Mapping threatened canga ecosystems in the Brazilian savanna using U-Net deep learning segmentation and Sentinel-2 images: a first step toward conservation planning / Mapeamento de ecossistemas de canga ameaçados no Cerrado brasileiro utilizando deep learning segmentação U-Net e imagens Sentinel-2: um primeiro passo para o planejamento de conservação

Abstract Canga ecosystems are iron-rich habitats and pose a challenge for conservation and environmental governance in Brazil. They support high levels of biodiversity and endemism and, at the same time, have suffered intense losses and degradation due to large-scale iron ore mining. The Peixe Bravo River Valley in the Brazilian savanna is one of the last natural canga areas that has yet to face the irreversible impacts of mining. However, there are vast gaps in data on the vegetation cover, location, spatial distribution, and area of occurrence of this ecosystem. Therefore, more information is needed on the appropriate scale, without which it is difficult to establish conservation planning and strategies to prevent, mitigate or compensate for impacts on canga ecosystems. In this study, we provide the first map of canga ecosystems in Brazil using the U-Net deep learning model and Sentinel-2 images. In addition, we estimate the degree of direct threat faced by ecosystems due to the spatial overlap of the mapped cangas and the location of mining concession areas for iron ore exploitation. The deep learning algorithm identified and segmented 762 canga patches (overall accuracy of 98.5%) in an area of 30,000 ha in the Peixe Bravo River Valley, demonstrating the high predictive power of the mapping approach. We conclude that the direct threat to canga ecosystems is high since 99.6% of the observed canga patches are included in mining concession areas. We also highlight that the knowledge acquired about the distribution of cangas through the application of an effective method of artificial intelligence and the use of open-source satellite images is especially important for supporting conservation strategies and environmental public policies.

Resumo Os ecossistemas de Canga, habitats com elevadas concentrações de ferro, são um desafio para conservação e governança ambiental no Brasil. Eles sustentam uma alta biodiversidade e endemismo, e sofreram intensas perdas e degradações de áreas naturais devido à mineração de ferro em larga escala. O Vale do Rio Peixe Bravo, localizado no Cerrado brasileiro, é uma das últimas regiões com ecossistemas de canga que ainda não sofreu impactos irreversíveis da mineração. Mas ainda há ausência de dados sobre a cobertura vegetal, localização, distribuição geográfica e a área de ocorrência desse ecossistema. Portanto, a ausência de informações em escala adequada dificulta o planejamento em conservação e as estratégias para prevenir, mitigar ou compensar os impactos nos ecossistemas de canga. Neste estudo, nós fornecemos o primeiro mapa de ecossistemas de canga no Brasil elaborado a partir de deep learning segmentação U-Net e imagens de satélite Sentinel-2. Além disso, nós estimamos o grau de ameaça direta dos ecossistemas devido a sobreposição espacial das manchas de cangas preditas e a localização dos títulos de concessão minerária para exploração do minério de ferro. O algoritmo de aprendizado profundo identificou 762 manchas de canga (acurácia acima de 98,5%) em uma área de 30.000 ha no Vale do Rio Peixe Bravo, demonstrando o alto poder preditivo do método de mapeamento. Nós estimamos que há um alto grau de ameaça direta aos ecossistemas de canga, uma vez que 99,6% das manchas de cangas preditas estão incluídas em áreas de concessão de mineração. Nós também destacamos que o conhecimento adquirido sobre a distribuição das cangas por meio da aplicação de um método eficaz de inteligência artificial e do uso de imagens de satélite de código aberto é especialmente importante para apoiar estratégias de conservação e políticas públicas ambientais.

Complete genome sequence and analysis of Alcaligenes faecalis strain Mc250, a new potential plant bioinoculant.

Here we present and analyze the complete genome of Alcaligenes faecalis strain Mc250 (Mc250), a bacterium isolated from the roots of Mimosa calodendron, an endemic plant growing in ferruginous rupestrian grasslands in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The genome has 4,159,911 bp and 3,719 predicted protein-coding genes, in a single chromosome. Comparison of the Mc250 genome with 36 other Alcaligenes faecalis genomes revealed that there is considerable gene content variation among these strains, with the core genome representing only 39% of the protein-coding gene repertoire of Mc250. Mc250 encodes a complete denitrification pathway, a network of pathways associated with phenolic compounds degradation, and genes associated with HCN and siderophores synthesis; we also found a repertoire of genes associated with metal internalization and metabolism, sulfate/sulfonate and cysteine metabolism, oxidative stress and DNA repair. These findings reveal the genomic basis for the adaptation of this bacterium to the harsh environmental conditions from where it was isolated. Gene clusters associated with ectoine, terpene, resorcinol, and emulsan biosynthesis that can confer some competitive advantage were also found. Experimental results showed that Mc250 was able to reduce (~60%) the virulence phenotype of the plant pathogen Xanthomonas citri subsp. citri when co-inoculated in Citrus sinensis, and was able to eradicate 98% of juveniles and stabilize the hatching rate of eggs to 4% in two species of agricultural nematodes. These results reveal biotechnological potential for the Mc250 strain and warrant its further investigation as a biocontrol and plant growth-promoting bacterium.

Conservation paradox: Large-scale mining waste in protected areas in two global hotspots, southeastern Brazil.

Irreversible losses of natural areas and damage to ecosystem services are caused by large-scale mining. These effects are prominent in Minas Gerais, which is home to a mining industry with hundreds of tailings dams concentrated in global hotspots: the Cerrado and the Atlantic Forest. We present an overview of the spatial overlap between protected areas (PAs), priority conservation areas (PCAs), tailings dams, and their influence areas. A total of 218 dams accumulated environmental costs and liability that are represented by 2.24 thousand million m3 of tailings and industrial waste. Most dams (≈ 70%) are located in PCAs, 45 dams in conservation units, 58 in their respective buffer zones, and 51 in special protection areas. We have identified an urgent need to implement adequate public policies to establish management and monitoring mechanisms in PAs and PCAs and to address a scenario of high potential for socioenvironmental damage associated with tailings dams.

Serratia liquefaciens FG3 isolated from a metallophyte plant sheds light on the evolution and mechanisms of adaptive traits in extreme environments.

Serratia liquefaciens strain FG3 (SlFG3), isolated from the flower of Stachytarpheta glabra in the Brazilian ferruginous fields, has distinctive genomic, adaptive, and biotechnological potential. Herein, using a combination of genomics and molecular approaches, we unlocked the evolution of the adaptive traits acquired by S1FG3, which exhibits the second largest chromosome containing the largest conjugative plasmids described for Serratia. Comparative analysis revealed the presence of 18 genomic islands and 311 unique protein families involved in distinct adaptive features. S1FG3 has a diversified repertoire of genes associated with Nonribosomal peptides (NRPs/PKS), a complete and functional cluster related to cellulose synthesis, and an extensive and functional repertoire of oxidative metabolism genes. In addition, S1FG3 possesses a complete pathway related to protocatecuate and chloroaromatic degradation, and a complete repertoire of genes related to DNA repair and protection that includes mechanisms related to UV light tolerance, redox process resistance, and a laterally acquired capacity to protect DNA using phosphorothioation. These findings summarize that SlFG3 is well-adapted to different biotic and abiotic stress situations imposed by extreme conditions associated with ferruginous fields, unlocking the impact of the lateral gene transfer to adjust the genome for extreme environments, and providing insight into the evolution of prokaryotes.

Biotechnological potential of plant growth-promoting bacteria from the roots and rhizospheres of endemic plants in ironstone vegetation in southeastern Brazil.

Microorganisms associated with plants have a great biotechnological potential, but investigations of these microorganisms associated with native plants in peculiar environments has been incipient. The objective of this study was to analyze the plant growth-promoting bacteria potential of cultivable bacteria associated with rare plants from the ferruginous rocky fields of the Brazilian Iron Quadrangle. The roots and rhizospheres of nine endemic plants species and samples of a root found in a lateritiric duricrust (canga) cave were collected, the culturable bacteria isolated and prospected for distinct biotechnological and ecological potentials. Out of the 148 isolates obtained, 8 (5.4%) showed potential to promote plant growth, whereas 4 (2.7%) isolates acted as biocontrol agents against Xanthomonas citri pathotype A (Xac306), reducing the cancrotic lesions by more than 60% when co-inoculated with this phytopathogen in Citrus sinensis plants. Moreover, other 4 (2.7%) isolates were classified as potential bioremediation agents, being able to withstand high concentrations of arsenite (5 mM As3+) and arsenate (800 mM As5+), by removing up to 35% and 15% of this metalloid in solution, respectively. These same four isolates had a positive influence on the growth of both the roots and the aerial parts when inoculated with tomato seeds in the soil contaminated with arsenic. This is the first time that an investigation highlights the potentialities of bacteria associated with rare plants of ferruginous rocky fields as a reservoir of microbiota of biotechnological and ecological interest, highlighting the importance of conservation of this area that is undergoing intense anthropic activity.

Check-list of vascular plant communities on ironstone ranges of south-eastern Brazil: dataset for conservation.

BACKGROUND: Ironstone ranges are considered hotspots for higher plants α and ß diversity. The lack of studies and the intense degradation of the ironstone ranges, due to mining, motivated us to compile, for the first time, a list of vascular plants collected on iron-rich derived substrates from ancient landscape of south-eastern Brazil. All existing records in the Brazilian Virtual Herbarium of Flora and Fungi for each of the 43 municipalities containing ironstone ranges were downloaded, resulting in 17,954 vouchers identified to the species level. We found 2,933 species belonging to 160 families and 818 genera. NEW INFORMATION: For the first time, we identified 148 species mentioned in endangered flora official lists and 48 narrow endemic species. Collecting efforts must still be supported to properly sample the vegetation since, for 143 sites, less than 10 records/site were found. This dataset will assist with the indication of dozens of plant species whose threat criteria must be urgently assessed to subsidise public policies on the use and conservation of the Brazilian flora.