Silent Death: The New Brazilian Forest Code Does not Protect Lizard Assemblages in Cerrado Riparian Forests

However, this buffer is insufficient for maintaining some ecosystem services, such as soil and water resources protection. The limits of APPs imposed by the previous and current Forest Code are arbitrary and lack a scientific basis. Habitat loss can profoundly affect riparian forests, reducing water quality and increasing erosion. It can also restrict animal movements, alter population abundance and species richness, and promote exotic or generalist species. Roughly 53% of Brazil's native vegetation occurs in privately owned properties, and the Brazilian Forest Code is the only law that requires the protection of native vegetation in private areas. Areas of Permanent Preservation (APPs) are protected areas, covered or not by native vegetation, with the purpose of protecting water resources, the landscape, geological stability, and biodiversity. However, there are few in situ studies evaluating the effectiveness of APPs for conserving terrestrial assemblages in Brazil. Metzger et al. (1997) recommend at least 100 m of riparian forest buffer for the maintenance of 80% of plant diversity in southeastern Brazil, while Lima and Gascon (1999) suggest at least 140 m of forest corridors to maintain small mammals and litter-frogs in Amazon forest. Riparian forests associated with narrow rivers are very common in the Cerrado of central Brazil, as this region contains numerous headwaters that supply the major river basins in the country. These linear forests play important ecosystem functions and have high biodiversity value in relation to their size. However, they are also being modified or lost at an alarming rate. Lizards are model organisms for numerous studies in ecology, and Cerrado lizards are ubiquitous in terrestrial communities, easy to collect and monitor, and strongly associated with their environments. A capture-recapture study was conducted in three riparian forests: two in protected areas, and one deforested until the limit imposed by law. The study recorded 11 lizard species during the sampling period. The reduced riparian forest had lower abundance, richness, evenness, and phylogenetic diversity compared to the preserved habitats. This forest also lacked forest specialist species, bearing an assemblage composed exclusively by two generalist and synanthropic species. The results indicate that the new Brazilian Forest Code is inadequate to ensure the protection of lizard assemblages in Cerrado riparian forests, and should take into account larger riparian buffers associated with small rivers, and also consider other factors such as the environmental quality around areas of permanent protection along riparian forests.