Flowering and fruiting show phenological complementarity in both trees and non-trees in mosaic-burnt floodable savanna.

The homogenization of fire regimes in a landscape may imply a temporal reduction in the availability of resources, such as flowers and fruits, which affect the fauna, as well as ecosystem services. We hypothesized that maintaining mosaic burning regimes, and thereby pyrodiversity, can diversify phenological patterns, ensuring year-round availability of flowers and fruits. Here we monitored open grassy tropical savanna phenology under different historical fire frequencies and fire seasons in a highly heterogeneous landscape in an Indigenous Territory in Brazil. We evaluated phenological patterns of tree and non-tree plants through monthly surveys over three years. These two life forms responded differently to climate and photoperiod variables and to fire. Different fire regimes led to a continuous availability of flowers and fruits, due to the complementarity between tree and non-tree phenologies. Late-season fires are supposed to be more devastating, but we did not detect a significant reduction in flower and fruit production, especially under moderate fire frequency. However, late burning in patches under high frequency resulted in a low availability of ripe fruits in trees. The fruiting of non-tree plants in patches under low fire frequency and early burning ensure ripe fruit, when there are practically no trees fruiting in the entire landscape. We conclude that maintaining a seasonal fire mosaic should be prioritized over historical fire regimes, which lead to homogenization. Fire management is best conducted between the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the dry season, when the risk of burning fertile plants is lower.

Rock n' Seeds: A database of seed functional traits and germination experiments from Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation.

Advancing functional ecology depends fundamentally on the availability of data on reproductive traits, including those from tropical plants, which have been historically underrepresented in global trait databases. Although some valuable databases have been created recently, they are mainly restricted to temperate areas and vegetative traits such as leaf and wood traits. Here, we present Rock n' Seeds, a database of seed functional traits and germination experiments from Brazilian rock outcrop vegetation, recognized as outstanding centers of diversity and endemism. Data were compiled through a systematic literature search, resulting in 103 publications from which seed functional traits were extracted. The database includes information on 16 functional traits for 383 taxa from 148 genera, 50 families, and 25 orders. These 16 traits include two dispersal, six production, four morphological, two biophysical, and two germination traits-the major axes of the seed ecological spectrum. The database also provides raw data for 48 germination experiments, for a total of 10,187 records for 281 taxa. Germination experiments in the database assessed the effect of a wide range of abiotic and biotic factors on germination and different dormancy-breaking treatments. Notably, 8255 of these records include daily germination counts. This input will facilitate synthesizing germination data and using this database for a myriad of ecological questions. Given the variety of seed traits and the extensive germination information made available by this database, we expect it to be a valuable resource advancing comparative functional ecology and guiding seed-based restoration and biodiversity conservation in tropical megadiverse ecosystems. There are no copyright restrictions on the data; please cite this paper when using the current data in publications; also the authors would appreciate notification of how the data are used in publications.

O avanço da ecologia funcional depende fundamentalmente da disponibilidade de dados sobre traços reprodutivos, incluindo dados de plantas tropicais, que têm sido historicamente subrepresentados em bancos de dados de traços funcionais globais. Embora alguns bancos de dados valiosos tenham sido criados recentemente, eles são restritos principalmente a áreas temperadas e a traços vegetativos, como traços de folhas e madeira. Neste artigo apresentamos Rock n' Seeds, um banco de dados de traços funcionais de sementes e experimentos de germinação de vegetações associadas a afloramentos rochosos do Brasil, os quais são reconhecidos como centros notáveis de diversidade e endemismo. Os dados foram compilados através de uma revisão sistemática na literatura, resultando em 103 publicações das quais foram extraídos os traços funcionais das sementes. O banco de dados inclui informações de 16 traços funcionais para 383 taxa de 148 gêneros, 50 famílias e 25 ordens. Estes dezesseis traços incluem dois traços de dispersão, seis de produção, quatro morfológicos, dois biofísicos e dois germinativos; os eixos principais do espectro ecológico da semente. O banco de dados também fornece os dados brutos para 48 experimentos de germinação para um total de 10.187 registros para 281 taxa. Os experimentos de germinação no banco de dados avaliaram o efeito de uma ampla gama de fatores abióticos e bióticos sobre a germinação e diferentes tratamentos de quebra de dormência. Particularmente, 8.255 desses registros incluem a contagem diária da germinação. Estas informações facilitarão a síntese de dados de germinação e a utilização deste banco de dados para uma grande variedade de questões ecológicas. Dada a variedade de traços das sementes e as amplas informações sobre germinação disponibilizadas por este banco de dados, esperamos que ele seja um recurso valioso para o avanço da ecologia funcional comparativa e para orientar a restauração baseada em sementes e a conservação da biodiversidade em ecossistemas tropicais megadiversos. Não há restrições de direitos autorais sobre os dados; favor citar este artigo ao utilizar os dados nas publicações e os autores agradeceriam uma notificação de como os dados são utilizados nas publicações.

El avance de la ecología funcional depende fundamentalmente de la disponibilidad de datos sobre rasgos reproductivos-incluyendo los de las plantas tropicales-los cuales han estado poco representados en las bases de datos globales de rasgos. Aunque recientemente se han creado algunas bases de datos valiosas, estas se encuentran restringidas principalmente a las zonas templadas y a los rasgos vegetativos, como los de las hojas y la madera. En este artículo presentamos Rock n' Seeds, una base de datos de rasgos funcionales de semillas y experimentos de germinación de la vegetación asociada a afloramientos rocosos de Brasil, los cuales son destacados centros de diversidad y endemismo. Los datos se recopilaron mediante una búsqueda bibliográfica sistemática, que dio como resultado 103 publicaciones de las que se extrajeron los rasgos funcionales de las semillas. La base de datos incluye información de dieciséis rasgos funcionales para 383 taxones de 148 géneros, 50 familias y 25 órdenes. Estos rasgos incluyen dos rasgos de dispersión, seis de producción, cuatro morfológicos, dos biofísicos y dos de germinación; siendo estos los principales ejes del espectro ecológico de las semillas. La base de datos también proporciona los datos brutos de 48 experimentos de germinación, para un total de 10.187 registros de 281 taxones. Dichos experimentos de germinación evaluaron el efecto de una amplia gama de factores abióticos y bióticos sobre la germinación y de diferentes tratamientos para romper la dormancia. En particular, 8.255 de estos registros cuentan con conteos diarios de germinación. Esto facilitará la síntesis de los datos de germinación y el uso de esta base de datos para una gran diversidad de preguntas ecológicas. Dada la variedad de rasgos de las semillas y la amplia información sobre germinación que ofrece esta base de datos, esperamos que sea un recurso valioso para el avance de la ecología funcional comparativa y para orientar la restauración basada en semillas y la conservación de la biodiversidad en ecosistemas tropicales megadiversos. No hay restricciones de derechos de autor sobre los datos; se solicita citar este documento cuando se utilicen los datos en publicaciones y los autores agradecerán ser notificados sobre cómo se utilizan los datos en las publicaciones.

Record-breaking wildfires in the world's largest continuous tropical wetland: Integrative fire management is urgently needed for both biodiversity and humans.

In the Brazilian Pantanal, wildfire occurrence has increased, reaching record highs of over 40,000 km2 in 2020. Smoke from wildfires worsened the situation of isolated, as well as urban communities, already under an increasing toll of COVID-19. Here we review the impacts and the possible causes of the 2020 mega-fires and recommend improvements for public policies and fire management in this wetland. We calculated the amount of area burnt annually since 2003 and describe patterns in precipitation and water level measurements of the Paraguay River. Our analyses revealed that the 2020 wildfires were historically unprecedented, as 43% of the area (over 17,200 km2) had not been burnt previously in the last two decades. The extent of area affected in 2020 represents a 376% increase compared to the annual average of the area burnt annually in the last two decades, double than the value in 2019. Potential factors responsible for this increase are (i) severe drought decreased water levels, (ii) the fire corridor was located in the Paraguay River flood zone, (iii) constraints on firefighters, (iv) insufficient fire prevention strategy and agency budget reductions, and (v) recent landscape changes. Climate and land use change will further increase the frequency of these extreme events. To make fire management more efficient and cost-effective, we recommend the implementation of an Integrated Fire Management program in the Pantanal. Stakeholders should use existing traditional, local ecological, and scientific knowledge to form a collective strategy with clear, achievable, measurable goals, considering the socio-ecological context. Permanent fire brigades, including indigenous members, should conduct year-round fire management. Communities should cooperate to create a collaborative network for wildfire prevention, the location and characteristics (including flammability) of infrastructures should be (re)planned in fire-prone environments considering and managing fire-catalysed transitions, and depending on the severity of wildfires. The 2020 wildfires were tackled in an ad-hoc fashion and prioritisation of areas for urgent financial investment, management, protection, and restoration is necessary to prevent this catastrophe from happening again.

Nucleário, cardboard, or manual crowning: which maintenance technique is most cost-effective in tree seedling survival establishment?

In ecological restoration, one of the main challenges is to develop new methods, techniques, and incentives that both favour and reduce maintenance costs in restoration projects. Besides, post-planting maintenance is often neglected hampering seedling survival over time owing to alien grasses, which compete strongly with native plants for resources. To solve these issues, recently, an innovative technology called Nucleário has been developed in Brazil. Aiming to hinder alien competition filters, the Nucleário also attempts to condition a better microenvironment, reducing drought stress through the water storage tank, decreasing temperatures, which facilitates the survival and growth of seedlings in areas under restoration. Another method used to decrease alien grasses, which is inexpensive, is seedling crowning using cardboard lowing maintenance needs in restored areas. Cardboard has similar functions to Nucleário, such as protecting soil against loss of water and nutrients and reducing competition with invasive exotic grasses. Therefore, comparing them also with traditional manual weeding (i.e., clean-weeded crown by hoe), we aimed to verify which technique is most cost-efficient for seedling crown maintenance of Dipteryx alata Vog., which is an indigenous tree species with high economic value owing to its nuts. We tested three techniques in areas under restoration in the Cerrado, in the Environmental Protection Area "Córrego Guariroba" located in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. We monitored seedlings submitted to the three methods in the wet and the dry periods for biotic (competition with exotic grasses, herbivory, and growth) and abiotic (moisture and soil temperature) indicators. We observed that the Nucleário was the treatment that maintained the highest soil moisture, resulting in a larger canopy area. However, these effects do not reflect increases in the survival rate, diameter, and height of the seedlings. None of the treatments was effective in reducing herbivory. Nucleário was the most effective treatment in reducing the competition of seedlings with invasive grasses. Cardboard presented an implementation value 21.5 times lower than Nucleário and 1.2 times than manual crowning. Given the high purchase price, the Nucleário's cost-benefit ratio was very high compared to the crowning of cardboard and the manual weeding, which discourages us from recommending it for this species with high survival rates. Its project can be revised to decrease herbivory rates, as well as its efficiency tested in the short and long term in different ecosystems and species, particularly species susceptible to water stress.

The importance of Legal Reserves for protecting the Pantanal biome and preventing agricultural losses.

Considering scenarios of future changes in land use have the potential to support policy-makers in drafting environmental laws to reconcile the demands of multiple land uses. The Pantanal, one of the largest wetlands in the world, has been undergoing rapid land use changes, and does not yet have any integrated environmental legislation on Legal Reserve for entire region (LR - minimum percentage of native vegetation required within private properties). The aim of this paper was to generate future vegetation loss scenarios for the Pantanal based on four LR values: (i) BAU: Business as usual, which considers existing laws: Native Vegetation Protection Law and State Decree; (ii) LRE: LR elimination owing to a bill recently proposed; (iii) LR50: which considers the bill proposing 50% of LR for the Pantanal; and (iv) LR80: our proposed levels of 80% of LR for the lowlands and 35% for the plateau (following values in the Amazon). Based on native vegetation loss from each scenario, we estimated the soil loss and sediment yield to rivers. Our results show that LRE would increase native vegetation loss in the Pantanal by as much as 139% when compared to the BAU, whereas increasing LR levels would reduce conversion values by 29% (LR80). Elimination of the LR would increase soil erosion and sediment production by up to 7% and 10%, respectively, compared to BAU. Based on native vegetation loss from each scenario, we estimated the soil loss and sediment yield to rivers with our data showing more than 90% of the sediment transported to the lowland originating from the plateau. The LR80 indicates a reduction in soil nutrient replacement costs of 10% compared to BAU, while in the LR50 these costs decrease by 1.5%, and in the LRE would increase of 8%. Our results show that abolishing current protections would have substantial impacts on avulsion processes, on several economic activities (tourism, fishery, cattle raising, etc.) and negative impacts for biodiversity conservation and would bring losses to agriculture in the Pantanal. Hence, our study brings clearly evidence of LR importance and need to expand it in this sensitive wetland.

Which spatial arrangement of green manure is able to reduce herbivory and invasion of exotic grasses in native species?

The practice of using green manure for ecological restoration has grown so significantly that there is a shortage of seeds for purchase on the market. Nonetheless, there is very little literature available demonstrating the effects and benefits commonly cited for green manure for addressing important environmental filters, such as herbivory and invasive grasses. Our objective is to determine which spatial sowing arrangement including green manure promotes the lowest rates of herbivory on native species and decreases cover by invasive grasses in ecological restoration. We experimentally tested three sowing configurations of green manure intercropping with native species: T1 the lowest herbivoy rate for both native and green manure, mixture of native and green manure species in the same row, T2, alternating rows of green manure and native species, and T3, rows of native species intercropped with a 2 m wide strip of green manure. We found that (1) green manure species experience greater damage from herbivory than do native species, with average values ranging from 1.8 times higher values in green manure than natives in T1, 2.9 times in T2, and 2.7 times in T3 (when sown in rows and in broader strips, green manure and native species attract more herbivorous insects than if they were sown together [muvuca]); and (2) when green manure and native species are planted mixed in the same row they produce greater soil cover, and thus limit invasion by undesired species. The use of green manure has been identified as an alternative method for overcoming the environmental filters of herbivory and invasive grasses in restoration areas. Considering the demand for information that supports the use of green manure for purposes of ecological restoration, the novel results of the present study fill a void and should prove to be of great interest to researchers and practitioners. In addition, the presented results provide information on efficient and low-cost restoration techniques that are necessary for the activity to gain scale, enabling countries to meet the large restoration targets.

Brazil's worst mining disaster: Corporations must be compelled to pay the actual environmental costs.

In November 2015, a large mine-tailing dam owned by Samarco Corporation collapsed in Brazil, generating a massive wave of toxic mud that spread down the Doce River, killing 20 people and affecting biodiversity across hundreds of kilometers of river, riparian lands, and Atlantic coast. Besides the disaster's serious human and socioeconomic tolls, we estimate the regional loss of environmental services to be ~US$521 million per year. Although our estimate is conservative, it is still six times higher than the fine imposed on Samarco by Brazilian environmental authorities. To reduce such disparities between estimated damages and levied fines, we advocate for an environmental bond policy that considers potential risks and environmental services that could possibly be impacted by irresponsible mining activity. Environmental bonds and insurance are commonly used policy instruments in many countries, but there are no clear environmental bond policies in Brazil. Environmental bonds are likely to be more effective at securing environmental restitution than post-disaster fines, which generally are inadequate and often unpaid. We estimate that at least 126 mining dams in Brazil are vulnerable to failure in the forthcoming years. Any such event could have severe social-environmental consequences, underscoring the need for effective disaster-management strategies for large-scale mining operations.