Does season affect fire behaviour in the Cerrado?

Rissi, Mariana Ninno; Baeza, M. Jaime; Gorgone‐Barbosa, Elizabeth; Zupo, Talita; Fidelis, Alessandra

doi:10.1071/wf14210

Cited by 65 publications

(66 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…On the other hand, fire suppression has shown to be ecologically and economically unsustainable (Bowman et al, 2013), eventually resulting in catastrophic firestorms that cause huge carbon emissions and biodiversity losses (Silveira et al, 1999;Bond and Archibald, 2003;França, 2010;Pivello, 2011;Batista et al, 2018;Fidelis et al, 2018). In the last years, fire experiments have increased in Brazil (Dias and Miranda, 2010;Rissi et al, 2017;Schmidt et al, 2018), including our experiment presented here. Here we demonstrate that prescribed fires do not cause losses in species richness of plants and animals, and even bring gains in richness and abundance of plant species in Cerrado grasslands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

No Net Loss of Species Diversity After Prescribed Fires in the Brazilian Savanna

Durigan

Pilon

Abreu

et al. 2020

Front. For. Glob. Change

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Although savannas are fire-adapted ecosystems, prescribing fire for biodiversity conservation remains controversial at least in some regions where savannas occur. Faced with uncertainty, many decision makers and even scientists are still reluctant to prescribe fire for conservation purposes in fire-prone ecosystems, invoking the precautionary principle. Knowledge gaps on the ideal fire regime, such as how and when to burn, and especially the fear of biodiversity losses, are among the main arguments against fire management applied to remnants of native savanna vegetation. To inform this debate, we assessed the impact of prescribed fires on diversity of plants (different growth forms), ants, frogs, lizards, birds, and small mammals, in savannas and grasslands of the Brazilian Cerrado. We assessed the existing species richness, composition, and abundance in areas subjected to long periods of fire suppression and compared to that observed over a short period after prescribed dry-season fires, within each group of plants and animals. Whenever possible, we carried out separate analyses for grassland and savanna. Burning did not significantly reduce species richness of any of the groups analyzed, but had a positive effect on richness of graminoids in grassland. When analyzed at the species level, abundance of most animal groups did not show consistent responses to fire, except for a decrease in some frog populations in grasslands. Forbs, graminoids, and subshrubs increased in abundance after fire in grassland areas, though in savanna areas, abundance of forbs, and subshrubs tended to decline after fire. Species composition changed little in response to fire as indicated by low levels of dissimilarity between burned and unburned areas. These results confirm the high resilience of Cerrado biota to fire, as expected for savanna ecosystems in general. Besides, we demonstrate here that the risk of biodiversity losses cannot justify the objections to the use of prescribed fire for conservation purposes in the Cerrado.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

No Net Loss of Species Diversity After Prescribed Fires in the Brazilian Savanna

Durigan

Pilon

Abreu

et al. 2020

Front. For. Glob. Change

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“…Conversely, human-initiated fire management (implemented to increase visibility for hunting or to improve forage production), which is highly dependent on the local socio-cultural context (Alvarado et al, 2015), can result in fires that are more frequent or intense compared to historical fire regimes [e.g. through a change from cool burning, wet-season, lightning fires to hotter fires in the dry season (Ramos-Neto & Pivello, 2000;Rissi et al, 2017;Alvarado, Silva & Archibald, 2018)]. Given the high rates of woody encroachment in grasslands globally, the high resprouting capacity of old-growth grassland plants, and the dependence of grassland biodiversity on fire, we contend that increased fire frequencies are of far less concern for tropical grassland resilience relative to fire exclusion (Andersen et al, 2005;Parr et al, 2014;Durigan & Ratter, 2016).…”

Section: (3) Fire Exclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While fire effects have been studied in the Cerrado (Hoffmann, 1996(Hoffmann, , 1998Miranda, Bustamente & Miranda, 2002), fire management is only starting to be explored more widely (Durigan & Ratter, 2016;Rissi et al, 2017;Schmidt et al, 2017;Alvarado et al, 2018;Schmidt et al, 2018) and mostly with a focus on responses of woody plants (de Medeiros & Miranda, 2005). A particular gap in restoration research, little is known about the role of fire in the reproduction and establishment of savanna grassland plants.…”

Section: Restoration (1) Prescribed Fire and Tree Cuttingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resilience and restoration of tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and grassy woodlands

et al. 2018

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Despite growing recognition of the conservation values of grassy biomes, our understanding of how to maintain and restore biodiverse tropical grasslands (including savannas and open‐canopy grassy woodlands) remains limited. To incorporate grasslands into large‐scale restoration efforts, we synthesised existing ecological knowledge of tropical grassland resilience and approaches to plant community restoration. Tropical grassland plant communities are resilient to, and often dependent on, the endogenous disturbances with which they evolved – frequent fires and native megafaunal herbivory. In stark contrast, tropical grasslands are extremely vulnerable to human‐caused exogenous disturbances, particularly those that alter soils and destroy belowground biomass (e.g. tillage agriculture, surface mining); tropical grassland restoration after severe soil disturbances is expensive and rarely achieves management targets. Where grasslands have been degraded by altered disturbance regimes (e.g. fire exclusion), exotic plant invasions, or afforestation, restoration efforts can recreate vegetation structure (i.e. historical tree density and herbaceous ground cover), but species‐diverse plant communities, including endemic species, are slow to recover. Complicating plant‐community restoration efforts, many tropical grassland species, particularly those that invest in underground storage organs, are difficult to propagate and re‐establish. To guide restoration decisions, we draw on the old‐growth grassland concept, the novel ecosystem concept, and theory regarding tree cover along resource gradients in savannas to propose a conceptual framework that classifies tropical grasslands into three broad ecosystem states. These states are: (1) old‐growth grasslands (i.e. ancient, biodiverse grassy ecosystems), where management should focus on the maintenance of disturbance regimes; (2) hybrid grasslands, where restoration should emphasise a return towards the old‐growth state; and (3) novel ecosystems, where the magnitude of environmental change (i.e. a shift to an alternative ecosystem state) or the socioecological context preclude a return to historical conditions.

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“…Her notable works include contributions to a synthesis on current ecological knowledge of the South Brazilian Campos biome [432]. Her recent work includes assessments of fire behavior and effects on plants and seeds in Cerrado fires [433,434].…”

Section: Kendra Mclauchlan Is a Professor At Kansas State University mentioning

confidence: 99%

Recognizing Women Leaders in Fire Science: Revisited

Smith

Strand

2018

Fire

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In August, 2018, an editorial in Fire entitled Recognizing Women Leaders in Fire Science was published. This was intended to ignite a conversation into diversity in fire science by highlighting several women leaders in fire research and development. This editorial was released alongside a new Topical Collection in Fire called Diversity Leaders in Fire Science. The response on social media was fantastic, leading to numerous recommendations of women leaders in fire science that had been inadvertently missed in the first editorial. In this editorial, we acknowledge 145 women leaders in fire science to promote diversity across our disciplines. Fire is continually committed to improving diversity and inclusion in all aspects of the journal and welcomes perspectives, viewpoints, and constructive criticisms to help advance that mission.

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Does season affect fire behaviour in the Cerrado?

Cited by 65 publications

References 32 publications

No Net Loss of Species Diversity After Prescribed Fires in the Brazilian Savanna

No Net Loss of Species Diversity After Prescribed Fires in the Brazilian Savanna

Resilience and restoration of tropical and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and grassy woodlands

Recognizing Women Leaders in Fire Science: Revisited

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