Tropical riparian forests in danger from large savanna wildfires,Journal of Applied Ecology

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Tropical riparian forests in danger from large savanna wildfires
Journal of Applied Ecology ( IF 5.0 ) Pub Date : 2020-12-13 , DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.13794
Bernardo M. Flores _{1,

2} , Michele Sá Dechoum _{2,

3} , Isabel B. Schmidt ₄ , Marina Hirota _{1,

2,

5} , Anna Abrahão _{1,

6} , Larissa Verona ₁ , Luísa L. F. Pecoral ₁ , Marcio B. Cure ₂ , André L. Giles _{1,

7} , Patrícia Britto Costa _{1,

8,

9} , Matheus B. Pamplona ₁₀ , Guilherme G. Mazzochini ₁ , Peter Groenendijk ₁ , Géssica L. Minski ₂ , Gabriel Wolfsdorf _{1,

7} , Alexandre B. Sampaio ₁₁ , Fernanda Piccolo ₁ , Lorena Melo ₁ , Renato Fiacador de Lima ₃ , Rafael S. Oliveira _{1,

8}

Affiliation

Department of Plant Biology University of Campinas Campinas Brazil
Graduate Program in Ecology Federal University of Santa Catarina Florianópolis Brazil
Department of Ecology and Zoology Federal University of Santa Catarina Florianópolis Brazil
Department of Ecology University of Brasília Brasília Brazil
Department of Physics Federal University of Santa Catarina Florianópolis Brazil
Institute of Soil Science and Land Evaluation University of Hohenheim Stuttgart Germany
Graduate Program in Ecology University of Campinas Campinas Brazil
School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia Perth WA Australia
Graduate Program in Plant Biology University of Campinas Campinas Brazil
Department of Mathematics University of Exeter Exeter UK
National Centre for Biodiversity Assessment and Research and Conservation of the Brazilian CerradoChico Mendes Institute for Biological Conservation Brasilia Brazil

Tropical savannas are known for the fire‐prone ecosystems, yet, riparian evergreen forests are another important landscape feature. These forests usually remain safe from wildfires in the wet riparian zones. With global changes, large wildfires are now more frequent in savanna landscapes, exposing riparian forests to unprecedented impact.
In 2017, a large wildfire spread across the Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, an iconic UNESCO site in central Brazil, raising concerns about its impact on the fire‐sensitive ecosystems. By combining remote sensing analysis of Google Earth images (2003–2019) with detailed field information from 36 sites, we assessed wildfire impacts on riparian forests. For this, we measured the structure of trees, saplings and herbaceous plants, as well as topsoil variables.
Since 2003, all riparian forests had canopy cover above 90%, but after 2017, canopy cover dropped to 20% in some forests, indicating large variation in wildfire damage. A closer look in the field revealed that, on average, the wildfire killed 52% of adult trees and 87% of tree saplings in flooded forests. In non‐flooded forests, impacts on adult trees were negligible, but fire killed 75% of tree saplings. Opportunistic vines and the invasive grass Melinis minutiflora were already present in severely disturbed flooded forests. In all forests, impacts on many ecosystem variables were related to canopy damage, a variable measurable from satellite. Overall, seasonally flooded riparian forests were the most severely impacted, possibly due to the relatively thinner barks of their trees.
Synthesis and applications. Our findings reveal how riparian forests embedded in tropical savanna landscapes are in danger from large wildfires. The destruction of some forests has opened space for new plant species that may propel a shift to an alternative ecosystem state. Riparian forests are habitat of large savanna animals and their loss could affect entire trophic networks. Managing wildfires and invasive grasses locally is probably the best strategy to maintain riparian forests resilient. As wildfire regimes intensify in tropical savanna landscapes, our findings stress the need for an integrated management that considers riparian forests as a vulnerable element of the system.

中文翻译：

热带河岸森林正遭受大草原大火的威胁

热带稀树草原以易火的生态系统而闻名，然而，河岸常绿森林是另一个重要的景观特征。这些森林通常在湿润的河岸地区免受野火的威胁。随着全球变化，热带稀树草原景观中的大型野火现在更加频繁，使沿岸森林受到前所未有的影响。
2017年，在巴西中部的联合国教科文组织标志性建筑查帕达·杜斯·韦阿迪罗斯国家公园（Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park）发生了一场大规模的野火，引发了人们对该森林对火敏感生态系统的影响的担忧。通过将对Google Earth图像（2003-2019年）的遥感分析与来自36个站点的详细现场信息相结合，我们评估了野火对河岸森林的影响。为此，我们测量了树木，幼树和草本植物的结构以及表土变量。
自2003年以来，所有河岸森林的林冠覆盖率均超过90％，但2017年之后，某些森林的林冠覆盖率下降至20％，这表明野火破坏有很大差异。在野外仔细观察发现，野火平均淹没了被淹森林中52％的成年树木和87％的树苗。在没有水淹的森林中，对成年树木的影响可以忽略不计，但是大火杀死了75％的树苗。机会主义的藤本植物和入侵性草木麻黄已经存在于严重受干扰的水淹森林中。在所有森林中，对许多生态系统变量的影响都与冠层损害有关，而冠层损害是可以通过卫星测量的。总体而言，季节性泛滥的河岸带森林受到的影响最为严重，这可能是由于其树皮相对较薄。
综合与应用。我们的研究结果揭示了热带稀树草原景观中的河岸森林如何受到大规模野火的威胁。一些森林的破坏为新的植物物种打开了空间，这可能会推动向另一种生态系统状态的转变。河岸森林是大草原动物的栖息地，其流失可能影响整个营养网络。在当地管理野火和入侵草可能是维持河岸森林复原力的最佳策略。随着热带稀树草原景观中野火制度的加剧，我们的发现强调需要进行综合管理，将河岸带森林视为该系统的脆弱要素。

更新日期：2021-02-02

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