Impacts of climate change on the vegetative phenology of different phytophysiognomies of the Cerrado: A Remote Sensing analysis with drones

• Grant number: 24/20900-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: March 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2028
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Ecosystems Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Leonor Patricia Cerdeira Morellato
• Grantee: Nathan Felipe Alves
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/10639-5 - Center for Research on Biodiversity Dynamics and Climate Change, AP.CEPID

Abstract

The phenology of plants plays a fundamental role in climate regulation and the maintenance of ecosystem services, especially in diverse biomes like the Cerrado. With advancing climate change, there is a growing need to understand how these factors alter phenological patterns and vegetation dynamics. The use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles allows for large-scale spatial phenological data collection, providing a broad view of vegetation responses to these environmental impacts. In this context, this work aims to use remote sensing with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to monitor changes in vegetation phenology across different physiognomies of the Cerrado, focusing on the impacts of two main factors: fire regime and water availability. Three subprojects were developed to address these factors: (1) the influence of fire on vegetative phenological patterns after wildfires, comparing plots with a record of fires to plots without a recent history of fires; (2) the impact of woody plant encroachment in wet grassland areas such as Veredas; and (3) vegetative phenological patterns in different rock field formations and their relationship with climatic conditions. This study will provide valuable data on the Cerrado vegetation's response to environmental pressures, helping to understand the ecological impacts of climate change on phenology in different phytophysiognomies of the biome.