Fire is an important ecological factor in Cerrado vegetation of central Brazil, and in other savanna ecosystems. The effect of fire on the abundance of some Xenarthran mammal species Priodontes maximus Kerr, 1792 (giant armadillo), Euphractus sexcinctus Linnaeus, 1758 (yellow armadillo) and Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758 (giant anteater)) was studied at Reserva Xavante do Rio das Mortes, a 329 000 ha Xavante Indian reserve in the Cerrado of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Track counts were used to compare the abundance of these mammals along seven burned and seven unburned transects, on seven occasions between August 1995 and August 1996. The number of tracks in burned and unburned areas did not differ. Xenarthrans probably use burned areas to obtain food resources, basically termites and ants. Xavante traditional fire hunts may reduce fuel accumulation and function as a mechanism to prevent more destructive fires. Fire management at Reserva Xavante is recommended because the burning system of Brazilian farmers is already influencing the Xavante community. Xavante traditional knowledge about fire could be an important instrument for this management.
Fire is an important ecological factor in Cerrado vegetation of central Brazil, and in other savanna ecosystems. The effect of fire on the abundance of some Xenarthran mammal species Priodontes maximus Kerr, 1792 (giant armadillo), Euphractus sexcinctus Linnaeus, 1758 (yellow armadillo) and Myrmecophaga tridactyla Linnaeus, 1758 (giant anteater)) was studied at Reserva Xavante do Rio das Mortes, a 329 000 ha Xavante Indian reserve in the Cerrado of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Track counts were used to compare the abundance of these mammals along seven burned and seven unburned transects, on seven occasions between August 1995 and August 1996. The number of tracks in burned and unburned areas did not differ. Xenarthrans probably use burned areas to obtain food resources, basically termites and ants. Xavante traditional fire hunts may reduce fuel accumulation and function as a mechanism to prevent more destructive fires. Fire management at Reserva Xavante is recommended because the burning system of Brazilian farmers is already influencing the Xavante community. Xavante traditional knowledge about fire could be an important instrument for this management.
RESUMO -O conhecimento dos períodos reprodutivos e vegetativos das plantas é de extrema importância para coletas de sementes e produção de mudas. No Cerrado, as interações da biota com o fogo são de grande interesse, já que esses fatores estão intimamente relacionados e podem ser determinantes na manutenção das populações vegetais. Durante 12 meses, foi estudada a fenologia de duas espécies nativas do Cerrado (Enterolobium gummiferum (Mart.) J.F.Macbr. e Caryocar brasiliense Cambess.) em dois regimes de queima: em sítio mantido sob queima bienal modal no mês de agosto (PBM) e em sítio controle, livre de fogo há 14 anos (PC). Os testes de uniformidade foram realizados para verificar a sazonalidade das fases fenológicas. A seleção de modelos por critério de informação de Akaike foi realizada utilizando as variáveis climáticas da área de estudo para identificar quais delas são melhores preditoras das fases fenológicas. A produção de frutos foi estimada nos dois tratamentos. Praticamente, todas as fenofases apresentaram picos de produtividade, com exceção da brotação foliar de C. brasiliense em PC, queda foliar da mesma espécie nos dois tratamentos e E. gummiferum na PC. Em geral, o comportamento fenológico de ambas as espécies não diferiu de outros estudos. Porém, o fogo retardou a troca de folhas e inibiu as fases reprodutivas de C. brasiliense, o que corrobora o comportamento já observado em outras espécies nativas do Cerrado em áreas com incidência de queimadas.Palavras-chave: Cerrado; Orelha-de-macaco; Pequi, sazonalidade.
PHENOLOGY AND FRUIT PRODUCTION OF Caryocar brasiliense Cambess. AND Enterolobium gummiferum (Mart.) J.F.Macbr UNDER DIFFERENT BURN REGIMES
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