Atlantic Forest

Ilha Grande State Park (PEIG) and Praia do Sul State Biological Reserve (RBEPS): are located on Ilha Grande, an island which has a total area of 19,300 ha. The two modules have 5 km2 , with the PEIG module having 10 uniformly distributed plots and 8 riparian plots, and the RBEPS module has 5 uniformly distributed plots and 1 riparian plot. The plots are located in dense ombrophilous forest, alluvial forest, and restinga. The State University of Rio de Janeiro has a research base (CEADS) in Vila Dois Rios that is used to access the PEIG module. Lodging is also available at Praia do Aventureiro which is used to access the RBEPS module, maintained by the State Environmental Institute (INEA).

Vale Nature Reserve (VNR): has an area of 23,500 ha. Together with the Sooretama Biological Reserve and two private reserves of natural heritage, it forms a forest block of about 53,000 ha in the north of Espírito Santo State. VNR has 5 modules of 5 km and a total of 22 plots of uniform distribution. VNR is covered by Tabuleiro forest, sandy soil forest, riparian forests, and natural grassland. VNR is a private reserve and has accommodation for tourists and researchers.

Sooretama Biological Reserve (SBR): has an area of 27,859 ha. Together with the VNR and two private reserves of natural heritage, it forms a forest block of about 53,000 ha in the north of Espírito Santo State. SBR has 2 modules of 5 km2, 4 modules of 2.5 km, and a total of 24 plots of uniform distribution with distances ranging between 50, 250, 500, 750, 1500, and 2500 m from the BR-101 highway on both sides. SBR is covered mainly by Tabuleiro forest. Lodging is available, maintained by ICMBio.

Duas Bocas Biological Reserve (DBBR): is located in the rural area of the municipality of Cariacica, Espírito Santo state. The reserve has an area of 2,910 hectares, constituting a protected area by law formed by a fragment of the Atlantic Forest with predominant vegetation of dense rainforest with submontane forest. In the reserve, three major trails of different length (3500, 3800, and 4050 m) were installed. The reserve has accommodation for researchers.

Pedra Azul State Park: is located in Domingos Martins Municipality, Espírito Santo state, and has an area of 1,240 ha. The park is covered by dense rainforest with montane forest and upland forest with associations to Rupestrian vegetation, Riparian Forest and High Seasonal Forest. In the park, three RAPELD modules were installed, which consist of three trails of 3 km each. The park has no accommodation, but there are several options in the surroundings.

Forno Grande State Park: is located in the municipality of Castelo, with an area of 770 ha and protects the second largest culmination point (2039 m) of the State of Espírito Santo. The park is covered by dense rainforest with montane forest and upland forest with associations with rupestrian ecosystems due to the rocky outcrops of the region. In the park, three RAPELD modules were installed, which consist of three trails of 3 km each. The park has accommodation for researchers.

Environmental Protection Area of Setiba: is located in the Vila Velha and Guarapari Municipalities, Espírito Santo state and has an area of 12,960 ha. This area presents four different vegetation types: beach vegetation zone, shrub vegetation zone, open Clusia formations, and restinga forests. The area has four RAPELD modules, represented by four trails of 3 km each. The area has no accommodation, but there are several options in the surroundings.

Tinguá Biological Reserve: has an area of 26,000 ha and holds one of the largest and most conserved remnants of Atlantic Forest in the State of Rio de Janeiro and one of a few portions of forest areas on the Fluminense Lowland. It covers parts of the municipalities of Nova Iguaçu, Duque de Caxias, Petrópolis, and Miguel Pereira, in Rio de Janeiro state. The predominant physiognomy is Dense Rainforest, with four formations: submontane forest, montane forest, upland forest, and high-altitude grasslands. There is one 5 x 1 km module set up since 2013, with 10 uniformly distributed plots.

Guaxindiba Ecological Station: it is located in the municipality of São Francisco do Itabapoana, Rio de Janeiro state. This is the largest fragment (ca. 1,200 ha) of Atlantic Forest over Tertiary sediments in the State and is covered by Lowland Seasonal Semi- deciduous forest. This fragment has a history of disturbances, mainly of logging of commercial woody species, coal production, and agriculture. There is one 5 x 1 km module set up since 2016, with 10 uniformly distributed plots

Módulo Cachoeira: The Guaricica Natural Reserve (formerly Rio Cachoeira Natural Reserve, RNRC) is located in the municipality of Antonina, PR, within the Guaraqueçaba APA and belongs to the Society for Wildlife Research and Environmental Education (SPVS). The area comprises the slopes of Serra do Mar with undulating relief and a dense drainage network that form a pattern of valleys with a maximum difference in altitude of about 400 m. The study area is inserted in the Dense Submontane Rainforest and Dense Montane Rainforest, which are located between approximately 20 and 600 m of altitude and are the ones with the greatest plant diversity, resulting from good edaphic conditions. The typical structure is forested, multi-stratified, whose canopy can reach up to 30 (35) meters in height. In 2014 the Rio Cachoeira Module (ModRC) was installed, following the RAPELD protocol, with 10 systematic distributed plots representing second-growth and mature forests.

Módulo Guaraguaçu: The Guaraguaçu River is approximately 60 km long, it rises in the Serra da Prata and its mouth is located in Paranaguá Bay, between the urban perimeters of the municipalities of Paranaguá and Pontal do Paraná. It is located within the Guaratuba Environmental Protection Area (APA Guaratuba) and part of the river is within the limits of the Rio Guaraguaçu Ecological Station. Guaraguaçu is the largest river of Paraná State within the Lagamar region - the set of estuaries in Southeast-South Brazil considered a core zone of Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, and a natural World Heritage Site. The stretch where the PPBio monitoring points were distributed is from its most navigable upstream portion, approximately to its most downstream portion still with fresh water in the mangrove region, approximately. For this site, an adaptation of RAPELD as used, for the first time, for a lowland river ecosystem.

Dois Irmãos State Park: The site is located in the municipality of Recife, Pernambuco State, in the Dois Irmãos State Park, a protected area covering 1,158.51 ha. The area is situated above sediments of the Barreiras Group and is part of the Dense Lowland Rainforest, within a peri- urban matrix, and next to the main campus of the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), which holds the research coordination of the site. There is one 5 x 1 km module set up since 2013, following the RAPELD protocol, with 10 uniformly distributed plots (PEDI site). Four plots are in mature forest whereas six are in young forest under regeneration. The PPBio site also includes surveys on two reservoirs in the area. There is no accommodation or camping available in the park, but the area is easily accessed due to its urban condition.

Una Biological Reserve: The site is located in the municipality of Una, Bahia, inside the Una Biological Reserve (REBIO Una). The REBIO has existed since 1980, covers an area of 18,715.06 ha, and is part of a complex of protected areas with 41,108 ha. Also, it is inserted within the Corridor Una-Lontras, a priority area for vertebrate and plant conservation. Soils are very heterogeneous and the flora is extremely diverse in this region of Dense Rainforest, which holds the highest rate of endemic plant species along the Atlantic Coast. Since 2009, a 5 x 5 km grid was set up in the REBIO Una by a group coordinated at the State University of Santa Cruz (UESC), following the RAPELD protocol, with 30 uniformly distributed plots. Lodging is available, maintained by the ICMBio, but with a precarious supply of electricity, water and communication.

Acaraí State Park: It is a conservation area with an approximate area of 6,667 hectares in the coastal plain and is considered the most important continuous remnant of coastal ecosystems of Santa Catarina. The vegetation of the park belongs to the domain of restinga and is compartmentalized in formations with characteristic floristic and structural composition, which are distributed from the post-beach area to the Capivaru pond margins. The following formations stand out: herbaceous restinga, shrubby restinga, shrub-tree restinga, and the transition forest. The module has 5 km 2 , having 10 uniformly distributed plots and 5 riparian plots. The plots are located in dense ombrophilous forest, restinga, and wetland forest.

São Joaquim National Park: a strictly protected area located in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil, which has a total area of 49,300 ha and altitudes ranging from 200 to 1,822 masl. The vegetation comprises a mosaic of dense evergreen forest largely occurring up to 800 masl, replaced by mixed Araucaria forest and high-altitude grasslands at higher altitudes. The climate is humid subtropical without a dry season with some variation depending on elevation: hot summers and mean annual temperature of 19°C below 800 m, and cold winters with frequent frosts and a mean annual temperature of 13.5°C above 800 m. The three modules (Santa Barbara, Morro da Igreja e Pedra Furada) have 5 km 2 each and were distributed between 312 and 1796 m asl. With modules having 10 uniformly distributed plots and five riparian plots each one.

Serra dos Órgãos National Park: Located in Rio de Janeiro State, it protects 20,000 hectares of Atlantic Forest in steep relief, ranging from 70m to 2265m above sea level. PPBio related projects have sampled mainly three areas within the park, all of them located in dense ombrophilous montane forest, mainly in secondary successional stage: 1) Garrafão: this site holds three 0,64 ha grids where small mammals have been sampled regularly since 1996. Grid A lies at 750 m; grid B at 650m and grid C at 520m a.s.l. and all three are close to sparse human settlements; 2) Rancho Frio: this site is located in the upper Paquequer river basin, close to the park’s headquarters. One 3 ha grid was established in 2012 at 1250m a.s.l. and has been sampled regularly since then. 3) Petrópolis: PPBio related projects have performed biological inventories in six line transects spaced at least 500m in 2014 and 2015, ranging from 1000 to 1200m a.s.l.