The biodiversity cost of carbon sequestration in tropical savanna

Abreu, Rodolfo Cesar Real de; Hoffmann, William A.; Vasconcelos, Heraldo L.; Pilon, Natashi A. L.; Rossatto, Davi Rodrigo; Durigan, Giselda

doi:10.1126/sciadv.1701284

Cited by 290 publications

(351 citation statements)

References 67 publications

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“…Whether natural regeneration can be used to recover Neotropical savannas in abandoned pastures will mainly depend on the restoration goals (including project timelines) and available resources (Holl & Aide, ). Our models show that passive restoration (non‐intervention) may be effective in abandoned pastures previously occupied by old‐growth savannas if the goal is, for example, carbon sequestration or the rapid generation of soil cover to control erosion as well as the acceptability of low‐diversity forest (encroached savanna), which will not serve as habitat to endemic savanna fauna (Abreu et al., ; Veldman et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The encroached savanna, which corresponded to the alternative state, presents a forest structure (Oliveira‐Filho & Ratter, ), resulting from the suppression of the fire‐vegetation feedback loop (Veldman, ). When the natural fire regime is suppressed, the transformation of old‐growth savanna can occur in about three decades, which results in the suppression of ground layer species and thus a drastic decline in plant diversity (Abreu et al., ; Durigan & Ratter, ). Therefore, old‐growth savannas are characterized as ancient, flammable and biodiverse ecosystems, whereas encroached savannas are low‐diversity forests resulting from anthropogenic fire suppression (Veldman, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Abandoned pastures cannot spontaneously recover the attributes of old‐growth savannas

Cava

Pilon

Ribeiro

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Active restoration strategies have been recommended to recover Neotropical savannas in abandoned lands, but no studies have investigated the trajectories and speeds of spontaneous recovery for these systems. Research into the dynamics of degraded savannas is urgently needed to guide restoration decision making. We analysed the dynamics of secondary savannas in the Brazilian Cerrado by sampling 29 abandoned pastures (time since abandonment ranging from 3 to 25 years) and applying the space‐for‐time substitution method. We modelled the temporal changes in plant community attributes and estimated the time (years) required for these attributes to match those of two reference ecosystems (three replicates each), old‐growth savanna and a forest‐type savanna, which had encroached following fire suppression (encroached savanna). We also analysed the plant community composition of the study sites. Our models showed that tree canopy cover, richness and density rapidly increased with time since pasture abandonment, easily surpassing the values of the old‐growth savanna (28 years) and reaching the values of encroached savanna 49 years after abandonment. The cover and richness of the ground layer increased at a much slower pace. Since the species in this layer, including the exotic grasses, are shade intolerant, they will be eliminated by canopy closure over time. Up to 25 years after abandonment, secondary savannas continued to lack many (37%) old‐growth savanna species, mostly from the ground layer (82% of grasses absent). This period was also not sufficient for the secondary savannas to become floristically similar to the encroached savannas, which are dominated by shade‐tolerant tree species. Synthesis and applications. Despite the reported high natural regeneration of Neotropical savanna vegetation, abandoned pastures will not spontaneously return to an old‐growth savanna state. Protected from fire and lacking the native ground layer, the end state of secondary savannas will be a low‐diversity forest. If restoration goals include the recovery of old‐growth savanna biodiversity and structure, interventions are required to prevent woody encroachment and reintroduce native grasses, forbs and shrubs. However, if the desirable endpoint is a low‐diversity forest, passive restoration (non‐intervention) and fire protection are appropriate.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Abandoned pastures cannot spontaneously recover the attributes of old‐growth savannas

Cava

Pilon

Ribeiro

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…Abreu et al (2017) demonstrated that EVI max is strongly correlated with vegetation structure, such as tree basal area and leaf area index in the Cerrado. Abreu et al (2017) demonstrated that EVI max is strongly correlated with vegetation structure, such as tree basal area and leaf area index in the Cerrado.…”

Section: Evi From Modis (Maiac Evi)mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…It is now well established that woody encroachment is occurring in most tropical savanna environments (Oliveras & Malhi, 2016;Stevens et al, 2017), and for the Cerrado it has important consequences for biodiversity (de Abreu & Durigan, 2011;Pellegrini et al, 2016;Veldman et al, 2015). For example, Abreu et al (2017) reported a decline of 27% in plant species richness and a 67% loss of savanna endemics species in an area of Cerrado that has been experiencing woody encroachment over 30 years.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extensive 21st‐Century Woody Encroachment in South America's Savanna

Rosan

Aragão

Oliveras

et al. 2019

Geophysical Research Letters

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Woody encroachment is occurring in all tropical savannas of the world. However, in the Brazilian savanna (the Cerrado), the extent of this phenomenon is still poorly documented. Here woody encroachment was quantified throughout the Cerrado biome and transitional ecotones using a trend analysis of the annual maximum of enhanced vegetation index obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. The associations with potential local drivers, such as fire and land use regime, were assessed using satellite data of land cover and fire regime. We found that 19% of the remaining native vegetation showed significant evidence of woody encroachment in the last 15 years and 7% exhibited degradation processes. The local factors that favored woody expansion in 19% of the biome were a decrease of fire (34%) and land use abandonment (26%). Our study highlights that local human‐associated drivers are playing a major role in woody encroachment and savanna degradation.

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“…There is a significant understory grass component, which is flammable, and fires are common. Tree species that occur in savannas are adapted to these recurring fires (Simon and Pennington, 2012), and regular fires are necessary for the maintenance of savanna biodiversity (Parr et al, 2014;Durigan and Ratter, 2016;Abreu et al, 2017). Some savannas in the paleotropics (e.g., miombo woodlands in Africa, deciduous dipterocarp forests in southeast Asia) are generally referred to as dry forests, but we consider them as savannas given that they have a grassy understory and experience regular fire (Ratnam et al, 2011;Dexter et al, 2015;Pennington et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inserting Tropical Dry Forests Into the Discussion on Biome Transitions in the Tropics

et al. 2018

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Tropical moist forests and savannas are iconic biomes. There is, however, a third principal biome in the lowland tropics that is less well known: tropical dry forest. Discussions on responses of vegetation in the tropics to climate and land-use change often focus on shifts between forests and savannas, but ignore dry forests. Tropical dry forests are distinct from moist forests in their seasonal drought stress and consequent deciduousness and differ from savannas in rarely experiencing fire. These factors lead tropical dry forests to have unique ecosystem function. Here, we discuss the underlying environmental drivers of transitions among tropical dry forests, moist forests and savannas, and demonstrate how incorporating tropical dry forests into our understanding of tropical biome transitions is critical to understanding the future of tropical vegetation under global environmental change.

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The biodiversity cost of carbon sequestration in tropical savanna

Abstract: Forest expansion into Brazilian savanna due to fire suppression causes precipitous species loss.

Cited by 290 publications

References 67 publications

Abandoned pastures cannot spontaneously recover the attributes of old‐growth savannas

Abandoned pastures cannot spontaneously recover the attributes of old‐growth savannas

Extensive 21st‐Century Woody Encroachment in South America's Savanna

Inserting Tropical Dry Forests Into the Discussion on Biome Transitions in the Tropics

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