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Effects of fire and edges on plant litterfall in a Neotropical rainforest, Brazil

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Abstract

Anthropogenic forest fires are occurring with increasing frequency in tropical forests, with negative consequences for a variety of ecological processes, including litterfall. Litterfall provides several ecosystem services, such as nutrient cycling and carbon storage, thus playing an important role in ecosystem functioning. We assessed the impacts of fire and fire-created edges on litterfall in Atlantic Forest remnants in Bahia, Brazil. Litterfall was assessed at monthly intervals over one year along seven 300 m-long transects placed perpendicular to the edge between the unburnt forest and the burnt forest. We installed litterfall traps at the edge (0 m) and 20, 40, 60, 80, 100 and 150 m into both the burnt and unburnt forest. The total litterfall was smaller in the burnt forest (mean of 2.5 ± 2.2 SD t.ha−1.y−1) than in the unburnt forest (mean of 5.9 ± 3.4 SD t.ha−1.y−1). In addition, leaf litter gradually increased from the edge toward the unburnt forest interior. Our results highlight that there is less litterfall in the burnt forest, and that the relative contribution of different litter types (leaves, twigs, and miscellaneous litter) differ between burnt forest and unburnt forest. The lower amount of litterfall in the burnt forest and forest edge may have negative consequences for the natural regeneration of these areas, as the ecosystem services provided by plant litter that are important for forest regeneration are likely to be impaired.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) for the authorization to carry out the research in the Una Wildlife Refuge and to Adson Santos for his assistance in data collection, as well as two anonymous reviewers and the special issue editor, Dr. Christina Rinas, for insightful suggestions that greatly improved the quality of this manuscript.

Funding

This study was funded by the Rectorate for Research and Post-Graduation of the State University of Santa Cruz–UESC (PROPP—project numbers 00220.1100.1773 and 00220.1100.1805). We received financial support from Idea Wild for essential field equipment. JISR received a doctoral scholarship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior—Brasil (CAPES)—Finance Code 001 and a Masters scholarship from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado da Bahia (FAPESB).

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  1. Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz (UESC), PPG Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Rodovia Ilhéus-Itabuna, Km. 16. Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil

    Janaine Isabela da Silva Rocha & Daniela Custódio Talora

  2. Institute of Biology, Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), Rua Barão de Jeremoabo, 668, Ondina, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil

    Pavel Dodonov

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  1. Janaine Isabela da Silva Rocha
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  3. Pavel Dodonov
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All authors contributed equally to the main text of the manuscript. PD, DCT and JISR designed the study. JISR collected the data. PD and JISR were responsible for data analysis and visualization. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Janaine Isabela da Silva Rocha.

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The authors assert that all the collections of vegetative material contributing to this work were authorized by ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) (SISBIO license no. 60990-1).

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da Silva Rocha, J.I., Talora, D.C. & Dodonov, P. Effects of fire and edges on plant litterfall in a Neotropical rainforest, Brazil. Plant Ecol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-024-01415-8

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