Evaluation of the ecological role of legal reserves in the Atlantic Forest of Bahia as determined by land-use

Abstract

Legal Reserves (RL) are one of the main governmental instruments for the conservation of Brazilian ecosystems. RL occur on private properties to help preserve ecological processes, and promote biodiversity conservation by maintaining habitat. In a highly degraded and fragmented biome such as the Atlantic Forest, RL are essential for conservation. To be an effective tool however, RL must harbour ecologically valuable habitat, such as native vegetation. It is essential to determine the degree of overlap between the location of registered RL and the ecologically valuable land use and land cover they support. Failure to comply with this requirement (e.g., RL harboring pasture areas) invariably leads to losses in their environmental preservation functions. Here, we used data of RL registered from 2014 to 2019 in the Rural Enviromental Register (CAR) in the Atlantic Forest biome of Bahia State. These data were juxtaposed with land use/cover mapping developed by the Annual Mapping of land cover and land use in Brazil Project (MapBiomas) to determine what proportion of the RL is embedded in a landscape with ecological and conservation value. In total, 7941 RL were considered, with 35% of their registered area (239,710 ha) occupied by land use categories with low conservation value, such as pasture, non-vegetated and/or degraded areas. Furthermore, our results indicate that over time, the relative proportion of native vegetation included in the RL declined. These facts show an inadequacy in the way RLs are established on private properties of the Atlantic Forest biome of Bahia State.