Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/T004525/1
Shifted Ecological Baselines in the Brazilian Savannah
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Professor BS Whitney, Northumbria University, Fac of Engineering and Environment
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr EP Hocking, Northumbria University, Fac of Engineering and Environment
- Grant held at:
- Northumbria University, Fac of Engineering and Environment
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Environmental Risks and Hazards
- Global Change
- Natural Resource Management
- Pollution and Waste
- Science Topics:
- Palaeoenvironments
- Palaeoecology
- Anthropogenic pressures
- Biodiversity conservation
- Land use change
- Conservation Ecology
- Anthropogenic pressures
- Biodiversity
- Conservation
- Ecosystem management
- Tropical ecosystems
- Ecosystem Scale Processes
- Abstract:
- Savannahs are the "Cinderella" ecosystems of the tropics; overlooked and over-exploited. Despite covering almost half of South America, only a tiny fraction are protected, in comparison to the better-publicised and researched Amazon rainforest. Savannahs are heavily exploited as cattle pastures and agricultural fields in order to reduce deforestation in the Amazon, but the impacts of intensive farming on this rich and diverse environment are poorly understood. Intensive burning of the landscape to promote the growth of grasses for cattle and clearance for agriculture has been linked to the loss of plant species and the release of carbon into the atmosphere, however, recent efforts to limit fires have also seen forests begin to encroach into the savannah, further endangering savannah species. Fire has always been an integral natural aspect of savannah ecology, but both setting and extinguishing fires appears to be harmful. So what is the natural burning pattern of South American savannahs? Do natural fires balance the prevention of forest invasion but also preserve the natural structure of this globally important biome? Here we ask, how have fire patterns changed through time in Brazilian savannahs? How have these changes affected the composition of plants in these savannahs? And, can we aid savannah conservation by establishing the most beneficial 'trade-off' between increasing tree cover and preserving the unique savannah environment? In order to answer these questions, we will examine the modern plant species from Brazilian savannahs that have experienced little, moderate and intensive human activity. Following which, the last 1000 years of fire activity and changes to savannah plant species will be recreated through the analysis of charcoal fragments and plant pollen preserved in lake sediment and the chemical signal left in soils by different plants. This combination of analyses will be done in partnership between Brazilian and UK scientists and will allow us to understand how the relationships between changes in farming, fire patterns and vegetation through time have changed the make-up of Brazilian savannahs. This understanding will then be used to create a fire management plan that will aid in the conservation and restoration of the Brazilian savannah.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/T004525/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed - International
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- GPSF
This grant award has a total value of £74,819
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S | Exception - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £4,361 | £28,978 | £7,234 | £22,471 | £1,882 | £3,400 | £6,492 |
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