Flammability in tropical savannas: Variation among growth forms and seasons in Cerrado

Zanzarini, Vagner; Andersen, Alan N.; Fidelis, Alessandra

doi:10.1111/btp.13121

Cited by 15 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Thermal analysis in the mid-infrared and thermal domains, including the mid-infrared (MIR: 2.5-8 µm) and thermal infrared (TIR: 8-14 µm) bands [86], allows us to determine the water stress plants are subjected to. This spatial behavior reflected in grassland covers, which have the highest level of variation for post-fire events in PBs, thus demonstrated that different forms of plant growth, such as grass, shrubs, and trees, presented varying levels of flammability, as well as revealing the dominant role that grasslands have as drivers of flammability in tropical savannas [87] by being the cover that is most affected by fire. Burned areas are also related to the continuity of fine combustible material and wind, where natural grassland flooded with a proliferation of Combretum spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Multispectral Data to Evaluate the Effects of Prescribed Burnings on Three Macrohabitats of Pantanal, Brazil

Pineda Valles,

Nunes,

Berlinck

et al. 2023

Remote Sensing

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The controlled use of fires to reduce combustible materials in prescribed burning helps to prevent the occurrence of forest fires. In recent decades, these fires have mainly been caused by anthropogenic activities. The study area is located in the Pantanal biome. In 2020, the greatest drought in 60 years happened in the Pantanal. The fire affected almost one third of the biome. The objective of this study is to evaluate the effect of prescribed burnings carried out in 2021 on three macrohabitats (M1: natural grassland flooded with a proliferation of Combretum spp., M2: natural grassland of seasonal swamps, and M3: natural grassland flooded with a proliferation of Vochysia divergens) inside the SESC Pantanal Private Natural Heritage Reserve. Multispectral and thermal data analyses were conducted with remotely piloted aircraft systems in 1 ha plots in three periods of the dry season with early, mid, and late burning. The land use and land cover classification indicate that the predominant vegetation type in these areas is seasonally flooded grassland, with percentages above 73%, except in zone three, which has a more diverse composition and structure, with the presence of arboreal specimens of V. divergem Pohl. The pattern of the thermal range showed differentiation pre- and post-burning. The burned area index indicated that fire was more efficient in the first two macrohabitats because they are natural grasslands, reducing the grass species in the burnings. Early and mid prescribed burnings are a good option to reduce the continuous accumulation of dry forest biomass fuel material and help to promote landscape heterogeneity. The use of multispectral sensor data with high spatial/spectral resolution can show the effects of fires, using highly detailed scales for technical decision making.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Multispectral Data to Evaluate the Effects of Prescribed Burnings on Three Macrohabitats of Pantanal, Brazil

Pineda Valles,

Nunes,

Berlinck

et al. 2023

Remote Sensing

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“…The observed changes in abundance over time could influence ecological processes such as feedback between plants and fire, because graminoids are the major drivers of the flammability of Cerrado plant communities (Zanzarini et al, 2022). Moreover, the turnover of species observed among sites can also lead to a turnover of functional traits altering the ecosystem services, such as the type and presence of storage organs (Pausas et al, 2018; Bombo et al, 2022), critical traits for community productivity (Sarmiento, 1992) and carbon storage (Teixeira et al, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should we burn the Cerrado? Effects of fire frequency on open savanna plant communities

Rodrigues

Fidelis

2022

J Vegetation Science

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Aims: Tropical savanna evolved in the presence of fire, depending on it to maintain its physiognomies and biodiversity. Open ecosystems of tropical savanna burn frequently, and thus changes in fire frequency can affect their plant communities. In this study we aimed to analyze the effects of different fire frequencies on the composition, structure and post-fire regeneration of open savanna plant communities of the Cerrado.Location: Open savannas, Central Brazil (13°35-38′S and 47°45-51′W). Methods:We conducted surveys in areas with different fire frequencies (fire exclusion, burned annually and burned biennially for 6 years, from 2013). Vegetation sampling was carried out before application of fire treatments in 2017, and then 1 and 2 years after. Species cover was estimated visually and later grouped into graminoids, shrubs and forbs.Results: Evaluation of the plant communities after 6 years of fire treatment indicated that fire frequency did not affect species richness. Fire frequency did, however, promote alteration in species occurrence and abundance, resulting in three dissimilar plant communities. Regarding post-fire regeneration, annually burned plots showed consistency in species richness and growth form cover over 6 years of annually applied fire. Biennially burned plots tended to be more variable than the other treatments, with a large increase in species richness and growth form cover in the first year after fire, succeeded by a decrease in the second year. Not all species that were recruited just after fire were able to persist in the above-ground community in the second year after fire.Conclusions: Open savannas of the Cerrado are highly resilient to fire, even to annual fires, with 6 years of annual fire treatments not affecting post-fire species diversity or growth form cover. However, communities differed in species composition, which can influence their functional diversity and lead to alterations in ecosystem services. Our findings encourage long-term studies to evaluate the resilience of areas frequently burned, as well as longer fire exclusion periods.

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“…When the environmental conditions become unfavorable during the dry season, both the above‐ and below‐ground components of the plant community are affected. At the above‐ground level, the aerial biomass dries up, increasing thus the amount of dead fuel load (Miranda et al, 2009; Rissi et al, 2017), and thus increasing the flammability of the system (Zanzarini et al, 2022). Since the dry seasons impose periods of water restriction, which dry the soil from the surface downward (Franco, 2002), at the below‐ground level, buds on below‐ground bud‐bearing organs may enter a dormancy stage (Ott et al, 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Together with herbivory, fire and precipitation are major factors driving species distribution and the cyclicity between dry and wet seasons in savannas (Solbrig et al, 1996). By the end of the dry season, the herbaceous layer (mostly grasses) dries out, increasing the flammability of the system (Zanzarini et al, 2022). In general, fire is a natural disturbance that acts as a selection factor in fire‐prone ecosystems, and thus plants that invest in their persistence, such as the presence of a viable below‐ground bud bank that can rapidly resprout after the above‐ground removal of the biomass (Pausas et al, 2018), will be able to survive in these systems (Bond & Keeley, 2005; Simon & Pennington, 2012; Buisson et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonality affects the below‐ground bud bank dynamics of the Cerrado

Ferraro

Silva

Martins

et al. 2022

J Vegetation Science

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Question: How does seasonality affect the below-ground bud bank dynamics in open savannas from the Cerrado and the density of below-ground bud-bearing organs?As the Cerrado is subject to marked seasonality, many herbaceous plants may lose their above-ground biomass during the dry season, and regenerate it later in the rainy period through resprouting from below-ground buds. Herein, we tested the hypothesis that seasonality may directly affect bud bank dynamics and below-ground bud-bearing organs, with a larger bud bank size and higher densities of below-ground organs in the rainy season.Location: Open savannas of the Cerrado, southeastern Brazil. Methods:The bud bank was sampled in three open areas of the Cerrado. In each area, 10 plots were established, and, within each plot, the biomass was sampled to 10 cm below-ground level. In the lab, buds and below-ground organs were counted. We fitted generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to test the differences in the bud bank and the below-ground organ densities between the dry and rainy seasons. Results:The bud bank size was smaller in the dry season. Buds found in the dry season suggest they were developed in the rainy season and remained dormant, not forming new shoots. Non-woody rhizomes of caespitose grasses were more abundant during the rainy season. Xylopodia and woody rhizome densities were not significantly affected by seasonality.Conclusions: Bud bank dynamics in the Cerrado is affected by seasonality. There is a decrease in bud bank density in the dry season, suggesting that buds were developed into new branches in the rainy season, but not all of them develop into new shoots in the same season. Thus, the bud bank evaluated in the dry season probably is formed by an accumulation of dormant preformed buds, highlighting the occurrence of a resprouting dynamic of native species of the Cerrado in the rainy season.

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Flammability in tropical savannas: Variation among growth forms and seasons in Cerrado

Cited by 15 publications

References 49 publications

Use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Multispectral Data to Evaluate the Effects of Prescribed Burnings on Three Macrohabitats of Pantanal, Brazil

Use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft System Multispectral Data to Evaluate the Effects of Prescribed Burnings on Three Macrohabitats of Pantanal, Brazil

Should we burn the Cerrado? Effects of fire frequency on open savanna plant communities

Seasonality affects the below‐ground bud bank dynamics of the Cerrado

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