Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.

Inundation and fire can affect the structure of riparian vegetation in wetlands. Our aim was to verify if there are differences in richness, abundance, basal area, composition and topographic preference of woody species in riparian forests related to the fire history, flooding duration, or the inter...

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Main Authors: Wellinton de Sá Arruda, Jens Oldeland, Antonio Conceição Paranhos Filho, Arnildo Pott, Nicolay L Cunha, Iria Hiromi Ishii, Geraldo Alves Damasceno-Junior
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2016-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4900580?pdf=render
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author Wellinton de Sá Arruda
Jens Oldeland
Antonio Conceição Paranhos Filho
Arnildo Pott
Nicolay L Cunha
Iria Hiromi Ishii
Geraldo Alves Damasceno-Junior
author_facet Wellinton de Sá Arruda
Jens Oldeland
Antonio Conceição Paranhos Filho
Arnildo Pott
Nicolay L Cunha
Iria Hiromi Ishii
Geraldo Alves Damasceno-Junior
author_sort Wellinton de Sá Arruda
collection DOAJ
description Inundation and fire can affect the structure of riparian vegetation in wetlands. Our aim was to verify if there are differences in richness, abundance, basal area, composition and topographic preference of woody species in riparian forests related to the fire history, flooding duration, or the interaction between both. The study was conducted in the riparian forests of the Paraguay River some of which were burned three times between 2001 and 2011. We sampled trees with a girth of at least 5 cm at breast height in 150 5 × 10 m plots (79 burned and 71 unburned). We also measured height of the flood mark and estimated the flooding duration of each plot. We performed Generalized Linear Mixed Models to verify differences in richness, basal area, and abundance of individuals associated to interaction of fire and inundation. We used an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and indicator species analysis to identify differences in composition of species and the association with burned and unburned area according to different levels of inundation. Finally, we used a hierarchical set of Generalized Linear Models (GLM), the so-called HOF models, to analyse each species' specific response to inundation based on topography and to determine their preferred optimal topographic position for both burned as well as unburned areas. Richness was positively associated with elevation only in burned areas while abundance was negatively influenced by inundation only in burned areas. Basal area was negatively associated with time of inundation independent of fire history. There were 15 species which were significant indicators for at least one combination of the studied factors. We found nine species in burned areas and 15 in unburned areas, with response curves in HOF models along the inundation gradient. From these, five species shifted their optimal position along the inundation gradient in burned areas. The interaction of fire and inundation did not appear to affect the basal area, but it did affect the richness, number of individuals, success of some species, and seemed to shape the boundary of these forests as shown by the difference in the positioning of these species along the inundation gradient.
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spelling doaj.art-76c5c45b96114e129c6317d762dd1f212022-12-22T03:55:09ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032016-01-01116e015682510.1371/journal.pone.0156825Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.Wellinton de Sá ArrudaJens OldelandAntonio Conceição Paranhos FilhoArnildo PottNicolay L CunhaIria Hiromi IshiiGeraldo Alves Damasceno-JuniorInundation and fire can affect the structure of riparian vegetation in wetlands. Our aim was to verify if there are differences in richness, abundance, basal area, composition and topographic preference of woody species in riparian forests related to the fire history, flooding duration, or the interaction between both. The study was conducted in the riparian forests of the Paraguay River some of which were burned three times between 2001 and 2011. We sampled trees with a girth of at least 5 cm at breast height in 150 5 × 10 m plots (79 burned and 71 unburned). We also measured height of the flood mark and estimated the flooding duration of each plot. We performed Generalized Linear Mixed Models to verify differences in richness, basal area, and abundance of individuals associated to interaction of fire and inundation. We used an analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) and indicator species analysis to identify differences in composition of species and the association with burned and unburned area according to different levels of inundation. Finally, we used a hierarchical set of Generalized Linear Models (GLM), the so-called HOF models, to analyse each species' specific response to inundation based on topography and to determine their preferred optimal topographic position for both burned as well as unburned areas. Richness was positively associated with elevation only in burned areas while abundance was negatively influenced by inundation only in burned areas. Basal area was negatively associated with time of inundation independent of fire history. There were 15 species which were significant indicators for at least one combination of the studied factors. We found nine species in burned areas and 15 in unburned areas, with response curves in HOF models along the inundation gradient. From these, five species shifted their optimal position along the inundation gradient in burned areas. The interaction of fire and inundation did not appear to affect the basal area, but it did affect the richness, number of individuals, success of some species, and seemed to shape the boundary of these forests as shown by the difference in the positioning of these species along the inundation gradient.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4900580?pdf=render
spellingShingle Wellinton de Sá Arruda
Jens Oldeland
Antonio Conceição Paranhos Filho
Arnildo Pott
Nicolay L Cunha
Iria Hiromi Ishii
Geraldo Alves Damasceno-Junior
Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.
PLoS ONE
title Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.
title_full Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.
title_fullStr Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.
title_full_unstemmed Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.
title_short Inundation and Fire Shape the Structure of Riparian Forests in the Pantanal, Brazil.
title_sort inundation and fire shape the structure of riparian forests in the pantanal brazil
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4900580?pdf=render
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