How can we advance the knowledge on the behavior and effects of fire in the Cerrado biome?

Abstract

Abstract The indiscriminate use of fire represents one of the most significant environmental threats to the Cerrado, the second largest biome in South America. However, the impacts of fire on ecological, cultural, and economic processes remain poorly understood, making it difficult to create effective action plans for fire prevention, control, or management. We extensively reviewed the literature on fire behavior and effects in the Cerrado biome to identify current knowledge gaps and ways to advance research on fire ecology to improve the efficacy of current policies for fire use in this biome. The knowledge gaps reflect the absence of a systemic and integrative approach linking fire behavior and its effects. To fill current knowledge gaps, there are three major challenges related to interactive effects and spatial and temporal scales of the analyses: (1) predictive scale (change from single to multiple drivers); (2) spatial scale (change from site to biome); and (3) time scale (change from short- to long-term dynamics). Considering the difficulty of studying all three scales in a single experiment, we propose the following priorities: (1) increasing the scientific effort, even if independently, to include at least one of the three proposed scale changes; (2) interdisciplinary proposals that integrate different study tools; (3) studies that assess which ecological processes are more sensitive or more resilient to fire and consequently have major impacts on ecosystem services. The continuation of existing long-term studies could be an opportunity to address these priorities in addition to new sites, which can represent different landscape configurations or environmental changes.