Soil-vegetation relationships in cerrados under different fire frequencies

• Published in: Plant and soil Vol. 311; no. 1-2; pp. 87 - 96
• Main Authors: da Silva, Danilo Muniz, Batalha, Marco Antônio
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 01-10-2008; Springer; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions; Aluminum; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cerrado; Community structure; Comparative analysis; Ecology; Fertility; Fire breaks; Fire management; fires; Forest & brush fires; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Heterogeneity; Life Sciences; National parks; Nutrient content; Organic matter; Organic soils; Plant communities; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Plant species; Plants; Regular Article; Savanna soils; Savannas; Soil biochemistry; Soil nutrients; Soil organic matter; Soil Science & Conservation; Soil-vegetation relationships; Soils; Studies; Vegetation; Brazil; Cerrado; Soil–vegetation relationships; Fire; Savanna; Soil plant relation; Soil-vegetation relationships
• ISSN: 0032-079X; 1573-5036
• DOI: 10.1007/s11104-008-9660-y

Fire is an important ecological factor that structures savannas, such as the cerrado, by selecting plant species and altering soil nutrient content. In Emas National Park, central Brazil, we compared soils under three different fire regimes and their relationship to the cerrado species they support. We collected 25 soil and vegetation samples at each site. We found differences in soil characteristics (p < 0.05), with fertility and fire frequency positively related: in the annually burned site we found higher values of organic matter, nitrogen, and clay, whereas in the protected site we detected lower values of pH and higher values of aluminum. We also observed differences in plant community structure, with distinct floristic compositions in each site. Floristic composition was more related to sand proportion (intra-set correlation = 0.834). Different fire frequencies increase environmental heterogeneity and beta diversity in the Brazilian cerrado.