Environmental and human health risk assessment of potentially toxic elements in rehabilitating iron mine lands in the Brazilian Amazon.

Waste pile substrates from Fe mining may carry potentially toxic elements (PTE). Rehabilitation efforts must maintain soil vegetation cover effectively, avoiding the dispersion of particulate matter and reducing the risk to the environment and human health. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate the pseudo-total and extractable contents, perform chemical fractionation, and assess the bioaccessibility and risk of PTE in waste piles of Fe mining in the Eastern Amazon.

Indicators to quantify biodiversity gains for compensation and mineland rehabilitation in the Eastern Amazon.

To connect the protection of natural resources to economic development, environmental rehabilitation is a promising way to repair and compensate for impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Here, we aimed to compare and select potential indicators for the success of different rehabilitating ecosystems to quantify gains in biodiversity and ecosystem services within the Impact Mitigation Hierarchy. We sampled nine environmental variables along rehabilitation chronosequences from rehabilitating (i) iron mining waste piles, (ii) sand quarries, and (iii) compensation areas in the Carajás National Forest.

Are perceptions of climate change in Amazonian coastal communities influenced by socioeconomic and cultural factors?

Climate changes have become undisputed, as have their consequences for global ecosystems and mankind. The coastal areas are among the most affected areas on the planet due to their geographical location. The effects suffered by coastal areas can render the residing populations homeless, as well as compromise the continuity of the history and culture of these environments.

Composition and structure of the bryophyte community of Park Savanna in Marajó Island, Pará, Brazil.

Aiming to enrich the knowledge about the flora of savannas, this paper studied the composition and structure of the bryophyte community of Park Savanna areas in Marajó Island - PA. Biological material was collected within 60 100-m2 plots equally distributed in the dry season of 2016 and the rainy season of 2017 in five Park Savanna areas (SP-I to SP-V). The composition, density, richness and diversity of species and presence of indicator species were compared between the sampled areas and seasons.

Natural regeneration triggers compositional and functional shifts in soil seed banks.

Secondary forests emerging during traditional shifting cultivation practices are increasingly recognized for their fulfillment of ecosystem services and mitigation potential of climate change and biodiversity losses. The soil seed bank as a recruit reservoir is a limiting factor for natural forest regeneration of such secondary forests and is decisive for the formation and restitution of the post-disturbance community. The aim of this study was to compare the composition of the soil seed bank along a natural regeneration chronosequence from the Caxiuanã National Forest, eastern Amazon, including old-growth reference sites.