Shifted Ecological Baselines in the Brazilian Savannah

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.

Academic beneficiaries

The academic beneficiaries of the research outputs will be reached using conventional routes, specifically the publication of peer-reviewed articles on savannah vegetation and fire dynamics to reach a global audience of savannah researchers. Journals will be chosen that allow for bilingual abstracts (such as Journal of Ecology) to reach Portuguese speaking scientists, and partners Neves and Fernandes will target one Brazilian journal for publication (e.g., Acta Botanica Brasilica) to maximise impact among Brazilian researchers. The impact of humans on fire and vegetation dynamics concern savannah ecologists globally, and over longer timescales, the research approach employed in SEBBS could influence the research of a broad network of savannah ecologists across the Neotropics and in Africa and Australia.

This wider network of researchers will be reached through topical sessions at ecological conferences and a targeted case study piece for scientific audiences, such as PAGES (i.e., Whitney & Cardenas [2017] Past Global Changes Magazine 25: 84-85). Furthermore, the project goals meet the aims of the newly established British Ecological Society 'Palaeoecology' Special Interest Group (BES Palaeo SIG) to 'Facilitate the development of more integrated approaches to long-term ecosystem dynamics in [...] environmental management.' The new approach of the project will be disseminated to the BES through a bespoke article for 'the Niche' (BES magazine) and the BES Palaeo SIG Twitter account, maintained by Researcher co-Investigator Loughlin.

Data generated from the project will be made available, following publication, through the Neotoma database, a National Science Foundation supported repository of palaeodata for use by the wider community.

Non-Academic beneficiaries

NB. Below are listed the non-academic beneficiaries and the rationale for their inclusion in the project. The means by which identified non-academic beneficiaries will be reached by this project are outlined in the 'Pathways to impact' document.

(i) Who: Savannah managers and conservationists. Why: Savannah ecologists have recently highlighted the need for a consistent fire management policy that balances ecosystem protection with socioeconomic need. The dissemination of project results to managers will demonstrate the benefit of incorporating historical data in the development of savannah fire management policies. Although this project is specific to one subregion of Brazilian savannah, the results will demonstrate the potential of this approach to other savannah regions. We anticipate that, in the long-term, SEBBS will highlight the potential and broaden the use of historical data in ecosystem management across the Neotropics.

(ii) Who: Public beneficiaries. Why: Savannahs and their threats are not well-known among non-specialist audiences and the environmental impacts of cattle and soya production are generally thought to be associated with the deforestation of the Amazon only. The SEBBS outreach pathway will therefore provide the opportunity to communicate this information among the wider public, especially those with an interest in natural history.

(iii) Who: School-aged children. Why: The project will support increasing awareness and participation in geography/environmental disciplines among school-aged children in the northeast of England. This project is supported by NUSTEM, an outreach and widening participation group based in the Faculty of Engineering and Environment at Northumbria University, established in 2014 from a £1.2M Higher Education Funding Council for England grant. NUSTEM aims to increase numbers of young people choosing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) careers by engaging with children and their key influencers such as teachers and parents. Engagement is ongoing, sustained and targeted at 30 partner schools, both primary and secondary.