Sandy beaches are the most abundant coastal systems worldwide, representing approximately 3/4 of the worlds' coastlines. In the last decades, these sensitive and dynamic ecosystems have been a target of an increasing human pressure, associated with an unbridled urbanization of coastal areas, caused by the high human population growth, but also associated with recreational activities and tourism. Together with global climatic changes and coastal erosion, these processes lead to detrimental impacts and an environmental quality decline of sandy beach ecosystems, imposing an increasing need for adequate assessment and management practices. In the majority of sandy beaches, the macrofauna is a key element in ecosystem functioning, occupying a central position in the food webs. Some species exhibit abundant populations, representing the bulk of the macrofaunal communities and functioning as key species in these conditions. In this commentary we discuss the relevance and utility of macrofaunal key species as tools in beaches integrity assessment, planning of management practices and restoration projects. We start by exposing the reasons behind the selection and use of these organisms as potential tools in assessment and management practices of beaches. Several and alternative methodologies, at the population and at the community ecological levels of organization, are afterwards discussed and their advantages and drawbacks evaluated. Finally, the most relevant key species in worldwide sandy beaches, known in the literature, and with potential as assessment and management tools, are identified. Since several manmade disturbances (e.g., intense human and mechanical trampling, beach grooming with heavy mechanical equipment), and even natural disturbances (e.g., abnormal temperature regimes, frequency and intensity of storms) may cause variations in key species bioecology, with negative impacts perpetuated to the higher ecological levels, monitoring, assessment and management actions focused on this indicator species hold large potential in the fast changing scenario of nowadays, and should be encouraged.

Os serviços ecossistêmicos, enquanto os benefícios que as pessoas obtêm dos ecossistemas, são fundamentais à sobrevivência e ao bem-estar humano. No entanto, eles não são suficientemente considerados nas decisões sobre a conservação ou degradação dos ecossistemas, motivo pelo qual se encontram em declínio. Cabe ao Direito dar uma resposta efetiva para tornar os serviços ecossistêmicos visíveis perante a sociedade, instituições e economia. Algumas iniciativas já estão sendo implementadas, mas a maior parte consta apenas na letra fria da lei (“law in the books”). Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho visa a compreender o que são os serviços ecossistêmicos, como eles emergiram enquanto uma nova racionalidade nas ciências ambientais e na economia, bem como a forma como o Direito está recepcionando esse novo conceito. O primeiro objetivo desta tese é verificar como o Direito pode contribuir para garantir a preservação e o acesso justo e equânime a esses serviços. Outrossim, com o objetivo de sistematizar e operacionalizar as normas, institutos, instrumentos e políticas voltadas para a tutela e valorização dos serviços ecossistêmicos, propõe-se uma teoria jurídica geral dos serviços ecossistêmicos. Por fim, a presente tese apresenta uma tipologia de institutos, instrumentos e políticas voltadas para a tutela e promoção dos serviços ecossistêmicos.

Plastics are widely used due to their excellent properties, inexpensiveness and versatility leading to an exponential consumption growth during the last decades. However, most plastic does not biodegrade in any meaningful sense; it can exist for hundreds of years. Only a small percentage of plastic waste is recycled, the rest being dumped in landfills, incinerated or simply not collected. Waste-water treatment plants can only minimize the problem by trapping plastic particles of larger size and some smaller ones remain within oxidation ponds or sewage sludge, but a large amount of microplastics still contaminate water streams and marine systems. Thus, it is clear that in order to tackle this potential ecological disaster, new strategies are necessary. This review aims at briefly introducing the microplastics threat and critically discusses emerging technologies, which are capable to efficiently clean aqueous media. Special focus is given to novel greener approaches based on lignocellulose flocculants and other biomaterials. In the final part of the present review, it was given a proof of concept, using a bioflocculant to remove micronized plastic from aqueous medium. The obtained results demonstrate the huge potential of these biopolymers to clean waters from the microplastics threat, using flocculants with appropriate structure.

Assessing the environmental status of marine ecosystems is useful when communicating key messages to policymakers or the society, reducing the complex information of the multiple ecosystem and biodiversity components and their important spatial and temporal variability into manageable units. Taking into account the ecosystem components to be addressed (e.g., biological, chemical, physical), the numerous biodiversity elements to be assessed (e.g., from microbes to sea mammals), the different indicators needed to be studied (e.g., in Europe, 56 indicators of status have been selected), and the different assessment scales to be undertaken (e.g., from local to regional sea scale), some criteria to define spatial scales and some guidance on aggregating and integrating information is needed. We have reviewed, from ecological and management perspectives, the approaches for aggregating and integrating currently available for marine status assessment in Europe and other regions of the world. Advantages and shortcomings of the different alternatives are highlighted. We provide some guidance on the steps toward defining rules for aggregation and integration of information at multiple levels of ecosystem organization, providing recommendations on when using specific rules in the assessment. A main conclusion is that any integration principle used should be ecologically-relevant, transparent and well documented, in order to make it comparable across different geographic regions.

ABSTRACT Estimation of carbon stored in forest ecosystems requires accurate biomass prediction tools. The objective of this study was to determine the individual aerial biomass of Prosopis affinis and its distribution by component, to develop allometric models for the estimation of biomass and to estimate biomass expansion factors (BEF) in native forests of Entre Ríos (Argentina). Dendrometric variables on 30 individuals of different diameter classes were measured. Values of total aerial biomass and component biomass (trunk, branches larger than 5 cm in diameter and branches smaller than 5 cm + leaves, flowers and fruits) were determined using the destructive method. Different models were developed, and the best models were selected according to the adjusted coefficient of determination (R2adj), mean squared prediction error, the Akaike information and Bayesian information criteria and the Furnival index. The variables crown area, diameter at breast height and total height were the best estimators of total aerial biomass and component biomass of P. affinis. The single-variable model based on the basal diameter has a very good predictive capacity for total aerial biomass, resulting in a simple model of great practicality. The BEF was significantly different among diameter classes, with mean values between 2.28 and 4.90. The highest values corresponded to individuals with trunk diameters larger than 25 cm. The models developed in this work present high precision (R2adj. ≥ 0.94) for the prediction of total aerial biomass of P. affinis and can be applied in the native forest area of the province of Entre Ríos (Argentina).

ABSTRACT The homegardens result from collective learning and fulfill environmental services, contributing to the agrobiodiversity conservation and food security. The present study analyzed whether legal mechanisms incorporate concepts on environmental services and if legal frameworks in the state of São Paulo include homegardens as a feasible system for restoration of legal reserve (RL) area. Revisions of Law nº 12.651/2012 and resolutions SMA nº 44/2008 and SMA nº 32/2014 were carried out. For each attribute regarding the environmental services, grades from zero (absent) to two (explicitly described) were assigned. In the legal frameworks, the concepts concerning production, regulation and support were present, with the absence of cultural ones. For the adoption of homegardes as a viable system for restoration in legal reserve area, precepts should be changed regarding the presence of exotic species, management and monitoring practices required in legal frameworks.

Epigean ant communities in Atlantic Forest remnants of São Paulo: a comparative study using the guild concept. The guilds constitute a valuable ecological tool, because they allow conducting comparisons among environments under different conditions. The ants can be used as ecological indicators, mainly for the monitoring of degraded forest areas. The aim of this research was to study guild organization among the epigeous Formicidae living in Atlantic forest remnants of the State of São Paulo, Brazil. Ant collections were performed in three distinct Atlantic forest biome areas: arboreal littoral vegetation ("restinga") (Cananéia), semideciduous seasonal forest (Piracicaba) and dense ombrophylousforest (Pariquera-Açu). After identification, the ants were grouped into guilds, based on the ecological attributes of behavior and habit, according to the literature. Nine guilds were found; the semideciduous seasonal forest ecosystem presented eight of them, followed by the arboreal sandbank (7) and dense ombrophylous forest (6). The guilds found were: litter omnivorous and scavengers, granivorous species, specialist predators living in litter and soil, litter generalist predators, subterranean mealybug-dependent species, army ants, dominant or subdominants arboreal, that occasionally forage on the ground, soil or litter dominant and fungus-growers, using feces and insect body fragments. The guilds found can be used in the monitoring of the mirmecofauna in the Atlantic Forest biome, supplying insights for further ecological studies.

ABSTRACT Purpose: This study aims to understand how organizations accelerate a digital transformation (DT) and leverage innovations in digital services in the modus operandi of dynamic capabilities (DC) development. DT provides an agile resource mobilization in relation to the operational flexibility and to the technological and informational capabilities. Originality/value: This study contributes with a new theoretical-applied perspective on agility as a necessary competence for DC development, being investigated in an emerging country, in this case, Brazil. The development of DC that are suitable for DT becomes critical for capturing opportunities in the dynamic digital environment. Design/methodology/approach: Forty companies in the Brazilian territory were investigated in order to explore the relation between DC and DT, focusing on agility and based on the logic of literal and theoretical replication of case studies. The theoretical framework was applied to investigate companies from three empirical fields (energy, automotive, and digital services), within the triangulation of secondary sources, management reports and internal documents. Findings: The cases analyzed provide evidence that agility does not presuppose strong DC in sensing, as it depends on services’ maturity. We highlight the mediation of the applied use of intangible resources and digitized assets that speed up the seizing and transformation of the business. In the context of digital assets in intensive environments, we propose that DT strategy may be used with analytical intelligence and agility by integrating technological processes.