High resilience of campos rupestres plants to the interaction of drought and fire

Abstract

Abstract The concurrent impacts of multiple disturbances have the potential to modify ecosystem functioning by diminishing recovery capacity and resilience. Nevertheless, it remains uncertain how plant species from tropical communities respond to the cumulative effects of drought and fire. In this study, we evaluated the responses of six plant species from campos rupestres subjected to a mild drought followed by fire and tested if plants subjected to simulated drought show reductions in carbon uptake and depletion of non‐structural carbohydrate (NSC) reserves, thus constraining their resprouting. We monitored monthly variations in leaf gas exchange and aboveground biomass over 18 months. Subsequently, an accidental fire occurred in the study area, leading us to collect samples of belowground structures for NSC analyses on the day of the burn. There were no differences in the frequency of resprouting between the above two conditions. Additionally, gas exchange in most species either remained stable or increased after the fire. Drought had no adverse effects on NSC reserves in the belowground structures and may have contributed to species resprouting after fire. The impact of drought pre‐conditions on post‐fire aboveground biomass was generally minor for most species, except Vellozia nivea, which displayed roughly a 5% reduction in biomass following the drought. Our findings highlight the remarkable resilience of campos rupestres species, even after enduring 18 months of reduced water availability and an unintended fire event. These species demonstrated the capacity to maintain their physiological functions and resprouting capacities after a fire event, underscoring their strong recovery potential.