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Fine-scale effects of fire on non-woody species in a southern Amazonian seasonal wetland

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Abstract

Grasslands and wetlands are non-forested highly biodiverse ecosystems. Although fire is a major factor controlling and maintaining biodiversity in different landscapes of Central Brazil, there are still knowledge gaps about its effect on these systems. We compared composition, diversity and coverage of herbaceous and sub-shrub species in ‘campos de murundus’ (murundus fields) before and after recurrent fire events. We sampled and collected species in 32 subplots of 1 m2 within a 100 × 100 m plot, and compared species richness, diversity, frequency, and cover percentage before and after recurrent fires. Floristic composition was evaluated through multivariate dispersion analysis. Our results show that recurrent fires in murundus fields decreased species richness and modified the composition of herbaceous and sub-shrub (i.e., species with a woody base and soft shoots) species. However, species diversity either increased or was maintained, depending on the diversity index used. In addition, repeated fire events modified the coverage and increased the dominance of fire-tolerant species, such as Aristida pendula, over fire-sensitive ones, such as Eriocaulon burchellii, Eleocharis minima, Hyptis hygrobia, Scleria sp., Paspalum lineare, Piriqueta sp., Polygala celosioides and Sipanea biflora. These post-fire changes resulted in altered species composition, richness and soil cover. Generally, fire increased the amount of bare ground and, consequently, decreased species richness and species diversity.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) for HSJ scholarship and CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) for the productivity Grant (PQ) to JRRP (307701/2014-0). We also thank FAPEMAT (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Mato Grosso) for funding the research in 2005 (0650/2006) and the Decanato de Pesquisa e Pós-graduação/Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Florestais da Universidade de Brasília (UnB) for funding part of the research in 2008. To INMET (Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia) for providing climatological data from the Canarana-MT station and SEMA (Secretaria de Estado de Meio Ambiente de Mato Grosso) for granting the research license in the Araguaia State Park. Also, to all biologists who assisted us in the field: Herson S. Lima, Michele C. Moresco, Daniel D. Franczak, Bruno Jordão, Alexandro Solórzano and Pábio H. Porto. We also thank Fabricio A. Leal and Simone M. Reis for providing Figs. 3 and 4, respectively. Lastly, we thank the anonymous reviewers and the Editor for all suggestions and constructive criticism provided and Fabricius Domingos for proofreading the manuscript.

Funding

CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) for Halina Soares Jancoski scholarship. CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) for the productivity Grant (PQ) to José Roberto R. Pinto (307701/2014-0). And CNPq fellowship granted to Denis S. Nogueira. FAPEMAT (Fundação de Apoio à Pesquisa do Estado de Mato Grosso) for funding the research in 2005 (0650/2006).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Universidade do Estado de Mato Grosso, P.O. Box 08, Nova Xavantina, MT, 78690-000, Brazil

    Halina S. Jancoski, Juan Carlo S. Abad, Marina C. Scalon & Beatriz S. Marimon

  2. Universidade de Brasília, Departamento de Engenharia Florestal, P.O. Box 4357, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil

    José Roberto R. Pinto

  3. Universidade Federal do Acre, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Natureza, P.O. Box 500, Rio Branco, AC, 69920-900, Brazil

    Henrique A. Mews

  4. Instituto Federal de Mato Grosso, Campus de Primavera do Leste, Primavera do Leste, MT, 78850-000, Brazil

    Denis S. Nogueira

  5. Environmental Change Institute, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3QY, UK

    Marina C. Scalon

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  1. Halina S. Jancoski
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Correspondence to Beatriz S. Marimon.

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Jancoski, H.S., Pinto, J.R.R., Nogueira, D.S. et al. Fine-scale effects of fire on non-woody species in a southern Amazonian seasonal wetland. Wetlands Ecol Manage 27, 267–281 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11273-019-09658-3

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