Holocene vegetation and fire history of the Serra do Caparaó, SE Brazil

Nuno Veríssimo P,Hugh Deforest Safford,Hermann Behling

doi:10.1177/0959683612437864

Abstract

This study presents a recontruction of the Holocene vegetation and fire history of the Serra do Caparaó (Espírito Santo/Minas Gerais, SE Brazil) based on pollen and charcoal analysis from the 130 cm long core Primeiro Rancho I. Radiocarbon dates indicate a complete record of the Holocene (11,400 cal. yr BP to present). At the core site, high elevation grassland (campos de altitude) has been the dominant vegetation throughout the recorded period. In the early Holocene (11,400 to 9000 cal. yr BP), a humid phase was followed by a drier one. Fires occurred continuously during the studied period but were more frequent in the early Holocene. Between 9000 and 2700 cal. yr BP, a gradual increase in the diversity and abundance of Atlantic montane forest taxa indicates an increase in humidity and/or rainfall; campos de altitude taxa still dominated but the montane forest taxon Symplocos was strongly present. Between 2700 and 1200 cal. yr BP, the arboreal Atlantic montane forest taxon Luehea became prominent but forest expansion halted and apparently reversed after 1200 cal. yr BP, possibly because of human activities. Simultaneously, campos de altitude expanded; abrupt variations in the pollen assemblages suggest environmental instability. Campos de altitude are a natural vegetation in Serra do Caparaó, but their present extent is likely influenced by anthropogenic activities, as several data suggest an increase of humidity after 1200 cal. yr BP, which should have caused a forest expansion. Reduction in human disturbance at higher elevations would thus probably result in succession to forest in some of the lower campos.

Highlights

The present paper extends work carried in SE Brazil to the Serra do Caparaó, a yet unstudied mountain range, and the highest, northernmost, and most continental of the campos de altitude sites
Palynological data from the Primeiro Rancho core (PR-I) core suggest a general increase in temperature and humidity since 9000 cal. yr BP in the Serra do Caparaó, agreeing with the regional trends summarized for the vegetation and fire history in Behling (2002) and Power et al (2008), respectively
Throughout the Holocene, campos de altitude have been the dominant vegetation at higher elevations in the Serra do Caparaó

Summary

Introduction

The Atlantic Forest of eastern South America stretches along the eastern coast of Brazil between 3° and 30°S, from Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará in the northeast to the southernmost states of Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, and further inland reaching southern Goiás, Paraguay, and the Province of Misiones in Argentina (Câmara, 2003; Gustavo et al, 2004; Hueck, 1966). The Atlantic Forest is distinct from the more extensive Amazonian forests, as steep coastal mountains catch frontal systems as they arrive on the Brazilian east coast, and the orographically enhanced rainfall results in a dense ‘escarpment forest’ (Romariz, 1972) that is rarely more than 150 km in width. South of the State of Rio de Janeiro the Atlantic Forest escapes its mountainous limits and spreads 500 km beyond the Rio Paraná. The Atlantic Forest biome is classified as one of the most biodiverse and endangered ‘hotspots’ on Earth (Backes and Irgang, 2004; Gustavo et al, 2004)

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