The Brazilian Atlantic Forest: new findings, challenges and prospects in a shrinking hotspot
The Brazilian Atlantic Forest has been explored and degraded for more than 500 years (Morellato and Haddad 2000; Ribeiro et al. 2011). The forest fragments that still exist, except in protected areas such as National Reserves and Biological Reserves, are concentrated on the tops of mountains and/or steeper slopes, where agricultural activity is difficult or unfeasible, either for access or due to the generally low soil fertility (Moreno et al. 2003). This biome is, however, recognized as one of the 35 world hotspots for conservation priorities (Myers et al. 2000; Zachos and Habel 2011), and has even been referred as a ‘‘hottest hotspot’’ (Laurance 2009), ‘‘shrinking hotspot’’ (Ribeiro et al. 2011), or ‘‘top hotspot’’ (Eisenlohr et al. 2013). It is for this reason that a special issue is devoted to these forests here. Researchers have responded to this scenario, addressing important floristic and phytogeographic features of the Atlantic Forest vegetation, and producing works revealing major implications for biodiversity conservation (e.g. Oliveira-Filho and Fontes 2000; Marques et al. 2011; Werneck et al. 2011). These studies focused on tree species, the component on which there is far more available data than on most other plant types. However, in recent years, the number of surveys dealing with other growth forms has increased, along with the inclusion of life-forms other than trees in sampling protocols and floristic surveys. Including non-tree life-forms in investigations contributes to our knowledge of the geographic limits and the historical processes acting in the Atlantic Forest, in addition to providing a sounder basis for the development and technical planning of conservation policies.