Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand
Related content
(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

White-Sand Savannas Expand at the Core of the Amazon After Forest Wildfires

Full text
Author(s):
Flores, Bernardo M. [1, 2, 3] ; Holmgren, Milena [1]
Total Authors: 2
Affiliation:
[1] Wageningen Univ, Dept Environm Sci, NL-6700 AA Wageningen - Netherlands
[2] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Ecol Dept, BR-59072970 Natal, RN - Brazil
[3] Univ Fed Santa Catarina, Grad Program Ecol, BR-88040900 Florianopolis, SC - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 3
Document type: Journal article
Source: ECOSYSTEMS; v. 24, n. 7, p. 1624-1637, NOV 2021.
Web of Science Citations: 2
Abstract

Across the tropics, climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of wildfires, exposing tropical forests to the risk of shifting into an open vegetation state. A recent satellite analysis of the Amazon basin suggests this might happen first in floodplains where forests are particularly fragile. We studied floodplain landscapes of the middle Rio Negro, covering similar to 4100 km(2) at the Central Amazon region, where forest ecosystems are dominant. We used Landsat images to map 40 years of wildfire history and test the hypothesis that repeatedly burnt forests fail to regenerate and can be replaced by white-sand savanna ecosystems. In the field, using a chronosequence of `time after the first fire', we assessed changes in tree species composition, herbaceous cover and topsoil properties. Here we show that when these forests are repeatedly disturbed by wildfires, their soil gradually loses clay and nutrients and becomes increasingly sandy. In synchrony, native herbaceous cover expands, forest tree species disappear and white-sand savanna tree species become dominant. This drastic ecosystem shift happened within 40 years, likely accelerated by topsoil erosion. When recurrent fires maintain floodplain forests in an open vegetation state, topsoil erosion intensifies, transforming clay-rich soils into white-sand soils that may favour savanna tree species. Our findings reveal that white-sand savannas may expand through seasonally flooded ecosystems at the core of the Amazon, facilitated by wildfires. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 16/25086-3 - Exploring the risk of savanna expansion in Tropical South America under climate change
Grantee:Bernardo Monteiro Flores
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral