Day 268 - 24 Jun 96 - Page 24

     
     1        saying that he has worked for the last 29 years on the
     2        biome diversity and plant inter-relationships of Central
     3        and Amazonian Brazil.  He has communicated the results of
     4        his research in about 30 publications and the article
     5        profile of the Cerrado (tree savanna biome) of Central
     6        Brazil which you are about to read as the text of a lecture
     7        which he gave and which was about to be published.
     8
     9   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He ends that by saying:  I have used the IBGE
    12        vegetation map which I understand that has caused some
    13        difficulty and I can interpret it for you.  But then
    14        follows the profile which I suggest you read.  I do not
    15        think there is any need to go any more into his career
    16        history.
    17
    18   MR. MORRIS:  OK.   Is he number 10 or number 11?
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He is number 10.  Do not worry about the
         bundle.  Do not change it, whatever you do.  It is not
    22        necessarily in the right order, but all you need to know is
    23        where Dr. Ratter's statement is.
    24
    25   MR. MORRIS:  Right.
    26
    27        "Profile of the cerrado (tree savanna biome) of Central
    28        Brazil:  Modern agriculture and conservation of
    29        biodiversity.  James A Ratter.
    30
    31        Cerrado (tree-savanna) is the predominant natural
    32        vegetation of Central Brazil and covers approximately 2
    33        million square kilometres representing about 23% of the
    34        land surface of the country (and, incidentally, an area
    35        about the same as Western Europe).  It is the second most
    36        extensive vegetation formation of Brazil, exceeded only by
    37        the Amazonian rainforest with 3.5 million square
    38        kilometers.  The cerrado region extends from the margin of
    39        the Amazonian forest to outlying areas in the southern
    40        states of Sao Paulo and Parana, occupying more than 20
         degrees of latitude and an altitudinal range from sea-level
    42        to 1800 metres.  About 700,000 square kilometers of the
    43        total area of cerrado vegetation is within the Amazon
    44        basin.
    45
    46        Cerrado is a very ancient vegetation, probably already
    47        established in prototypic form in the Cretaceous, some 100
    48        million years ago, and has a diverse native flora
    49        consisting of approximately 6000 species of vascular
    50        plants, of which about 800 are trees and large shrubs.  In
    51        addition to the true savanna flora, the cerrado region has
    52        enormous extensions of gallery forests following the
    53        drainage, and areas of deciduous (and semideciduous)
    54        forests where richer soils occur.  The flora of these two
    55        vegetation types probably raises the number of species of
    56        vascular plants in the cerrado biome to about 10,000.  Dias
    57        (1992) estimates the total number of species of plants,
    58        fungi and animals at 150,000, making the cerrado an
    59        important biodiversity 'hot-spot'.
    60