Long term post-fire recovery of woody plants in savannas of central Brazil

Machida, Waira Saravia; Gomes, Letícia; Moser, Pamela; Castro, Isabela B.; Miranda, Sabrina do Couto de; Silva-Junior, Manoel Claudio da; Bustamante, Mercedes M. C.

doi:10.1016/j.foreco.2021.119255

“…This has consequences for many savannas that have seen declining fire frequencies over the past decades (Andela et al., 2017). Such long recovery time scales have also been reported by some plot‐based studies (Gomes et al., 2014; Machida et al., 2021), which have shown that plant density values take decades to return to pre‐burn levels. These results support insights from a study in South Africa (Zhou et al., 2022) which suggests a limited increase in the ecosystem carbon stocks due to long‐term fire exclusion.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 72%

Tracking Changes in Vegetation Structure Following Fire in the Cerrado Biome Using ICESat‐2

Konduri

¹

,

Morton

²

,

Andela

³

2023

JGR Biogeosciences

2

0

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Fires are an integral part in the Earth system, causing widespread changes in ecosystem structure and function, atmospheric chemistry, and climate (Bowman et al., 2009). Fire-induced changes in the horizontal and vertical structure of vegetation drive substantial shifts in ecosystem carbon storage, surface energy balance, and species' habitats (Frolking et al., 2009). Savannas and grasslands, which occupy about 20% of the land surface and store 15% of vegetation carbon stocks, account for more than 80% of the global annual burned area (Giglio et al., 2013). Fires have played an important role in the evolution of savannas and grasslands across the globe (Beerling & Osborne, 2006;Edwards et al., 2010;Van der Werf et al., 2010). Widespread changes in savanna fire regimes in response to human activity (Andela et al., 2017) and climate (Abatzoglou et al., 2019); therefore, have the potential to alter vegetation structure and carbon storage in savanna ecosystems.

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“…Climate changes have also increased fire frequency, contributing to reductions in the rate of vegetation recovery (Machida et al, 2021) and intensifying climate risks for vulnerable populations such as small landholders, Indigenous people, and traditional communi- Given that the region is already facing rainfall scarcity, droughtdriven crop losses, and increased fire frequency, maintaining native vegetation could prove to be a win-win, supporting continued agricultural production while also conserving biodiversity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drier and warmer climate conditions have already reduced agricultural productivity over much of the Cerrado (Rattis et al, 2021), increasing conflicts over water use (Pousa et al, 2019; Santos et al, 2020) and reducing hydropower production capacity (Cuartas et al, 2022). Climate changes have also increased fire frequency, contributing to reductions in the rate of vegetation recovery (Machida et al, 2021) and intensifying climate risks for vulnerable populations such as small landholders, Indigenous people, and traditional communities (Begotti & Peres, 2020; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2018).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cerrado deforestation threatens regional climate and water availability for agriculture and ecosystems

Rodrigues

¹

,

Macedo

²

,

Silvério

³

et al. 2022

Global Change Biology

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The Brazilian Cerrado is one of the most biodiverse savannas in the world, yet 46% of its original cover has been cleared to make way for crops and pastures. These extensive land-use transitions (LUTs) are expected to influence regional climate by reducing evapotranspiration (ET), increasing land surface temperature (LST), and ultimately reducing precipitation. Here, we quantify the impacts of LUTs on ET and LST in the Cerrado by combining MODIS satellite data with annual land use and land cover maps from 2006 to 2019. We performed regression analyses to quantify the effects of six common LUTs on ET and LST across the entire gradient of Cerrado landscapes. Results indicate that clearing forests for cropland or pasture increased average LST by ~3.5°Cand reduced mean annual ET by 44% and 39%, respectively. Transitions from woody savannas to cropland or pasture increased average LST by 1.9°C and reduced mean annual ET by 27% and 21%, respectively. Converting native grasslands to cropland or pasture increased average LST by 0.9 and 0.6°C, respectively. Conversely, grasslandto-pasture transitions increased mean annual ET by 15%. To date, land changes have caused a 10% reduction in water recycled to the atmosphere annually and a 0.9°C increase in average LST across the biome, compared to the historic baseline under native vegetation. Global climate changes from increased atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations will only exacerbate these effects. Considering potential future scenarios, we found that abandoning deforestation control policies or allowing legal deforestation to continue (at least 28.4 Mha) would further reduce yearly ET (by −9% and −3%, respectively) and increase average LST (by +0.7 and +0.3°C, respectively) by 2050. In contrast, policies encouraging zero deforestation and restoration of the 5.2 Mha of illegally deforested areas would partially offset the warming and drying impacts of land-use change.

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“…This has consequences for many savannas that have seen declining fire frequencies over the past decades (Andela et al, 2017). Such long recovery time scales have also been reported by some plot-based studies (Gomes et al, 2014;Machida et al, 2021), which have shown that plant density values take decades to return to pre-burn levels. These results support insights from a study in South Africa (Zhou et al, 2022) which suggests a limited increase in the ecosystem carbon stocks due to long-term fire exclusion.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 69%

Tracking Changes in Vegetation Structure Following Fire in the Cerrado Biome using ICESat-2

Konduri

¹

,

Morton

²

,

Andela

³

2022

Preprint

0

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Fires are an integral part in the Earth system, causing widespread changes in ecosystem structure and function, atmospheric chemistry, and climate (Bowman et al., 2009). Fire-induced changes in the horizontal and vertical structure of vegetation drive substantial shifts in ecosystem carbon storage, surface energy balance, and species' habitats (Frolking et al., 2009). Savannas and grasslands, which occupy about 20% of the land surface and store 15% of vegetation carbon stocks, account for more than 80% of the global annual burned area (Giglio et al., 2013). Fires have played an important role in the evolution of savannas and grasslands across the globe (Beerling & Osborne, 2006;Edwards et al., 2010;Van der Werf et al., 2010). Widespread changes in savanna fire regimes in response to human activity (Andela et al., 2017) and climate (Abatzoglou et al., 2019); therefore, have the potential to alter vegetation structure and carbon storage in savanna ecosystems.

show abstract

Long term post-fire recovery of woody plants in savannas of central Brazil

Cited by 12 publications

References 115 publications

Tracking Changes in Vegetation Structure Following Fire in the Cerrado Biome Using ICESat‐2

Tracking Changes in Vegetation Structure Following Fire in the Cerrado Biome Using ICESat‐2

Cerrado deforestation threatens regional climate and water availability for agriculture and ecosystems

Tracking Changes in Vegetation Structure Following Fire in the Cerrado Biome using ICESat-2

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