Mercedes Bustamante, ecologist and professor at the University of Brasilia, Brazil, will deliver the annual Wallace W. Atwood Lecture.
Beyond forests: non-forested ecosystems and global change
Non-forested ecosystems dominate more than a quarter of the world’s land area. They are widespread in the tropics, making up grasslands and savannas, presenting significant carbon stocks and biodiversity. While important initiatives are concerned with the conservation of forest ecosystems, non-forest ecosystems (NFE), in contrast, have not received equal attention. The Brazilian Cerrado, the second largest biome in South America and a global hotspot for biodiversity conservation due to its biological richness and rapid loss of habitats, represents some of the most fundamental challenges of current global crises. Despite the successful reversal of deforestation trends in the Amazon, Cerrado deforestation continues to increase, imperiling a biome that has already lost more than 50% of its original cover. Environmental changes may exacerbate land-use competition due to complex feedback processes between human and biophysical components in the land system, with more severe impacts seen in the tropics due to their more significant land-based mitigation potential. Such complexity highlights how careful spatial planning, robust scientific evidence, and a better understanding of the political context are essential for sustainable climate policies. The achievement of the Paris Agreement requires more robust and more ambitious climate action with emphasis on the integrity of all ecosystems and the protection of biodiversity, as climate change, biodiversity, and ecosystems are inextricably linked.
