Data from: Multiple facets of biodiversity are threatened by mining-induced land-use change in the Brazilian Amazon

Aim  Mining is increasingly pressuring areas of critical
importance for biodiversity conservation, such as the Brazilian Amazon.
Biodiversity data are limited in the tropics, restricting the scope for
risks to be appropriately estimated before mineral licencing decisions are
made. As the distributions and range sizes of other taxa differ markedly
from those of vertebrates – the common proxy for analysis of risk to
biodiversity from mining – whether mining threatens lesser-studied
taxonomic groups differentially at a regional scale is unclear. Location
Brazilian Amazon Methods We assess risks to several facets of biodiversity
from industrial mining by comparing mining areas (within 70km of an active
mining lease) and areas unaffected by mining, employing species richness,
species endemism, phylogenetic diversity, and phylogenetic endemism
metrics calculated for angiosperms, arthropods, and vertebrates. Results
Mining areas contained higher densities of species occurrence records than
the unaffected landscape, and we accounted for this sampling bias in our
analyses. None of the four biodiversity metrics differed between mining
and non-mining areas for vertebrates. For arthropods, species endemism was
greater in mined areas. Mined areas also had greater angiosperm species
richness, phylogenetic diversity, and phylogenetic endemism, although
lower species endemism than unmined areas. Main Conclusions Unlike for
vertebrates, facets of angiosperm and arthropod diversity are relatively
higher in areas of mining activity, underscoring the need to consider
multiple taxonomic groups and biodiversity facets when assessing risk and
evaluating management options for mining threats. Particularly concerning
is the proximity of mining to areas supporting deep evolutionary history,
which may be impossible to recover or replace. As pressures to expand
mining in the Amazon grow, impact assessments with broader taxonomic reach
and metric focus will be vital to conserving biodiversity in mining
regions.