The conservation potential of road verges in the savannas of Brazil: Challenges and opportunities

• Cerrado road verges hold 32% of native vegetation. • Store 600,000 tons of carbon. • Conservation efforts should prioritize law enforcement to protect these areas. Although vegetation along road verges might appear as marginal spaces, they can help mitigate the impact of roads and make a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation. Therefore, it is critical to ensure that these areas provide and maximize as many ecosystem services as possible. We analyzed the potential of road verges for preserving the biodiversity and ecological functions of the Cerrado ecosystems. We used a supervised land use classification to determine the current extent of native vegetation cover and habitat types along paved roads within the states of Minas Gerais and Goiás, including the Federal District, and the extent of vegetation cover change from 2017 to 2023. Additionally, we also estimated the current potential of these areas in terms of aboveground carbon stock. We found that approximately 32% of the road verges are covered with Cerrado native vegetation, storing more than 600,000 tons of carbon. However, 150,000 hectares have already been cleared before 2023, resulting in the release of nearly 3.8 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere. We also found that the amount of native vegetation cover along road verges remained relatively stable over the seven-year study period. Our study highlights the vital role of Cerrado road verges in maintaining native vegetation and storing carbon. Despite the challenges, conservation efforts must prioritize law enforcement to prevent occupation or modification of these areas, ensure the preservation of native vegetation, and implement strategic planning to maximize the ecological potential of Cerrado road verges.