Tree Diversity and Dynamics of the Forest of Seu Nico, Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: To understand future changes in community composition due to global changes, the knowledge about forest community dynamics is of crucial importance. To improve our understanding about processes and patterns involved in maintaining species rich Neotropical ecosystems, we provide here a dataset from the one hectare Forest of Seu Nico (FSN) Dynamics Plot from Southeastern Brazil. NEW INFORMATION: We report diameter at breast height, basal area and height measurements of 2868 trees and treelets identified from two census spanning over a nine-year period. Furthermore, soil properties and understory light availability of all 100 10 x 10m subplots from the one hectare FSN Dynamics Plot during the second census are given.

Vascular plant community composition from the campos rupestres of the Itacolomi State Park, Brazil.

Camposrupestres are rare and endangered ecosystems that accommodate a species-rich flora with a high degree of endemism. Here, we make available a dataset from phytosociological surveys carried out in the Itacolomi State Park, Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. All species in a total of 30 plots of 10 x 10 m from two study sites were sampled. Their cardinality, a combination of cover and abundance, was estimated. Altogether, we registered occurrences from 161 different taxa from 114 genera and 47 families. The families with the most species were Poaceae and Asteraceae, followed by Cyperaceae. Abiotic descriptions, including soil properties such as type, acidity, nutrient or aluminum availability, cation exchange capacity, and saturation of bases, as well as the percentage of rocky outcrops and the mean inclination for each plot, are given. This dataset provides unique insights into the campo rupestre vegetation, its specific environment and the distribution of its diversity.

Trends in hospitalizations for primary care sensitive conditions following the implementation of Family Health Teams in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

OBJECTIVES: How to provide effective and efficient care to the burgeoning and aging populations of the major cities of low- and middle-income countries constitutes one of the principle public health issues of our times. We evaluated the Family Health Strategy, the Brazilian national health system's public approach to primary health care, in the major city of Belo Horizonte, describing trends and factors associated with hospitalizations for primary care sensitive conditions following the implementation of 506 family health teams, most of which were established in 2002. METHODS: We conducted an ecological study covering 2003 to 2006, using mixed models to investigate time trends in public system hospitalizations as well as their association with social vulnerability and primary care team characteristics. RESULTS: Sensitive conditions accounted for 115,340 (26.4%) hospitalizations. Over the 4-year period, hospitalizations for sensitive conditions declined by 17.9%, vs only 8.3% for non-sensitive ones (P<0.001). Hospitalization for sensitive conditions declined 22% for women in areas of high social vulnerability vs 9% for women in areas of low vulnerability (P<0.001); for men, 17% vs 10% (P=0.11). CONCLUSIONS: Though the ecologic nature of our study limits the confidence with which conclusions can be affirmed, the Family Health Strategy appears to have contributed to a major reduction in hospitalizations due to primary care sensitive conditions in this large Brazilian metropolis, while at the same time promoting greater health equity.