FROM ECOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE TO CONSERVATION POLICIES: A CASE STUDY ON FACTORS INFLUENCING BIODIVERSITY IN THE ASSESSMENT OF CONSERVATION PRIORITIES

Abstract

Caves develop in areas that are frequently used by humans, whether for farming, urbanization or mineral extraction. These activities have an impact on subterranean ecosystems. For this reason, efforts have been made in various regions of the world to preserve the speleological heritage.To this end, identifying priorities for the commitment of effort and money has been a constant challenge, and various methodologies have emerged. Considering the environmental heterogeneity of the areas in which Neotropical caves are found, there is a need to understand the impact of this heterogeneity on conservation priority assessments. Therefore, this study evaluated three attributes, already known to influence ecological aspects of subterranean ecosystems, in the targeting of priority caves for conservation. Using data from 249 caves in southeastern Brazil, the influence of lithology, biomes and ecoregions on the results of the modified Cave Vulnerability Index was tested, an index already indicated as more suitable for caves in megadiverse regions. It was observed that not taking these attributes into account when listing conservation priorities tends to select caves that share the same lithology, biome and ecoregion. On the other hand, considering the attributes of ecological relevance in the analysis adds representativeness to each of the attributes among the priority caves. The priority caves obtained without considering the ecological
relevance attributes remained priorities when theywere considered. This shows that, from a biological point of view, they stand out and deserve extra attention, and can be considered a starting point among the priority caves, especially in scenarios of scarce resources.