Fire as a tool for management and restoration in the Cerrado in the Anthropocene

• Grant number: 23/16620-0
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2029
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Alessandra Tomaselli Fidelis
• Grantee: Alessandra Tomaselli Fidelis
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Pesquisadores principais: Davi Rodrigo Rossatto ; Vânia Regina Pivello
• Associated researchers: Alexander Vicente Christianini ; Aline Bertolosi Bombo ; Ana Carolina Sena Barradas ; Ana Paula Carmignotto ; Carolina Casagrande Blanco ; Catherine Parr ; Dhemerson Estevão Conciani da Costa ; Caroline Lehmann ; Fernando Augusto de Oliveira e Silveira ; Frances Siebert ; Gabriela Santos da Silva ; Gabriella de Faria Oliveira Damasceno Ribeiro ; Julio Antonio Lombardi ; Kimberley Simpson ; Lara Amaral Souza ; Lívia Carvalho Moura ; Marcelo Fragomeni Simon ; María Belén Luna Trenado ; Miriam Muñoz Rojas ; Moemy Gomes de Moraes ; Pedro Joaquim Bergamo ; Rachael Vikki Gallagher ; Roberta Dayrell de Lima Campos ; Ronaldo Adriano Christofoletti ; Rosana Marta Kolb ; Soizig Anne Le Stradic ; Tadeu de Siqueira Barros
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/05142-5 - Seed and germination traits of Cerrado species, BP.TT; 25/02415-0 - Developing new conceptual model for management and restoration for the Cerrado, BP.TT; 24/21833-5 - Implementation of a database for ecological data from plant communities under fire management, BP.TT; 24/18270-9 - Fire-related cues for germination of Cerrado species, BP.IC; 24/18353-1 - How does fire frequency affect the belowground bud bank of tropical savannas, BP.IC

Abstract

Fire is an important evolutionary and ecological factor worldwide, especially in the Cerrado. Plants in fire-prone ecosystems have traits that enable them to persist and survive after fire, which, in turn, may influence ecosystem functioning, by impacting productivity and nutrient cycling. Although some of these processes have already been described for Cerrado vegetation, many ecological issues, spanning from the individual to the ecosystem levels, remain unclear, since fire effects extend beyond the individual and community level, significantly shaping the ecosystem functioning. In the context of climate change, it is imperative to understand how climate affects fire and how changes in fire behavior and regimes impact carbon, plants, and even animal communities. Uncontrolled fires may potentially exacerbate climate change through the release of fire-related greenhouse gases. Instead, we must explore how to use fire as a tool for maintaining the local and regional biodiversity, as well as ecosystem services. Our aim is to conduct a multi-taxa, multiscale, plot-based experiment in Central Brazil, in a long-term (10 years) established experiment . This project goes beyond assessing fire behavior on plants, it also focuses on the effects of fire on 1) above- and belowground components of plant communities using taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional approaches, 2) invertebrate, vertebrate, and plant-animal interactions, and 3) ecosystem functioning. Additionally, we aim to produce a conceptual model to understand how fire affects Cerrado vegetation and its dynamics. Finally, this proposal aims to connect the scientific data acquired from a long-term experiment with the local managers and actors involved in the planning of fire management. This approach would integrate the local fire brigade and traditional peoples to a group of multidisciplinary scientists, encouraging collaboration for a holistic understanding and suitable management of fire in the Cerrado. (AU)