The non-arboreous community of cerrado sensu stricto facing changes in light and litter under tree encroachment: species dynamics, germination and functional responses

• Grant number: 17/03450-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: December 01, 2017
• End date: September 30, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Pant Physiology
• Principal Investigator: Rosana Marta Kolb
• Grantee: Luiz Felipe Souza Pinheiro
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências e Letras (FCL-ASSIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Assis. Assis , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/18049-6 - The diversity of ecophysiological strategies in a cerrado herbaceous communities: a case study involving distinct environmental constraints, AP.BTA.JP

Abstract

Fire absence has enabled tree encroachment of typical savanna areas of Cerrado and this increases tree density, decreasing the understory incident light and increasing the litter layer. In this condition, typical savanna non-arboreal species richness is lower and this may mean that the typical savanna non-arboreal species is impaired by environmental changes induced by tree encroachment. Thus, this project aims to understand the non-arboreal species dynamics and their functional responses to the luminosity decrease and litter increase. Moreover, the germination niche of non-arboreal species will be investigated, taking into account luminosity and temperature variations in the studied environments as will be studied the litter mechanical effect on emergence and initial growth of typical savanna non-arboreal species.

Scientific publications

(The scientific publications listed on this page originate from the Web of Science or SciELO databases. Their authors have cited FAPESP grant or fellowship project numbers awarded to Principal Investigators or Fellowship Recipients, whether or not they are among the authors. This information is collected automatically and retrieved directly from those bibliometric databases.)

DA CRUZ JUNIOR, PEDRO FIRME; PINHEIRO, LUIZ FELIPE SOUZA; ROSSATTO, DAVI RODRIGO; KOLB, ROSANA MARTA. Woody encroachment and leaf functional traits of ground-layer savanna species. FLORA, v. 326, p. 12-pg., 2025-05-01. (13/18049-6, 21/11633-0, 17/03450-8, 23/10176-0)

SOUZA PINHEIRO, LUIZ FELIPE; KANSBOCK, LETICIA; ROSSATTO, DAVI RODRIGO; KOLB, ROSANA MARTA. Woody plant encroachment constrains regeneration of ground-layer species in a neotropical savanna from seeds. AUSTRAL ECOLOGY, v. 47, n. 3, p. 11-pg., 2022-02-21. (17/03450-8, 13/18049-6, 18/25321-8)

Academic Publications

(References retrieved automatically from State of São Paulo Research Institutions)

PINHEIRO, Luiz Felipe Souza. The ground layer community of cerrado sensu stricto facing changes in light and litter triggered by woody encroachment: species dynamics, germination and functional responses. 2020. Doctoral Thesis - Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp). Instituto de Biociências. Rio Claro Rio Claro.