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- Insights into the cashew production system in Guinea-Bissau: implications for agroecosystem sustainabilityPublication . Sierra-Baquero, Paola Vanessa; Catarino, Sílvia; Costa, Gonçalo João; Barai, Amidu; Correia, Zinha; Ferreira, Maria Rosa; Varón-Devia, Edgar; Romeiras, Maria M.; Catarino, Luís; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Monteiro, FilipaIntroduction: West Africa, particularly Guinea-Bissau, heavily relies on cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L.) production, which significantly impacts the countries’ economies. Cashew exhibits remarkable adaptability to impoverished and arid soils. Understanding producers’ socio-economic characteristics is crucial due to their potential influence on crop productivity and household income. Methods: This study aims to characterize the socio-economic, productive, and phytosanitary aspects of cashew production in Guinea-Bissau, through 151 interviews with producers across all administrative regions of the country. Results: Our findings reveal that cashew producers are mainly males aged 40 to 60, they typically manage plantations under 5 ha, with the smaller plantation areas located in Gabú, Cacheu, and Bolama. The age of the older trees averaged 31 years, with the highest age found in Biombo. Tree density averaged 286 trees per hectare, with higher values in Cacheu, Bafatá, and Bolama. Cashew nut yield in 2020 averaged less than 0.5 tons per hectare, with farmer-set prices generally lower than government determined prices. Oio, Tombali, and Bolama were the regions most affected by pests, while Oio and Cacheu (North) were the most affected by diseases. Top pests included termites, branch girdler, weaver ants, African grasshopper, and stem borer; while top diseases comprised gummosis, anthracnose, and dieback. Discussion: Characterization of cashew production system is crucial at both national and regional levels to identify region-specific limitations and strengths, aiding in the formulation of tailored strategies for sustainable production. Moreover, cashew production plays a crucial role in household incomes in Guinea-Bissau, underscoring the necessity of developing integrated management strategies.
- Editorial: Reconciling nature conservation and sustainability of tropical ecosystemsPublication . Duarte, Maria Cristina; Massante, Jhonny Capichoni; Bandeira, Salomão; Romeiras, Maria M.
- James Cook and Macaronesian Botany: Typification and nomenclature updates of the new species described by Johann R. Forster and J. Georg A. ForsterPublication . Francisco-Ortega, Javier; Gandhi, Kanchi N.; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Santos-Guerra, Arnoldo; Carine, Mark; Romeiras, Maria M.Johann Reinhold Forster and his teenaged son John Georg Adam Forster (then 17) joined James Cook’s second voyage (1772-1775), as botanist and artist, respectively. Upon their return they described six species that are pertinent to the study of the Macaronesian flora. Previous typifications are revisited and we designate lectotypes for Aytonia rupestris J.R. Forst. & G. Forst. (Aytoniaceae), Borago tristis G. Forst. (Boraginaceae), and Teucrium canescens G. Forst. (Lamiaceae). We designate epitypes for A. rupestris and Epibaterium pendulum J.R. Forst & G. Forst. Our study indicates that Teucrium betonicifolium Jacq. is the accepted name for this Madeiran endemic. Lectotypes, along with epitypes, are also designated for T. betonicifolium and T. betonicum L’Hér.
- The Role of Climate and Topography in Shaping the Diversity of Plant Communities in Cabo Verde IslandsPublication . Neto, Carlos; Costa, José Carlos; Figueiredo, Albano; Capelo, Jorge; Gomes, Isildo; Vitória, Sónia; Semedo, José Maria; Lopes, António; Dinis, Herculano; Correia, Ezequiel; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Romeiras, Maria M.The flora and vegetation of the archipelago of Cabo Verde is dominated by Macaronesian, Mediterranean, and particularly by African tropical elements, resulting from its southernmost location, when compared to the other islands of the Macaronesia (i.e., Azores, Madeira, Selvagens, and Canary Islands). Very likely, such a geographical position entailed higher susceptibility to extreme climatic fluctuations, namely those associated with the West African Monsoon oscillations. These fluctuations led to a continuous aridification, which is a clear trend shown by most recent studies based on continental shelf cores. Promoting important environmental shifts, such climatic fluctuations are accepted as determinant to explain the current spatial distribution patterns of taxa, as well as the composition of the plant communities. In this paper, we present a comprehensive characterization of the main plant communities in Cabo Verde, and we discuss the role of the climatic and topoclimatic diversity in shaping the vegetation composition and distribution of this archipelago. Our study reveals a strong variation in the diversity of plant communities across elevation gradients and distinct patterns of richness among plant communities. Moreover, we present an overview of the biogeographical relationships of the Cabo Verde flora and vegetation with the other Macaronesian Islands and northwestern Africa. We discuss how the distribution of plant communities and genetic patterns found among most of the endemic lineages can be related to Africa’s ongoing aridification, exploring the impacts of a process that marks northern Africa from the Late Miocene until the present.
- Assessing the vulnerability of urban tree species to climate change: The case study of Lisbon gardensPublication . Cunha, Ana Raquel; Soares, Ana Luísa; Catarino, Sílvia; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Romeiras, Maria M.To mitigate the effects of climate change on urban green spaces, adaptive strategies are required, particularly regarding tree species. Lisbon is a most vulnerable city to extreme climate events and the performance and management of the numerous and diverse trees found in its gardens and parks are of much concern. We evaluated the vulnerability of such trees to predicted future Lisbon climates using the Climate Assessment Tool (Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens, 2024) and inventories from 63 historical gardens and parks, including three botanical gardens. With the extensive information of the latter we: (i) identified and classified the species according to biogeographical origins; (ii) pinpointed those most vulnerable to, or favoured by climate change; and (iii) assessed the vulnerability of each studied site, according to the species present, their risk level and abundance. Among the selected 318 taxa (corresponding to 19,579 trees), the Palaearctic biogeographical region predominates. The highest risk levels were found in 50 % (77 %, for the most pessimistic climate scenario) of the Palaearctic species, which include many native taxa. Conversely, about 56 % of the Neotropical species are predicted to perform better under the worst climate change scenario. Only one of the ten most abundant tree species in Lisbon – Jacaranda mimosifolia – might remain invulnerable. Management plans for most Lisbon green spaces must therefore reexamine the use of Palaearctic species and tackle challenging adjustments, including the gradual replacement of familiar species (increasingly more difficult to maintain) by others with better performance under future climate conditions.
- Recursos Genéticos Vegetais das Ilhas de Cabo VerdePublication . Duarte, Maria Cristina; Gomes, Isildo; Romeiras, Maria Manuel
- Shifts in grasses diversity patterns between two contrasting 40‐year climate periods in tropical dry islandsPublication . Duarte, Maria Cristina; Monteiro Rocha, Vanézia S.; Fernández‐Palacios, José María; Gomes, Isildo; Neto, Carlos; Costa, José C.; Branquinho, Cristina; Romeiras, Maria M.Grasses are one of the most successful and dispersed plant families worldwide and their environmental and economic values are widely acknowledged. They dominate the landscape of Cabo Verde, the southernmost and driest archipelago of Macaronesia, and are relevant natural resources for local populations, but a comprehensive evaluation of their distribution patterns is still lacking. In this study, we aim to evaluate the potential effects of climate change using the long-term data concerning grass distribution in Cabo Verde and the widely recognized climatic variability of this archipelago, which entails a huge irregularity in spatial and temporal rainfall. We identified two contrasting climatic periods (wet, from 1929 to 1968, and dry, from 1969 to 2007) and gathered all the information available from the bibliography, herbaria, and fieldwork concerning spontaneous grass species recorded in Cabo Verde during those two periods, which amounted to 107 taxa. This information was then used to disclose the patterns of grass diversity as related to climatic and topographic variables (altitude and windward vs. leeward aspects). Different altitudinal shifts in the distribution patterns of grass species assemblages and an assemblage specific to the wet period were revealed by comparing the two climatic periods. The role of exposure in delimiting the altitudinal distribution of the various assemblages was highlighted; the trade winds clearly determine the distribution of grass assemblages. We detected shifts in the distribution of grass assemblages according to the climatic periods (related to the macroclimate) and local topographic factors (associated with mesoclimates). Also, functional traits (i.e., annuals vs. perennials, C3 vs. C4 grasses, and tropical vs. temperate species) were found to vary between wet and dry periods, as well as with altitude and with slope aspect. Understanding species distributions and the role of the climatic variability of Cabo Verde is crucial to predicting how climate change will affect them and thus to support effective management and conservation actions.
- Conservation and sustainable use of the medicinal Leguminosae plants from AngolaPublication . Catarino, Silvia; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Costa, Esperança; Carrero, Paula Garcia; Romeiras, Maria M.Leguminosae is an economically important family that contains a large number of medicinal plants, many of which are widely used in African traditional medicine. Angola holds a great socio-cultural diversity and is one of the richest floristic regions of the world, with over 900 native Leguminosae species. This study is the first to assess the medicinal uses of the legumes in Angola and provides new data to promote the conservation and the sustainable use of these unique resources. We document the ethnobotanical knowledge on Angola by reviewing the most important herbarium collections and literature, complemented by recent field surveys. Our results revealed that 127 native legume species have medicinal uses and 65% of them have other important uses by local populations. The species with most medicinal applications are Erythrina abyssinica, Bauhinia thonningii and Pterocarpus angolensis. The rich flora found in Angola suggests an enormous potential for discovery of new drugs with therapeutic value. However, the overexploitation and the indiscriminate collection of legumes for multiple uses such as forage, food, timber and medical uses, increases the threats upon the native vegetation. Efforts to assess the conservation status of these species are urgently needed, and future actions should promote the sustainable use of medicinal plants in Angola together with the implementation of conservation strategies.
- In defence of the entity of Macaronesia as a biogeographical regionPublication . Fernández‐Palacios, José María; Otto, Rüdiger; Capelo, Jorge; Caujapé‐Castells, Juli; de Nascimento, Lea; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Elias, Rui B.; García‐Verdugo, Carlos; Menezes de Sequeira, Miguel; Médail, Frédéric; Naranjo‐Cigala, Agustín; Patiño, Jairo; Price, Jonathan; Romeiras, Maria M.; Sánchez‐Pinto, Lázaro; Whittaker, Robert J.Since its coinage ca. 1850 AD by Philip Barker Webb, the biogeographical region of Macaronesia, consisting of theNorth Atlantic volcanic archipelagos of the Azores, Madeira with the tiny Selvagens, the Canaries and Cabo Verde, andfor some authors different continental coastal strips, has been under dispute. Herein, after a brief introduction on the termi-nology and purpose of regionalism, we recover the origins of the Macaronesia name, concept and geographical adscription,as well as its biogeographical implications and how different authors have positioned themselves, using distinct terrestrial ormarine floristic and/or faunistic taxa distributions and relationships for accepting or rejecting the existence of this biogeographical region. Four main issues related to Macaronesia are thoroughly discussed: (i) its independence from theMediterranean phytogeographical region; (ii) discrepancies according to different taxa analysed; (iii) its geographical limitsand the role of the continental enclave(s), and, (iv) the validity of the phytogeographical region level. We conclude that Macaro-nesia has its own identity and a sound phytogeographical foundation, and that this is mainly based on three different floristic com-ponents that are shared by the Macaronesian core (Madeira and the Canaries) and the outermost archipelagos (Azores and CaboVerde). These floristic components are: (i) the Palaeotropical-Tethyan Geoflora, formerly much more widely distributed inEurope and North Africa and currently restricted to the three northern archipelagos (the Azores, Madeira and the Canaries);(ii) the African Rand Flora, still extant in the coastal margins of Africa and Arabia, and present in the southern archipelagos(Madeira, the Canaries and Cabo Verde), and (iii) the Macaronesian neoendemic floristic component, represented in all thearchipelagos, a result of allopatric diversification promoted by isolation of Mediterranean ancestors that manage to colonizeCentral Macaronesia and, from there, the outer archipelagos. Finally, a differentiating floristic component recently colonizedthe different archipelagos from the nearest continental coast, providing them with different biogeographic flavours.
- Diversity of Legumes in the Cashew Agroforestry System in East Timor (Southeast Asia)Publication . Guterres, Lara; Duarte, Maria Cristina; Catarino, Silvia; Roxo, Guilherme; Barnabé, João; Sebastiana, Mónica; Monteiro, Filipa; Romeiras, Maria M.Cashew is an important export-oriented crop in several tropical countries, often under monocropping systems. Intercropping with legume species is promoted as a sustainable practice, enhancing agricultural productivity and providing nutritional food sources to rural communities. This study aimed to characterize the diversity of Leguminosae (or Fabaceae) in the cashew agroforestry systems of East Timor (Southeast Asia). Fourteen cashew orchards were sampled across the country, and information about leguminous species uses was collected from local populations. About 50 species are commonly part of the country’s cashew agroforestry system, many of them simultaneously used as food, fodder, and in traditional medicine. Six bean species—Cajanus cajan (L.) Huth, Phaseolus lunatus L., Phaseolus vulgaris L., Vigna angularis (Willd.) Ohwi and H.Ohashi, Vigna radiata (L.) R.Wilczek and Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.—are largely used as food. The mineral contents of these beans revealed relevant differences between species and, in some cases, between types (seed colour) within species. Periods of hunger and low food variety are frequent in East Timor, reflecting a very poor nutritional state of the population. Knowing and using legumes for local nutrition, as well as for healthcare and well-being, adds great value to these species as components of East Timor cashew agroforestry systems.