Overview of the translocation of rupestrian ferruginous fields of Capão Xavier mine to the Serra do Rola Moça State Park, Minas Gerais – Brazil

Abstract

The identification of priority areas for the conservation of Brazilian biodiversity and the application of prompt practical measures are essential for an effective environmental management. The Serra do Rola Moça State Park, located in the Iron Quadrangle, on the southern end of the Espinhaço Range, in Minas Gerais, Brazil, is a region that is home to the rupestrian ferruginous fields or canga vegetation, a still poorly studied vegetation, rich in endemic, rare, and endangered species. The aim of this work is to contribute to the understanding of the rupestrian ferruginous fields, providing a floristic analysis, a quantification of species richness, and survival (vegetative growth in laboratory conditions, the production of nursery saplings and the management of the areas) of translocated species from the Capão Xavier mine pit to the park. The species presented belong mainly to the Asteraceae, Rubiaceae, Myrtaceae, Velloziaceae, Bromeliaceae, Orchidaceae, and Solanaceae families. Nowadays, the surrounding area of the administrative headquarters of the park shelters around 10 000 individuals and about 15 000 in other areas of the park. In the rescue and transposition of saplings, there was a loss of less than 31.29% of the individuals directly introduced to the planting area, while only 10% of the saplings grown in the nursery were lost. The knowledge acquired about the viability of the studied species, their spread, and conservation indicates the possibility of nursery breeding of some of the native species and their use in the recovery of areas in mining regions.