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Roads are known to be a major factor in the ongoing spread and establishment of invasive plants by modifying habitats and providing movement corridors. Controlling plant invasion or restoring highly-invaded areas along roads is a challenging task in current conservation practice. We aim to investigate the possible facilitative effects of nurse shrubs on native vs. exotic species in order to provide applications for conservation and restoration of highly invaded roadsides areas in megadiverse montane areas of Brazil. We estimated the abundance of each plant species (native and exotic) in paired roadsides with and without pioneer nurse shrubs (Baccharis spp.), and measured whether they were facilitated (i.e., growing underneath native nurse shrubs), using a Facilitation Value metric. We found that the proportion of exotic species was 27% greater in areas without the nurse shrubs. In addition, predicted probability of nurse shrubs as facilitators of native species was 61% greater than that of exotic species. Pioneer nurse shrubs that alleviate the environmental shift generated by the construction and use of roads (e.g., disturbed soils with low nutrient content) may represent an interesting alternative to mitigate exotic plant invasion along roadsides, a current global priority for biodiversity conservation. Decision-makers considering whether to build, improve, and maintain roads should take into account the potential spread of exotic plants and the use of nurse shrubs to prevent or mitigate plant invasiveness.

Global sustainability rests on a myriad of benefits provided by natural ecosystems that support human livelihoods and well-being, from biodiversity persistence to climate regulation. The undeniable importance of conserving tropical forests has drawn most of the conservation spotlight towards it. However, open ecosystems such as the Brazilian Campo Rupestre (rupestrian grassland), have been historically overlooked despite their high diversity and key associated ecosystem services. We highlight major current threats to the persistence of the Campo Rupestre emphasizing its ecological, social, cultural, geo-environmental, and economic importance. We call attention to the importance of the Campo Rupestre as a reservoir of biodiversity and ecosystem services and offer priority actions that resulted from discussions involving scientists, industry representatives, environmental managers, and other members of civil society. Proposed actions include efforts related to ecological restoration, sustainable ecotourism, protection of traditional ecological knowledge, identification of emerging research questions, and development of tailored public policies. Such issues are integrated into a framework that collectively represents a road map to safeguard the Campo Rupestre from further degradation and steer its historical overexploitation towards sustainable management. Safeguarding the future of non-forest biomes like this poses a challenge to current paradigms of nature conservation. By establishing priorities and guidelines, we propose an actionable plan, which we hope can support informed decision-making policy towards a sustainable use of the Campo Rupestre. Long Term Ecological Research PELD-CRSC-17 Conselho Nacional de Pesquisas CNPq/MCTI Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo 2013/50155-0, 2010/51307-0, 2019/07773-1

Os campos rupestres da Cadeia do Espinhaco destacam-se por sua grande biodiversidade e alta proporcao de especies endemicas. Estudos sobre a restauracao ecologica desse ecossistema sao urgentemente necessarios, tendo em vista sua resiliencia extremamente baixa e especial vulnerabilidade frente a degradacao do solo. Investigamos experimentalmente o desempenho de sobrevivencia, crescimento em altura e fenologia reprodutiva de mudas de oito especies nativas de campo rupestre plantadas em areas degradadas quartziticas. O plantio foi feito em 2011, e as mudas foram monitoradas por 12 a 18 meses. Todas as especies apresentaram elevada sobrevivencia (90-100%) durante o periodo considerado e crescimento significativo em altura, o que indicou o estabelecimento bem-sucedido e adaptacao as condicoes rigorosas encontradas nessas areas degradadas. Alem disso, quatro especies arbustivas completaram o ciclo reprodutivo, atingindo a dispersao de sementes com aproximadamente dois anos de idade. Os resultados indicam que o plantio de mudas de especies nativas deve ser considerado como uma importante ferramenta na restauracao de areas degradadas quartziticas em campos rupestres. Palavras-chave: Cerrado, crescimento de mudas, facilitacao, restauracao ecologica, Serra do Cipo, solos quartziticos.