is predominantly tropical forest but also includes unique savanna ecosystems, while the Cerrado biome is composed of various types of savanna but also includes islands and corridors of forest. Confusion, both inadvertent and deliberate, between the terms Cerrado and “savanna” has resulted in reducing the protection of Amazonian savannas by allowing less-demanding requirements applicable to the Cerrado biome to be applied. Threats to Amazonian savannas are also increased by legal provisions that allow required “legal reserves” in private properties to be compensated by reserves elsewhere in the same biome without requiring them to be of the same ecosystem type. We suggest needed clarifications and changes in Brazil’s regulations to guarantee the protection of the country’s unique Amazonian savanna ecosystems.

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