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SUMMARY:Effects of sugarcane on the Cerrado biodiversity: land use change\
 , habitat loss and greenhouse gas emissions - Jessica Fonseca Da Silva\, 3
 rd yr grad
DTSTART:20150611T123000Z
DTEND:20150611T130000Z
UID:TALK58781@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Megan Cooper
DESCRIPTION:The Brazilian Cerrado\, the richest savannah system in the Neo
 tropics\, is currently threatened by agricultural expansion.  In particula
 r\, sugarcane-based bioethanol production is spreading through this region
 .  Half of the Cerrado (equivalent to 25% of European land area) has been 
 converted in the last 40 years. I have studied the main factors that deter
 mine species distribution and diversity in the remaining natural areas\, a
 s well as the consequences of the recent land use changes.  Species distri
 bution models were developed for 50 woody species\, using datasets not cur
 rently available in global databases. I found that soil type and soil wate
 r content had the strongest effect on the occurrence and diversity\, along
 side climatic variables such as temperature and seasonality of precipitati
 on.  I found that cane fields have little impact on the range of the speci
 es studied\, many of which are wide ranging\, but the combined effect of l
 and-use change has resulted in losses of up to 70% of the range.  I also s
 tudied rates of nitrous oxide – a potent greenhouse gas - emission from 
 sugarcane fields and found that emissions can be more than three orders of
  magnitudes higher in the cane fields than in the native savannahs\, but v
 aries greatly depending on how the cane fields are managed.  The research 
 indicates that zoning and management of sugarcane fields are crucial to ac
 hieving sustainable ethanol production whilst reducing the loss of Cerrado
  biodiversity.  \n\nKey-words: Cerrado\, land use change\, nitrous oxide\,
  species distribution modelling\, sugarcane. \n
LOCATION:Department of Plant Sciences\, Large Lecture Theatre
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