Savannas, forests & transition zones: integrative approaches to disclose coexisting biomes

• Grant number: 21/09269-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: July 01, 2022
• End date: December 23, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany - Applied Botany
• Principal Investigator: Alessandra Tomaselli Fidelis
• Grantee: Marco Antonio Chiminazzo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 23/09725-0 - Intraspecific metamer and module variation across savannas and forests in the Cerrado, BE.EP.DR 23/09208-5 - Architecture of Cerrado woody species and its relationships with their ecosystems, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Savanna and forest boundaries are mainly maintained by bottom-up drivers like resource availability and top-down drivers like fire or herbivores. The coexistence of structurally different vegetation types within the same climate conditions is still puzzling. The most influential ecological drivers in savannas and forests filter species traits that markedly diverge from each other as the conditions for persisting and surviving in these environments differ. Fire-related traits allow species to resist and overcome fire damages, while light-related traits allow species to keep photosynthesizing in shaded areas. Although many advances have been made in comprehending the adaptations of the flora and its effects in these savanna-forest dynamic systems, most of the effort neglected two important pieces of the puzzle: the transition zones and the generalist species capable to occur throughout the whole forest-savanna gradient. This project aims to shed light on the coexistence of savanna and forest environments by considering two important drivers of these systems: shade and fire. We will analyze the transition between forests and savannas and how species are filtered or can cross their boundaries both at the inter- and intraspecific levels. By integrating morphological, physiological, and anatomical traits, we expect to i) disclose which traits translate into fire-resisting or light-competing strategies; ii) identify the main abiotic drivers leading the coexistence of savannas and forests biomes from a functional perspective; and iii) identify the strategies adopted by generalist species and how they can influence savanna and forest structures.

Scientific publications

(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)

CHIMINAZZO, MARCO ANTONIO; BOMBO, ALINE BERTOLOSI; CHARLES-DOMINIQUE, TRISTAN; FIDELIS, ALESSANDRA. To protect or to hide: Why not both? An investigation of fire-related strategies in Cerrado woody species. FLORA, v. 306, p. 8-pg., 2023-09-01. (17/02934-1, 18/21300-6, 15/06743-0, 21/09269-9)

CHIMINAZZO, MARCO ANTONIO; CHARLES-DOMINIQUE, TRISTAN; ANDRADE, RENON SANTOS; BOMBO, ALINE BERTOLOSI; FIDELIS, ALESSANDRA. How do plants survive in the starving, burning, and hiding vegetation realms generated by novel fire regimes?. PERSPECTIVES IN PLANT ECOLOGY EVOLUTION AND SYSTEMATICS, v. 68, p. 14-pg., 2025-09-01. (21/09269-9, 23/09208-5, 23/16620-0)