How does fire frequency affect the belowground bud bank of tropical savannas

• Grant number: 24/18353-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2024
• End date: October 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Alessandra Tomaselli Fidelis
• Grantee: Mariani Silva Amorim
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/16620-0 - Fire as a tool for management and restoration in the Cerrado in the Anthropocene, AP.TEM

Abstract

Fire is the major disturbance influencing vegetation around the world. Post-fireregeneration includes germination and resprouting. In tropical savannas, resprouting from protectedbelowground buds is the major post-fire regeneration strategy. Therefore, after fire, plants persist inthe system because they have belowground reserve structures that allow them to rapidly resproutafter fire, allocating reserves for the formation of aboveground shoots. Thus, the belowground budbank plays a major role on the resilience of tropical savannas, including the Cerrado.The main goal of the current proposal is to evaluate how differences infire frequency and season affect the belowground bud bank o open savannas of the Cerrado.Additionally, this proposal will evaluate if there are changes in the composition of belowgroundstructures in the different treatments, which could affect how plants regenerate after fire.