Fire records in tree rings of Moquiniastrum polymorphum: potential for reconstructing fire history in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest

Abstract

Fire disturbance affects the composition, structure and dynamics of vegetation. Historical records of fire events exist in some places, but they are generally limited in temporal and spatial extent. Tree-ring research is a useful tool for fire history reconstruction and can contribute important long-term ecological data. We tested the hypotheses that Moquiniastrum polymorphum (Less.) G. Sancho, a widespread species in Brazil that occurs in burnt areas of Atlantic Forest, produces annual growth rings and that its wood can record fire incidence by datable fire scaring. Our results corroborate these hypotheses and indicate that the species has potential for fire history reconstruction.

Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty? A Fire-Resistant Species Triggers Divergent Regeneration in Low-Resilience Pastures

“…The vegetation structure in High disturbance areas, burned only 6 months before our measurements, confirms previous observations that the individuals of the species survive fire as reproductive adults (Prieto et al, 2017;Sansevero et al, 2017;Brandes et al, 2019). M. polymorphum individuals that attain fire resistance and survive fire events act as a template for regeneration.…”

“…This species is common in the Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) and in degraded pastures in the BAF (Sansevero et al, 2017(Sansevero et al, , 2020. It can survive fires and form fire rings, which allows its use in fire history reconstruction (Brandes et al, 2019). Its thick bark allows for survival to frost events as well (Brando and Durigan, 2005).…”

Linking regeneration niche to monodominance in biodiverse tropical forest landscapes

“…Moquiniastrum polymorphum leaves contain potentially allelopathic phytotoxic substances (Pinto & Kolb, 2016) and have low susceptibility to herbivory (Pilon & Durigan, 2013). Its high‐density stem and thick bark (Figure 1c) promote water conservation during drought (Blagitz et al, 2019) and fire resistance (Brandes et al, 2019). It is intolerant to shaded environments, but tolerates infertile and degraded soils (Lorenzi, 1992).…”

Fire Monitoring Algorithm and Its Application on the Geo-Kompsat-2A Geostationary Meteorological Satellite

“…As one of the major natural disasters, forest and grassland fires can seriously damage the ecological environment, endangering people's life and property [1][2][3][4]. Thus, timely and accurate fire information is of great significance for fire monitoring and early warning.…”