The South Brazilian grasslands – A South American tallgrass prairie? Parallels and implications of fire dependency

Abstract

Fire has long been recognized as an important driver of vegetation patterns, and is of particular importance for biodiversity maintenance in many grassland systems, including the North American tallgrass prairie. Here, it has been successfully used as a conservation and restoration tool. In southern Brazil, grasslands appear to present many similarities to tallgrass prairie in terms of composition and ecology, but the role of fire has been poorly studied and it is not usually used in conservation. Here, we compare plant genera and family composition of tallgrass prairie and South Brazilian grassland sites. We find striking similarities in terms of dominant families, genera, and functional types. The similarities between plant communities suggest similarities in ecological processes and should lead to a re-thinking of conservation strategies in South Brazilian grasslands. Research on the role of fire is needed, and comparative North–South studies on grasslands in the Americas likely will provide important insights for grassland ecology and management.

Keywords

• Campos Sulinos
• Conservation
• Disturbance
• Management
• Pampa
• Tallgrass prairie