National Pampa Day is celebrated this Sunday (Dec 17); in Rio Grande do Sul, the biome lost 2.9 million hectares from 1985 to 2022
A biome that represents more than 68% of the total area of Rio Grande do Sul, Pampa suffers from the rapid disappearance of its fauna and flora. Between 1985 and 2022, Pampa, a biome that only exists in the State, lost 2.9 million hectares, according to a study by MapBiomas Pampa.
The loss corresponds to 58 times the area of the capital Porto Alegre, which represents a reduction of 32% of the area that existed in 1985. The advance of grain monoculture and forestry are the main threats to areas of rural vegetation, with little more 1 meter high.
The study, drawn from the analysis of satellite images, also points out that the rural vegetation of the South American Pampas, a biome made up of more than 1 million square kilometers between Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay, suffered a loss of 20%, including 9, 1 million hectares of native fields in the same period. Of the mapped areas, 66% are in Argentina (72 million hectares), 18% in Brazil (19.4 million hectares) and 16% in Uruguay (17.8 million hectares). The South American Pampa occupies 6.1% of South America.
The biologist, master in Botany, doctor in Ecology and Natural Resources and professor in the Department of Botany at UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul) Paulo Brack warns that the situation is serious.
“The situation of the Pampa biome is very serious, in the sense that, for example, last year MapBiomas, which is this information network that brings together a series of entities and institutions that assess the situation of Brazilian biomes, placed the Pampa biome in 1st place in loss of remnants in the last 37 years, from 1985 to 2021, with 29.5% having been lost in this period of practically 3 and a half decades. We see that native fields are quickly being replaced, mainly by soybean plantations, the expansion of soybeans is impressive. It occurs not only in the Pampa region, but also in the Plateau, in the high altitude fields as well, which is another very worrying situation”the teacher said to Brazil Agency.
According to the mapping, between 1985 and 2022, agricultural land use increased by 2.1 million hectares. Forestry, on the other hand, increased its extension by more than 720 thousand hectares in the period, a growth equivalent to 1,667%. The total area occupied by fields in 1985 was 9 million hectares, while in 2022 it is around 6.2 million hectares.
“Due to this situation of accelerated loss and the lack of mechanisms that facilitate more compatible activities, other than conversion to agriculture and also to forestry, considering that forestry grew by more than 1600% in this period from 1985 to 2021, it is not possible to There has, unfortunately, been attention from governments regarding what to do to avoid this impressive conversion of the Pampa into activities such as agricultural plantations, including exotic pastures, forage monocultures, and this has contributed greatly to the accelerated loss of the Pampa. In a few decades we will no longer be able to own this biome, it will practically be lost, with small areas remaining”regrets.
The professor explains that due to the characteristics of the Pampa vegetation, cattle breeding is a highly suitable activity for the region. In 2022, the state of Rio Grande do Sul had 11.9 million heads of cattle, 8th in Brazil, according to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics). With well-executed management, cattle do not need supplementation other than mineral salt. This is what researchers call the natural vocation of the biome.
“We believe that livestock farming should really be encouraged in Pampa, because it is also impressive that livestock farming in Brazil is moving to deforested areas in the Amazon. For example, in Rondônia, which is a state practically similar in size to Rio Grande do Sul, the number of cattle is greater”he said.
“This livestock farming there is carried out on areas practically in originally forest areas. And this model of expanding livestock farming in originally forested areas is also absurd because it should be done the opposite, an incentive for livestock farming here in native fields”defended Brack.
According to the professor, investment in other activities such as ecological tourism, the creation of native fruit trees and family farming also have the potential to help preserve the Pampa.
“We would say that, in addition to livestock farming, tourism related to places with scenic heritage and also formations such as butiazais [matas da fruta butiá] in the southern part of the state. We also have rock formations in the most southeastern part of the biome, which is called Serra do Sudeste, a beautiful area, they are also areas with fantastic tourism potential and, at the same time, also the products that exist there”points out.
“A few years ago, we had already carried out a survey of native fruits that occur in Pampa, and we found more than fifty species of native fruits that could be cultivated in the field and even providing shade for livestock. For example, we have araçá, pitanga, guabiroba, mountain guava, which also occurs in the southern part, which is a plant that has taken over the world, called feijoa, Rio Grande cherry, which is also being planted in other parts of the world. We have native fruit trees and, at the same time, also the potential and already in use of hundreds of ornamental species from Pampa, many of them taken to other parts of the world”he completed.
Another initiative highlighted by Brack would be the creation of more conservation units. Of the 320 Conservation Units managed by ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation), the Ibirapuitã Environmental Protection Area, located in Sant'Ana do Livramento, a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, was created in 1992, exclusively for the protection from Pampa. With an area of 316.7 thousand hectares, it protects several species threatened with extinction, such as the stiletto (Lamproscapha ensiformis), the truncated knife (Mycetopoda siliquosa) and the knife (Mycetopoda legumen), both aquatic species.
“We have a very large deficit, and there are no government initiatives, whether state or federal, to move forward in creating fundamental areas to maintain this heritage represented by the Pampa biome”summarized the professor.
PATRIMONY
The Senate is processing the Proposal for Amendment to the Constitution 33 of 2023authored by Senator Paulo Paim (PT-RS), which may include Pampa as the country's heritage. The proposal declares all Brazilian biomes –explicitly named– as national heritage, so that their use and exploitation of their natural resources must occur within conditions that ensure the preservation of the environment.
Currently, the Federal Constitution recognizes as heritage sites only the Amazon Forest, the Atlantic Forest, the Mato Grosso Pantanal, in addition to the Serra do Mar and the Coastal Zone. With the PEC, the Cerrado, Caatinga and Pampa would also be national heritage sites. The text, however, is still awaiting the appointment of a rapporteur.
“The approval of the PEC is very important for this recognition, and we would say more, it is a stopcock in the destruction of Brazilian biomes, which will take place, in large part, through financing, facilitation, economic investments that are transforming our rich sociobiodiversity in monocultures”evaluates the teacher.
“This inclusion would give the possibility, perhaps greater, of creating specific policies that consider a more restrictive implementation of degradation activities and, at the same time, also a facilitation for activities that are more compatible”argues Brack.
BIOME
The word Pampa is of Quechua indigenous origin and means flat region. The term well describes the landscape of natural grass fields, also known as Campos do Sul or Campos Sulinos, which, according to Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation), occupies an area of 178 thousand square kilometers in Brazil. The climate is temperate, with average temperatures between 13°C and 17°C. There are around 3,000 plant species, 450 of which are grass species; 70 types of cacti; 100 types of trees and 150 species of legumes.
The fauna is made up of 102 species of mammals, 476 species of birds, 50 species of amphibians; 97 species of reptiles, 50 species of fish. Species include the rhea, partridge, woodpecker, woodpecker, lapwing, cockatiel, red-bellied thrush, tuco-tucos, ferrets and pampas deer, among others.
A total of 49 fauna species and 146 plant species are threatened with extinction.
With information from Brazil Agency.
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