Tree species hyperdominance and rarity in the South American Cerrado

The South American Cerrado, the largest savanna of the Americas and the world's most tree-biodiverse, is critically endangered, with just 8% protected and more than half deforested. However, the extent of its tree diversity and abundance remains poorly quantified. Using a unique biome-wide eco-floristic dataset with 222 one-hectare plots, we estimate the Cerrado has ~1605 tree species and has extreme hyperdominance, with fewer than 2% (30 species) accounting for half of all trees. A single family, Vochysiaceae, represents 17% of all trees, and the most abundant species, Qualea parviflora, accounts for 1 in 14 trees. In contrast, 63% of the species are rare, with fewer than 100 trees across all plots. Remote sensing and spatial modelling suggest the Cerrado has lost 24 billion trees since 1985, equivalent to three times the Earth's human population. We estimate up to 800 tree species may remain undetected in Cerrado ecosystems and could face extinction in a few decades due to deforestation. This hyperdominance parallels patterns in Amazonian forests and highlights risks both biomes face for species loss due to fragmentation, deforestation, and land-use change. Our findings highlight the Cerrado's critical but undervalued role in global biodiversity, its vulnerabilities, and the urgent need for conservation to avoid irreversible species and biome loss.

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Publication Details

Journal
Communications Biology
Published
2025-05-03
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-025-07623-w
Citations
6
Primary Topic
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
13.88

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article

Tree species hyperdominance and rarity in the South American Cerrado

Eraldo Aparecido Trondoli Matricardi, Ted R. Feldpausch, Wesley Jonatar Alves da Cruz, Henrique Augusto Mews et al.
6 citations
Communications Biology
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
13.88
article

Tree species hyperdominance and rarity in the South American Cerrado

Eraldo Aparecido Trondoli Matricardi, Ted R. Feldpausch, Wesley Jonatar Alves da Cruz, Henrique Augusto Mews, Ricardo Flores Haidar, José Roberto Rodrigues Pinto, Eduardo Q. Marques, Eder Carvalho das Neves, Réginal Exavier, Carla Heloísa Luz de Oliveira, Beatriz Schwantes Marimon, Imma Oliveras Menor, F. de G. Aquino, Frederico Augusto Guimarães Guilherme, Oliver Lawrence Phillips, Edson de Souza Lima, Facundo Alvarez, Eddie Lenza de Oliveira, Nayane Cristina Candida dos Santos Prestes, Bruno Machado Teles Walter, Sabrina do Couto de Miranda, Ana Lyz Machado Parreira, Edmar Almeida de Oliveira, R. Brandão, Cássia Beatriz Rodrigues Munhoz, Mercedes Bustamante, Paulo S. Morandi, Marcelo Leandro Bueno, Hans ter Steege, Simone Matias Reis, Zenésio Finger, Ben Hur Marimon-Junior, Maria Antônia Carniello, Fernando Elias, José Felipe Ribeiro
article en
6 citations

Abstract

The South American Cerrado, the largest savanna of the Americas and the world's most tree-biodiverse, is critically endangered, with just 8% protected and more than half deforested. However, the extent of its tree diversity and abundance remains poorly quantified. Using a unique biome-wide eco-floristic dataset with 222 one-hectare plots, we estimate the Cerrado has ~1605 tree species and has extreme hyperdominance, with fewer than 2% (30 species) accounting for half of all trees. A single family, Vochysiaceae, represents 17% of all trees, and the most abundant species, Qualea parviflora, accounts for 1 in 14 trees. In contrast, 63% of the species are rare, with fewer than 100 trees across all plots. Remote sensing and spatial modelling suggest the Cerrado has lost 24 billion trees since 1985, equivalent to three times the Earth's human population. We estimate up to 800 tree species may remain undetected in Cerrado ecosystems and could face extinction in a few decades due to deforestation. This hyperdominance parallels patterns in Amazonian forests and highlights risks both biomes face for species loss due to fragmentation, deforestation, and land-use change. Our findings highlight the Cerrado's critical but undervalued role in global biodiversity, its vulnerabilities, and the urgent need for conservation to avoid irreversible species and biome loss.

Communications BiologyVol. 8(1)
Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul (BR), Universidade Federal de Rondônia (BR), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), Naturalis Biodiversity Center (NL), University of Leeds (GB), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR), Universidade Federal de Lavras (BR), Universidade Federal do Acre (BR), Universidade de Brasília (BR), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Utrecht University (NL), Université de Montpellier (FR), Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (BR), University of Exeter (GB), Universidade Estadual de Mato Grosso do Sul (BR), Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso (BR), Universidade Estadual de Goiás (BR), Universidade Federal Rural da Amazônia (BR), Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso (BR), University of Oxford (GB), Universidade Federal do Tocantins (BR), Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR), Universidade Federal de Jataí (BR), UMR Botanique et Modélisation de l’Architecture des Plantes et des végétations (FR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo, Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior, Governo Brasil, Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Goiás, Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Mato Grosso, Natural Environment Research Council
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 1%
Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
13.88
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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