The end of an entire biome? World's largest wetland, the Pantanal, is menaced by the Hidrovia project which is uncertain to sustainably support large-scale navigation.

The resurgent navigation project known as the Hidrovia Paraguay-Paraná threatens the integrity of the Pantanal, the world's largest wetland, which is considered a biome of its own. Intensive barge navigation is intended to transport crops (soybean, sugar, corn) and cement, iron and manganese from areas of production in Brazil, Paraguay and Bolivia to the oceanic ports of the Plata River. This short communication assembles the information available on the potential impacts of the planned deepening of the natural channel of the Paraguay River in its ~700 km-long upper section.

Unraveling the adaptive chemical traits of Rhamnidium elaeocarpum Reissek in response to fire in pantanal wetlands.

We conducted a study on the effects of fire on Rhamnidium elaeocarpum, a widely distributed woody species found in the Pantanal wetlands, using LC-MS metabolomics, total phenolic and tannin content analysis, and thermogravimetric behavior. We sampled individuals from four groups: No Fire, Fire 2019, Fire 2020, and APD 20 (individuals whose aerial parts had died during the 2020 fire event). We found that recent fires had no significant impact on the species' phenolic metabolism except for those in the fourth group.

Flowering and fruiting show phenological complementarity in both trees and non-trees in mosaic-burnt floodable savanna.

The homogenization of fire regimes in a landscape may imply a temporal reduction in the availability of resources, such as flowers and fruits, which affect the fauna, as well as ecosystem services. We hypothesized that maintaining mosaic burning regimes, and thereby pyrodiversity, can diversify phenological patterns, ensuring year-round availability of flowers and fruits. Here we monitored open grassy tropical savanna phenology under different historical fire frequencies and fire seasons in a highly heterogeneous landscape in an Indigenous Territory in Brazil.

Morphological-anatomical and chemical features of Copernicia alba fruits and seeds, a palm from Brazilian Pantanal.

Copernicia alba (Arecaceae) is a palm tree regionally known as carandá that forms large populations and produces abundant fruits, an important food source for the local fauna in Brazilian wetlands. The fruits present morphological variations regarding color, shape and dimensions. In this study fruits of different shapes were collected and processed following routine techniques in plant morphology, and biochemistry analysis of endosperm.

Record-breaking wildfires in the world's largest continuous tropical wetland: Integrative fire management is urgently needed for both biodiversity and humans.

In the Brazilian Pantanal, wildfire occurrence has increased, reaching record highs of over 40,000 km in 2020. Smoke from wildfires worsened the situation of isolated, as well as urban communities, already under an increasing toll of COVID-19. Here we review the impacts and the possible causes of the 2020 mega-fires and recommend improvements for public policies and fire management in this wetland.

Growth and establishment of monodominant stands affected by ENSO and flooding in the Pantanal.

Climatic factors can influence the establishment and growth of wood species, but little is known about the effect of these factors on monodominant communities in wetlands. Therefore, we asked how climatic factors, such as ENSO (El Niño-Southern Oscillation), precipitation and flooding, influence growth and establishment of the dominant species Erythrina fusca in the Pantanal. We determined the age of sampled individuals, the age of the population and evaluated the effects of climate on tree growth.

Secondary metabolites that could contribute to the monodominance of Erythrina fusca in the Brazilian Pantanal.

Erythrina fusca is a dominant species in the Brazilian Pantanal. We hypothesized that E. fusca possess allelopathic potential and we evaluated effects of extracts on germination and development of Lactuca sativa, a bioindicator species.

Plants used by the rural community of Bananal, Mato Grosso, Brazil: Aspects of popular knowledge.

Studies in rural communities are important to maintain popular knowledge between generations, as well as to identify new species for pharmaceutical production. Thus, the objectives of this study were to determine which plant species the rural community of Bananal, Mato Grosso, Brazil, uses by calculating the levels of fidelity and concordance regarding species uses among residents and to determine if there is a relationship between the number of known useful plants and levels of education, age, and residence time. Ethnobotanical data was collected from residents of the community through semi-structured interviews in January/December/2016.

Discovery of potential ovicidal natural products using metabolomics.

Plant extracts are a potential source of new compounds for nematode control and may be an excellent alternative for the control gastrointestinal nematodes that are resistant to conventional anthelmintics. However, research involving natural products is a complex process. The main challenge is the identification of bioactive compounds.

Plant species diversity in a Neotropical wetland: patterns of similarity, effects of distance, and altitude.

The Brazilian Pantanal is an extensive wetland with heterogeneous habitats, primarily due to the river-floodplain system and plants with differential adaptations and reproductive strategies. Factors such as altitude, distance among plant formations, and flood pulse must be considered to better understand its diversity. Aiming to assess the influence of biogeographic patterns in this system, we analyzed the floristic composition of six areas along the Paraguay River, including residual relieves, verifying the pattern of similarity, and effects of distance and altitude.

Nutraceutical potential of Byrsonima cydoniifolia fruits based on chemical composition, anti-inflammatory, and antihyperalgesic activities.

In recent years, the fruits of native Brazilian plant species with anti-inflammatory property have gained prominence due to their properties comparable to traditional medicines. This study aimed to chemically characterize and evaluate the anti-inflammatory and antihyperalgesic activity of Byrsonima cydoniifolia fruit, which is widely used to manufacture ice cream and jellies. Our results revealed that the fruit exhibits flavonoid derivatives and stilbenes, as trans-piceatannol and resveratrol, as main secondary metabolites.

The Brazilian freshwater wetscape: Changes in tree community diversity and composition on climatic and geographic gradients.

Wetlands harbor an important compliment of regional plant diversity, but in many regions data on wetland diversity and composition is still lacking, thus hindering our understanding of the processes that control it. While patterns of broad-scale terrestrial diversity and composition typically correlate with contemporary climate it is not clear to what extent patterns in wetlands are complimentary, or conflicting. To elucidate this, we consolidate data from wetland forest inventories in Brazil and examine patterns of diversity and composition along temperature and rainfall gradients spanning five biomes.

Adulteration and Contamination of Commercial Sap of Species.

The and species, commonly known as "jatobá," produce a sap which is extracted by perforation of the trunk and is commonly used in folk medicine as a tonic. For this study, the authenticity of commercial samples of jatobá was verified by the identification of the main compounds and multivariate analysis and contamination by microbial presence analysis. The acute toxicity of the authentic jatobá sap was also evaluated.

Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.

Inundation and fire can affect the structure of riparian vegetation in wetlands. Our aim was to verify if there are differences in richness, abundance, basal area, composition and topographic preference of woody species in riparian forests related to the fire history, flooding duration, or the interaction between both. The study was conducted in the riparian forests of the Paraguay River some of which were burned three times between 2001 and 2011.

Antimicrobial activity of Aspilia latissima (Asteraceae).

We evaluated the antimicrobial activity of Aspilia latissima - an abundant plant from the Brazilian Pantanal region - against Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, Candida krusei, Candida tropicalis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. The crude extracts and fractions showed activity in all tested microorganisms. The chloroform fraction of the leaves and roots showed the most antimicrobial activity against S.

Knowledge and use of wild edible plants in rural communities along Paraguay River, Pantanal, Brazil.

Background: Wild plants are used as food for human populations where people still depend on natural resources to survive. This study aimed at identifying wild plants and edible uses known in four rural communities of the Pantanal-Brazil, estimating the use value and understanding how distance to the urban areas, gender, age and number of different environments available in the vicinity can influence the knowledge and use of these plants by local people.

Methods: Data on edible plants with known uses by communities were obtained through semi-structured interviews.

Phlebotomines (Diptera: Psychodidae) in forested areas of the Serra da Bodoquena, state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil.

Investigation was undertaken on the behaviour of the phlebotomine fauna in caves, forests, and anthropic environments of the Serra da Bodoquena, between January 1998 and January 2000. This paper reports on the phlebotomines captured in forested areas with automatic light traps (ALT), Shannon traps (ST), aspiration (AN), at natural resting sites and by human attractiveness (HA) during 24 h. The diversity and abundance of the species were investigated with ALT installed at 16 points (ground level) and 6 in the canopy.