Vascular flora in dry-shrub and wet grassland Cerrado seven years after a fire, Federal District, Brazil

Abstract

Studies of temporal dynamics for grassland sites report that fire suppression plays a crucial role in floristic changes. The objective of this study was to verify whether after seven years without fire, communities showed variations in terms of composition, life forms, pollination and dispersal syndromes. The first survey (T0) was conducted from September 1999 to October 2000, while the second (T1) took place from August 2006 to August 2007. The floristic results in T1 were compared with the survey in T0 through the Sorensen similarity index and Chi-square tests. Over time, there were differences in the composition, life forms and pollination and dispersion syndromes. The evidence of changes suggests that the frequency of the fire regime can be considered the main agent for change in the flora of these communities.