Effects of habitat fragmentation on species richness and community composition of medium- and large-sized mammals in sugarcane-dominated Cerrado landscapes, southwestern Goiás, Brazil

Abstract

The Cerrado ecodomain has experienced significant fragmentation and habitat loss, primarily due to agricultural expansion and, more recently, the rapid increase in sugarcane cultivation. This study examines how landscape composition and configuration affect the richness and community composition of medium- and large-sized mammals in southwestern Goiás, Brazil, a region extensively modified by sugarcane agriculture. From 2013 to 2019, mammal species were recorded using camera traps installed in remnant vegetation fragments. Landscape structure was characterized through visual classification of land use and land cover within seven 2-km-radius buffers around sampling sites. A total of 23 medium- and large-sized mammal species were recorded. Landscape metrics—total area of native habitat remnants, mean Euclidean distance between the nearest native remnants, and distance from each landscape to the boundary of Emas National Park—explained a high proportion of variation in species richness (90.1%) and species composition (85.5%). Species richness increased with habitat amount and decreased with fragment isolation, while species composition was mainly influenced by inter-fragment distance and proximity to the protected area. These results indicate that mammal assemblages are highly sensitive to landscape composition, configuration, and habitat isolation. The effects of sugarcane cultivation extend beyond reductions in species richness, also reshaping community structure and potentially favoring generalist and disturbance-tolerant species.