Burning incidence and landscape flammability in Vale do Paraíba Paulista and its relation to natural regeneration of abandoned pastures

• Grant number: 23/12060-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Forestry Resources and Forestry Engineering
• Principal Investigator: Klécia Gili Massi
• Grantee: Klécia Gili Massi
• Host Institution: Instituto de Ciência e Tecnologia (ICT). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de São José dos Campos. São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Cristina Adams ; Tatiana Sussel Gonçalves Mendes
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/08494-0 - Burning incidence and landscape flammability in Vale do Paraíba Paulista and its relations to natural regeneration of abandoned pastures, BP.IC

Abstract

Fire can be a natural disaster in tropical forests. In the Atlantic Forest, fire was used along withdeforestation to open up new agricultural areas from colonization to the present day. The biomeranks third in area and number of fires among the other biomes. The already highly fragmentedlandscape of the biome is even more vulnerable to fires due to the small size of the remnants andedge effects. These fragments are surrounded by pasture areas, a typology constituted by fine andeasily ignited fuel. In addition, the practice of fire has threatened the structure, species composition and function of new forest areas that regenerate over agricultural and pasture areas, creating a fire-resilient state, making it more susceptible to the incidence of forest fires and threatening remnants of native vegetation. Therefore, this research project aims to evaluate how fires in the rural landscape of Vale do Paraíba Paulista are related to biomass increase in areas of natural regeneration. The methodology is composed of a series of steps that include the mapping of regeneration areas, field activities and surveys. The results obtained in this work can be used in estimating areas undergoing natural regeneration and areas that are being lost within the Atlantic Forest Biome. Also, the results can support public policies to prevent burning and forest fires and to encourage forest restoration, ensure investments in carbon projects for sequestration and for avoided deforestation and to indicate municipalities that are more fire vulnerable. (AU)