Abstract
The Caatinga is a socio-ecological system where the mutual interdependence of man and nature is outstanding. On one hand, ecological gradients maintain most of the large biodiversity and have been fundamental in shaping the modern regional cultural heritage. On the other hand, acute and chronic human disturbances together have led to a large-scale transformation of the Caatinga’s ecosystems, thus reducing their capacity to provide critical ecosystem services to local communities. Future scenarios will possibly be worse due to climatic changes. The path toward sustainability and resilience in the Caatinga requires a major shift from the current ways in which local populations use and interact with natural ecosystems.
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Acknowledgements
IRL and MT thank the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico for productivity grants (CNPq, process 305611/2014-3 and 310228/2016-6, respectively) and CNPq (PELD 403770/2012-2, Universal 477290/2009-4 and 470480/2013-0), Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, PROBRAL CAPES-DAAD process 99999.008131/2015-05), and Fundação de Amparo à Ciência e Tecnologia do Estado de Pernambuco (FACEPE, processes: APQ 0140-2.05/08 and 0738-2.05/12, PRONEX 0138-2.05/14) for their financial support. JMCS received support from the University of Miami and the Swift Action Fund.
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Tabarelli, M., Leal, I.R., Scarano, F.R., Silva, J.M.C. (2017). The Future of the Caatinga. In: Silva, J.M.C., Leal, I.R., Tabarelli, M. (eds) Caatinga. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68339-3_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-68339-3_19
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