Fauna and flora monitoring
SASB Dimension
Ecosystem services and impactsSASB Code
RR-FM-160a.3SASB Sector
Forest ManagementGRI Dimension
EnvironmentalGRI Code
304-4TCFD
Related IndicatorsThe Brazilian forestry sector plays a fundamental role in biodiversity conservation. With its vast territory and rich diversity of biomes, Brazil is home to approximately 20% of the Earth's biodiversity and 30% of the world's tropical forests, making it a key player in biodiversity conservation and the restoration of degraded habitats.
In this context, Suzano has been conducting continuous studies and monitoring wild fauna and flora since the 1990s. The results of these efforts are organized in a comprehensive database that gathers information on biodiversity in the company's different biomes.
Suzano has a Biodiversity Monitoring Plan, an essential tool that organizes and guides the collection, analysis, and interpretation of biodiversity data in a systemic way. This plan is fundamental for assessing the conservation status of species and their ecosystems, helping to understand changes over time and identify alterations that may indicate risks of biodiversity loss. It also provides reliable scientific information for biodiversity management, guiding conservation projects, and sustainable management practices.
Biodiversity monitoring tracks changes in the components and parameters of the landscape, wildlife and flora communities to assess the effects of forest management. The assessment is carried out at the landscape level and in the communities of herpetofauna (anuran amphibians and reptiles), avifauna (birds), mastofauna (medium and large mammals) and native vegetation (shrubs and trees).
The sample areas monitored are part of different mosaics of forest cover and are home to various phytophysiognomies of the Amazon, Cerrado, and Atlantic Forest biomes. Suzano has registered more than 4,500 species of fauna and flora, of which around 190 are threatened with extinction, and 180 are endemic¹. For each species identified, data is stored on its characteristics (morphology, nomenclature, phylogeny, habits, diet, behavior), geographical distribution (collection record, recording method, biome, phytophysiognomy, successional stage), endemism, and degree of threat.
The spatialization, diversity of environments, and excellent conservation status of some remnants provide shelter for a great diversity of species. These areas play a significant role in representing the diversity of wild fauna and native flora in the company's local and regional areas.
In addition to the results obtained from biodiversity monitoring, several initiatives are underway, including:
Conserving threatened primate populations in the Commitment to Renew Life (CPRV) of Biodiversity
The ‘Threatened Primates’ line of action is part of the Biodiversity CPRV, which aims to generate, practice, and share scientific knowledge to recover and conserve strategic primate populations in ecological corridors, enabling their current and future occurrence and dispersal. Primates are among the key biological groups selected for their relationship with forest formations and use of the forest canopy. In other words, without forest environments, primates would not exist.
Amazon Corridor: the key primate species is the black cuxiú (Chiropotes satanas), which is endemic to the far east of the Amazon. In 2024, researchers from the Muriqui Institute of Biodiversity (MIB) began monitoring three forest fragments in southeastern Pará and southwestern Maranhão.
For the survey, the active search method associated with the playback point was carried out, covering a total of 252 kilometers in 293.5 hours of sampling, with 152 primate records in general, including 16 records of the black cuxiú and one record of the kaiara monkey (Cebus kaapori), which is one of the 25 most endangered primates in the world according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Cerrado Corridor: the key species is the capuchin monkey (Sapajus cay), which will be monitored in partnership with the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UFMS), formalized at the end of 2024. The first field campaigns will take place in 2025.
Atlantic Forest Corridor: the key primate species is the brown howler monkey (Alouatta guariba guariba). In 2024, researchers from the Bicho do Mato Research Institute surveyed four fragments in Espírito Santo. The sampling was carried out using innovative technology: drones with thermal cameras. The drone scanned the entire length of the fragments, looking for hotspots. When a hot spot was detected, the digital camera zoomed in to identify the object. This made it possible to determine the primates.
In 2,500 minutes of flights, 10 records belonging to 4 primate species were recorded, including the brown howler monkey found in Suzano's Mutum Preto and Recanto das Antas Private Natural Heritage Reserves (PNHRs). The other species were crested capuchin monkey (Sapajus robustus), guigo (Callicebus personatus) and white-faced marmoset (Callithrix geoffroyi).
Conserving palm populations in the Biodiversity CPRV
The Palm Trees line of action, part of the Biodiversity CPRV, considers palm trees necessary because of their potential for productive and economic biodiversification, conserving the standing forest. Added to this is the enormous diversity of species and forms in Brazilian biomes and the immeasurable potential for sustainable and inclusive productive management for traditional communities and peoples who have remained and live close to Brazil's significant natural remnants.
Atlantic Forest Corridor: In 2024, researchers from the State University of Santa Cruz (Uesc) installed 52 plots measuring 50 x 10 meters, distributed in 13 forest remnants along the corridor. These plots recorded 444 adult individuals of juçara (Euterpe edulis). So far, 17 palm species have been identified, distributed in 8 genera.
In addition to sampling the adult individuals, leaf tissue was collected from all the young individuals of the juçara palm and stored at Uesc's Biotechnology and Genetics Center (CBG). The DNA from these samples is being prepared for future analyses of populations' diversity indices, genetic structure, and gene flow. This data will serve as an initial baseline for future comparisons, allowing the effectiveness of the corridor's actions in conserving the species to be assessed.
Using new technology to monitor biodiversity at the CPRV
In 2024, the Ecological Research Institute (IPÊ) began monitoring biodiversity to create baselines of functional connectivity in the corridors, analyzing the current distribution of species so that, as the project progresses, it can assess the positive impacts on biodiversity of implementing these corridors.
Environmental eDNA was a new technology for monitoring biodiversity: traps were used to catch flies (saprophagous, hematophagous, and/or coprophagous). The DNA of the species with which the fly came into contact was extracted and analyzed at the Molecular Biodiversity and Conservation Laboratory at the Federal University of São Carlos (LabBMC/UFSCar), allowing species present in the corridors to be identified.
Project to use innovative technology to monitor the black lion tamarin
Its target species is an endangered small primate, the black lion tamarin (Mico-Leão Preto acronym in Portuguese) (Leontopithecus chrysopygus). Started in 2024, the project is a partnership between Suzano and the Primatology Laboratory of São Paulo State University (LaP/Unesp), in Rio Claro, developed by PhD researcher Anne Sophie de Almeida e Silva, a fellow of the Inova Talentos program of the Euvaldo Lodi Institute (IEL). The project is being carried out at Fazenda Rio Claro (FRC) in Lençóis Paulista.
The MLP is a rare species endemic to São Paulo, where it is recognized as an environmental heritage site (Decree No. 60,519 of June 5, 2014). Currently, its population is restricted to just over 20 fragments of Atlantic Forest, representing less than 1% of its original distribution, which makes each area, including the FRC, of particular importance for the conservation of the species.
The general objective is to identify the spatial and temporal occupation patterns of MLP in the area. To do this, a recent and innovative technology is being used: passive acoustic mapping (MAP), through the installation of automatic recorders that record all the sounds in the forest. Artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to analyze these sounds as a tool for automated detection of MLP vocalizations. This is the first study to use AI as a bioacoustic analysis tool for the species.
To date, 4,920 hours of recordings have been processed and analyzed, resulting in the detection of 5 groups of MLPs, as well as the detection of the other two species that make up the primate community in the area: 3 groups of howler monkeys (Alouatta guariba) and 7 groups of capuchin monkeys (Sapajus nigritus). With the data already analyzed, we can highlight:
The efficiency of the methodology, MAP and AI, respectively, in obtaining and automatically detecting the vocalizations of the three primate species;
The ecological resilience of these species persists in significant populations in the FRC landscape.
Endangered Primates Project - São Paulo Forestry Business Unit
In its fourth year of activities, this project, coordinated by the Forestry Engineering Department of the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) under the management of Professor Fabiano Rodrigues de Melo, has surveyed and monitored primates using a combination of traditional methods, such as active search and playbacks, and modern techniques, such as canopy camera traps and thermal drone overflights. The activities were carried out at two locations: Fazenda São Sebastião do Ribeirão Grande (FSSRG) and Fazenda Vitória, research areas that are among the most significant remnants of Atlantic Forest and are classified as High Conservation Value Areas (HCVAs).
There are six primate species distributed in the two research areas: southern muriqui (Brachyteles arachnoides), black marmoset (Callithrix aurita), howler monkey (Alouatta guariba), capuchin monkey (Sapajus nigritus), sauá (Callicebus nigrifrons) and black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus). Except the sauá and the capuchin monkey, the other four species are under some degree of threat of extinction.
The ‘southern muriqui’ is the project's flagship species. An estimated 1,200 adult individuals are in the wild, and the species is classified as "endangered" by the Ministry of the Environment (MMA). Muriquis are considered the largest neotropical primates and endemic to the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, where the project monitors approximately 10% of the existing population.
We estimate that there are at least 71 individuals of southern muriquis in 3 distinct social groups in the FSSRG: 4 groups of capuchin monkeys, 6 groups of saunas, and at least 1 group of howler monkeys. In October 2024, we had the highest ground count of muriquis, with at least 38 individuals in a single group, as well as 650 positive records of fauna during the third camera trap survey. At Fazenda Vitória, the highest count of muriquis during the same flight was 21 individuals. By land, the highest count of the species in this area was 18 individuals, as well as at least 5 howler monkeys and 8 capuchin monkeys.
Monitoring the Paulista beetle
Since 2022, in partnership with Save Brasil, Suzano has been carrying out a population study in São Paulo of the São Paulo beetle (Formicivora paludicola) in areas of the forestry unit. The species has one of the most restricted geographical distributions among Brazilian birds, occurring exclusively in specific wetlands in the upper Tietê and Paraíba do Sul river basins. It is the newest discovery in ornithology - the first records were made in 2004.
Endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest and threatened with extinction, the São Paulo white-tailed godwit is among the priority species for conservation in the National Plan for Birds of the Atlantic Rainforest - 2nd Cycle, drawn up by the National Center for Research and Conservation of Wild Birds, of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (Cemave/ICMBio), in 2023.
In 2024, the sample areas were expanded to 24, distributed in Guararema, Mogi das Cruzes, Santa Branca, and São José dos Campos. In total, 171 species of birds were identified, including 24 adult individuals of the Paulista's marsh harrier in 2 of these areas, whose marshes are essential habitats for the species' populations. Currently, only 8 wetland areas are known to be inhabited by the São Paulo Marsh Harrier, 2 of which are on Suzano properties. These populations are essential for the species' short- and long-term survival.
Large Mammals of the Serra do Mar Program
In 2024, Suzano supported this program to monitor fauna in one of its native forest areas, located in Pilar do Sul, in São Paulo. Eight species of mammals were recorded, including the tapir (Tapirus terrestres), the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), the puma (Puma concolor), the giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), and the roe deer (Mazama jucunda). The presence of these species indicates the importance of this conserved area and shows the existence of resources necessary for the survival of countless other species.
With this initiative, Suzano's area becomes part of the country's largest-scale monitoring of the Atlantic Forest, which covers 17,000 square kilometers (1.7 million hectares) in the Serra do Mar, between São Paulo and Paraná. The Large Mammals of the Serra do Mar Program is the result of the joint efforts of researchers from the Cananéia Research Institute and the Manacá Institute, who have been working for more than 15 years on wildlife research and conservation projects in one of the most important biodiversity areas in the world, the Serra do Mar Atlantic Forest.
Note:
The figures presented reflect Suzano's monitoring efforts over the last 12 years, corresponding to two forest management cycles and four fauna and flora monitoring cycles, following the good practices recommended by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Threatened species were those classified as "critically endangered" (CR), "endangered" (EN), or "vulnerable" (VU), according to the lists of the Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation (ICMBio) and the IUCN Red List. Endemic species include only fauna since ICMBio does not have an endemism classification for flora.
Species included in the IUCN Red List¹ and in national conservation lists with habitats located in areas affected by the organization's operations, by level of extinction risk²
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024⁴ | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | |
| overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | |
|
IUCN - critically endangered (CR) |
0 |
0 |
6 |
There was no monitoring |
2 |
0 |
4 |
There was no monitoring |
0 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
2 |
|
IUCN - endangered |
0 |
0 |
13 |
There was no monitoring |
4 |
0 |
6 |
There was no monitoring |
1 |
0 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
0 |
12 |
3 |
2 |
0 |
3 |
2 |
|
IUCN - vulnerable (VU) |
0 |
6 |
32 |
There was no monitoring |
10 |
7 |
23 |
There was no monitoring |
8 |
5 |
21 |
16 |
6 |
6 |
29 |
9 |
6 |
10 |
6 |
9 |
|
ICMBio³ – CR |
0 |
0 |
3 |
There was no monitoring |
0 |
0 |
2 |
There was no monitoring |
0 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
ICMBio – EN |
0 |
0 |
10 |
There was no monitoring |
6 |
0 |
6 |
There was no monitoring |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
|
ICMBio – VU |
0 |
8 |
26 |
There was no monitoring |
12 |
12 |
17 |
There was no monitoring |
11 |
9 |
20 |
22 |
6 |
9 |
19 |
7 |
5 |
8 |
6 |
14 |
- IUCN: International Union for Conservation of Nature.
- The "of little concern" or "near threatened" categories are not considered because they do not include threatened species and are not representative.
- ICMBio: Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation.
- The data for 2024 has been updated according to the most recent IUCN and ICMBio extinction risk level classifications.
Total number of species found in monitoring, by type
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | São Paulo | Mato Grosso do Sul | Espírito Santo/Bahia | Maranhão | |
| overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | overall number | |
|
Amphibians |
18 |
15 |
19 |
There was no monitoring |
24 |
16 |
22 |
There was no monitoring |
There was no monitoring |
17 |
There was no monitoring |
There was no monitoring |
13 |
15 |
There was no monitoring |
9 |
15 |
7 |
18 |
14 |
|
Birds |
1 |
94 |
296 |
There was no monitoring |
272 |
212 |
276 |
There was no monitoring |
263 |
171 |
271 |
334 |
265 |
98 |
273 |
212 |
192 |
167 |
262 |
241 |
|
Mammals |
9 |
31 |
25 |
There was no monitoring |
45 |
30 |
22 |
There was no monitoring |
33 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
24 |
24 |
28 |
25 |
32 |
24 |
28 |
34 |
|
Plants |
0 |
168 |
523 |
There was no monitoring |
225 |
62 |
524 |
There was no monitoring |
251 |
There was no monitoring |
256 |
364 |
56 |
There was no monitoring |
274 |
293 |
There was no monitoring |
136 |
375 |
151 |
|
Reptiles |
0 |
15 |
3 |
There was no monitoring |
2 |
9 |
3 |
There was no monitoring |
There was no monitoring |
13 |
There was no monitoring |
There was no monitoring |
2 |
3 |
There was no monitoring |
5 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
6 |
|
Total |
2 |
323 |
866 |
There was no monitoring |
568 |
329 |
847 |
There was no monitoring |
547 |
232 |
559 |
731 |
360 |
140 |
575 |
544 |
242 |
338 |
685 |
446 |