Articles featuring researchers from the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden recently published in scientific journals

Area of habitat reveals biases in extent of occurrence across heterogeneous landscapes: implications for conservation assessments and a new R package, by Igor Musauer Kessous, Leandro de Freitas, and Harith Farooq, was published in the journal Journal of Mountain Science in August.

The study demonstrated that estimates of species’ extent of occurrence, which are used in conservation assessments, can overestimate the area actually suitable for their occurrence, particularly in mountainous regions.

The research analyzed 198 species of flowering plants endemic to the high-altitude grasslands of the Atlantic Forest and showed that this issue tends to be greater in environments with significant variations in elevation and temperature. The study also presents AOHr, a new R package that allows researchers to produce more realistic maps of areas potentially occupied by species, which can support conservation studies and assessments.

The package is freely available at: github.com/kessous/AOHr

Pollen Diversity in Bromeliaceae (Poales): A Morphological and Micromorphological Review presents a comprehensive review of pollen grain diversity in bromeliads, one of the plant families most characteristic of Brazilian flora. The research compiled information on 347 species of Bromeliaceae, representing 61 genera and all subfamilies within the group. The study demonstrates the great variety of forms and structures found in pollen grains and investigates how these characteristics have changed throughout the evolution of bromeliads.

The results contribute to a better understanding of the family’s evolutionary history and show how microscopic pollen characteristics can also contribute to the identification and classification of bromeliads. Published in the journal The Botanical Review in August this year, the paper was authored by Pedro Schwambach de Almeida, Jordano Dorval Tavares Carvalho, Igor Musauer Kessous, Elton Martinez Carvalho Leme, Everton Hilo de Souza, Isabela da Silva Rosa, Cláudia Barbieri Ferreira Mendonça, Jorge Ernesto Araujo Mariath, and Vania Gonçalves.

Diversity and nesting characteristics of stingless bees in an urban green area, the Botanical Garden of Rio de Janeiro, by Maria Lucia França Teixeira, published in Rodriguésia No. 77/2026, presents a study on the nesting characteristics of stingless bee species at the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, located within the city’s urban area. Urban green spaces serve as refuges for reproducing stingless bee colonies in response to restrictions on their habitat.

A total of 94 nests belonging to 13 species were recorded in the following proportions: Tetragonista angustula (37.3%), Partamona helleri (16%), Nannotrigona testaceicornis (12.8%), Oxytrigona cagafogo (8.5%), Scaptotrigona xanthotricha, Paratrigona subnuda, Trigona spinipes, and Trigona hypogea (4.2%), Plebeia droryana (3.2%), Lestrimelitta tropica (2.1%), Melipona (Eomelipona) bicolor, Scaptotrigona bipunctata, and Trigona braueri (1.1%).

The study shows that most nests were built inside tree trunks, but nests were also found in tree canopies, stone walls, monuments, and on the ground. Forty-eight species belonging to 21 botanical families were colonized, with an emphasis on Moraceae (19.44%) and Cupressaceae (15.28%). Trees and palms had an average diameter at breast height of 1.09 m, indicating mature plants that favor the establishment of stingless bee nests. Nest height, density, spatial distribution, and survival were also evaluated. The results support actions aimed at conserving stingless bee nests in urban green spaces.

Araceae in the living collection of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden Research Institute, also published in Rodriguésia No. 77/2026, aimed to inventory the Araceae family in the living collection of the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden, update the JABOT Arboreto database, support the RB herbarium, and disseminate information about the species studied through the publication of a booklet.

A total of 68 species belonging to 19 genera were identified, including 35 native species and 12 endemic to Brazil. The study presents an identification key, descriptions, comments, and photographs of all the species, enabling an update of the Araceae species found in the Rio de Janeiro Botanical Garden’s living collection.

The authors are Carolina Urman, Cássia Mônica Sakuragui, Mel de Castro Camelo, and Marcus Alberto Nadruz Coelho.