ECOSYSTEM SERVICE AT RISK: EFFECT OF THE SURROUNDING AREA ON THE SEED BANK IN A PERMANENT PRESERVATION AREA

The seed bank, considered a regulatory ecosystem service, has the potential to restore degraded areas, without the need for human intervention. However, this environmental service has been impaired by anthropogenic activities, including in permanent preservation areas (PPAs). This study investigated the impacts of the surrounding area on the environmental service of the seed bank in the Apa River headwaters PPA, in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. A total of 120 soil samples were collected, 60 each from the PPA and the adjacent area. The samples were cultivated in a greenhouse for three months, followed by analysis. Identification was made of 1,055 seedlings, comprising 19 families and 48 species (33 in the PPA, and 35 in the adjacent area). Of these, grasses accounted for 78%, highlighting Cyperaceae, with 391 individuals (37%), Poaceae, with 334 individuals (33%), and Asteraceae, with 82 individuals (8%). Six tree species were found, representing 12% of the species richness. With 60 samples from each location, the rarefaction curves did not indicate stability of species richness in the sampled areas. The bootstrap richness estimator provided values of 37.95 ± 2.33 for the PPA and 44 ± 2.75 for the area outside the PPA. Hence, the seed banks in the preservation area and the adjacent pasture area were floristically similar, revealing a high degree of disturbance and a compromised seed bank regulatory ecosystem service.