Grasslands in the State of São Paulo: diagnosis, management and conservation

• Grant number: 20/01378-0
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2022
• End date: January 31, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Giselda Durigan
• Grantee: Giselda Durigan
• Host Institution: Instituto de Pesquisas Ambientais (IPA). Secretaria de Meio Ambiente, Infraestrutura e Logística (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Alan Neil Andersen ; Alessandra Tomaselli Fidelis ; Alexsander Zamorano Antunes ; Ana Paula Carmignotto ; Arno Fritz das Neves Brandes ; Cassia Beatriz Rodrigues Munhoz ; Cíntia Kameyama ; CIRO KOITI MATSUKUMA ; Clayton Alcarde Alvares ; Caroline Lehmann ; Gerhard Ernst Overbeck ; Ingrid Koch ; João Batista Baitello ; Joseph William Veldman ; Leonardo Dias Meireles ; Marcio Roberto Costa Martins ; Marcio Rossi ; Marco Aurélio Nalon ; Maria Virginia Urso-Guimaraes ; Mario Tommasiello Filho ; Mônica Pavão ; Natalia Macedo Ivanauskas ; Natashi Aparecida Lima Pilon ; Patrícia Anselmo Duffles Teixeira ; Paula Felício Drummond de Castro ; Rodolfo Cesar Real de Abreu ; Rosangela Simão Bianchini ; Vinicius Castro Souza ; William Arthur Hoffmann
• Associated research grant(s): 24/23087-9 - Savanna Science Network Meeting 2025, AR.EXT; 24/02051-6 - Dendrochronology and anatomy of the woody structures of small plants from campos naturais in the State of São Paulo, AP.R
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/11064-4 - Assessment of the risk of extinction of species of rural flora, BP.TT; 23/18360-5 - Revealing the natural grasslands of São Paulo, BP.JC; 23/14668-5 - Dating and reconstruction of the growth of small plants and the influence of ecological and climate variables, BP.PD; + associated scholarships 23/06557-9 - Effect of prescribed burning on the spatial structure and dynamics of Cerrado invasive grasses populations: subsidies for long-term adaptive management, BP.PD; 23/03173-5 - Identification of grassland plants, BP.IC; 23/03181-8 - Dendrochronology applied to small plants from natural grasslands: dating and reconstruction of small plant growth and the influence of ecological and climatic variables., BP.IC; 22/16833-0 - Dendrochronology applied to small plants from natural grasslands: dating and reconstruction of small plants growth and the influence of ecological and climatic variables, BP.TT; 22/08994-4 - Variability of wetlands at different spatial scales and conditioning factors: implications for conservation, BP.DD; 22/07407-8 - Grassland ecosystems plant catalog, BP.TT - associated scholarships

Abstract

Tropical grasslands are poorly understood in different regions of the world, often seen as a result of forest degradation, as they often occur in climate and soil conditions that would support arboreal vegetation, characterizing alternative stable states. Natural grasslands in the tropics are not even mapped as native vegetation, their importance has not been recognized, their biodiversity is not known and the factors maintaining them are not understood. This project aims to fill most of the knowledge gaps related to grasslands, focusing on the state of SP, but inserting them in the context of all tropical grasslands in Brazil. The remaining areas of natural grasslands in the state will be mapped, and the different grassland-types will be characterized by their biomass, plant and animal (birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals) species composition and environmental factors (relief, soil and climate) and disturbance (fire and grazing history) which modulated them. Additionally, techniques of dendrochronology applied to small plants (herbchronology) will be experimented to determine the age of natural grasslands. All these elements will increase the knowledge on grasslands biogeography. We will also investigate the phylogenetic relationship among different types of grasslands, to understand the spatial variation of their biodiversity (plants and animals) at different scales and the conditioning factors modulating them. Additionally, we aim to indicate threatened species and ecosystems, as well as priority areas and strategies for their conservation. In protected areas, historical images of the last decades will be analysed to characterize the dynamics of expansion and retraction of grasslands and neighbouring forest formations. Additionally, experiments will be carried out aiming at restoration and management for conservation of these ecosystems. With this broad research project, we hope to considerably enlarge the knowledge about grasslands and thus strengthen the foundations of public policies aiming at their conservation in the state of SP. (AU)

Scientific publications

(8)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

GRIFFIN, JUNE NAKACHI; SANTOS, GUACIARA M.; NGUYEN, LUCAS DUY; RODRIGUEZ, DAIGARD R. O.; PEREIRA, LUCAS G.; JAEN-BARRIOS, NELSON; ASSIS-PEREIRA, GABRIEL; BARRETO, NATHAN DE OLIVEIRA; BRANDES, ARNO F. N.; BARBOSA, ANA CAROLINA; et al. Demystifying the tropics: FTIR characterization of pantropical woods and their α-cellulose extracts for past atmospheric ¹⁴ C reconstructions. Science of The Total Environment, v. 949, p. 12-pg., 2024-07-30. (19/26350-4, 18/01847-0, 19/22516-5, 23/14668-5, 18/22914-8, 20/01378-0, 23/07753-6, 17/50085-3)

SANTOS, GUACIARA M.; NGUYEN, LUCAS D.; GRIFFIN, JUNE N.; BARRETO, NATHAN DE OLIVEIRA; ORTEGA-RODRIGUEZ, DAIGARD R.; BARBOSA, ANA CAROLINA; ASSIS-PEREIRA, GABRIEL. Evaluating possible sources of error in tree-ring ¹⁴C data using multiple trees across South America. RADIOCARBON, v. N/A, p. 16-pg., 2024-12-10. (23/14668-5, 18/22914-8, 23/07753-6, 09/53951-7, 20/01378-0, 19/26350-4, 17/50085-3)

FERNANDES, LARISSA ELER; LESSINGER, ANA CLAUDIA; CARMIGNOTTO, ANA PAULA. New data from South American hotspots uncover a greater diversity in Gracilinanus (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) mouse opossums. JOURNAL OF MAMMALIAN EVOLUTION, v. 31, n. 2, p. 20-pg., 2024-06-01. (15/21259-8, 00/06642-4, 20/12658-4, 20/01378-0, 18/14091-1, 17/23548-2, 98/05075-7, 22/12632-0, 11/20022-3)

CAMPOS, BRUNA HELENA; PILON, NATASHI APARECIDA LIMA; GONCALVES, LUCAS; IVANAUSKAS, NATALIA MACEDO; DURIGAN, GISELDA. The neglected tropical grasslands: first record of campo com murundus and its plant communities in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Biota Neotropica, v. 23, n. 1, p. 10-pg., 2023-01-01. (20/01378-0, 19/03463-8)

ERCOLE, TAMIRES MAIARA; GOMES, JOAO BOSCO VASCONCELLOS; RODRIGUES, VALDECIO DOS SANTOS; TRENTIN, NICOLAS DOS SANTOS; DE OLIVEIRA JUNIOR, JAIRO CALDERARI; ASSIS-PEREIRA, GABRIEL; TOMAZELLO-FILHO, MARIO; MOURA, AMANDA PACHECO CARDOSO; MAEDA, SHIZUO; PRIOR, STEPHEN ARTHUR; et al. VARI as an indicator of site productivity of Pinus taeda L.: soil, litter, and plant nutrition. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH, v. 143, n. 5, p. 22-pg., 2024-06-28. (23/14668-5, 20/01378-0)

DURIGAN, GISELDA; HONDA, ELIANE A.. Ecological restoration and water-related ecosystem services, one step ahead: a reply to Dib et al. (2023). RESTORATION ECOLOGY, v. 32, n. 4, p. 6-pg., 2024-01-29. (20/01378-0)

CAMPOS, BRUNA H.; PILON, NATASHI; DURIGAN, GISELDA. What to expect from restored Cerrado grasslands? Indicators and reference values from pristine ecosystems. RESTORATION ECOLOGY, v. N/A, p. 12-pg., 2025-02-20. (19/03463-8, 20/01378-0, 23/06557-9, 20/09257-8)

BOVI, RENATA CRISTINA; ORTEGA-RODRIGUEZ, DAIGARD RICARDO; HORNINK, BRUNA; OLMEDO, GABRIELA MORAIS; ASSIS-PEREIRA, GABRIEL; TOMAZELLO-FILHO, MARIO; COOPER, MIGUEL; BERNARDINO, ANGELO FRAGA; FERREIRA, TIAGO OSORIO. Tree rings of Terminalia catappa Linn. and climate variability in a tropical South American estuary. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, v. 358, p. 11-pg., 2024-09-12. (18/22914-8, 23/07753-6, 09/53951-7, 23/08463-1, 20/01378-0, 23/14668-5, 20/11502-0)