restoration

1 article

How early do Cerrado grasses become fire-resilient? Insights from an ontogenetic experiment.

PubMed · 2026-05-09

Native Brazilian savanna grasses can survive fire as early as 3 months old, but plants 12–18 months old recover best. This finding helps land managers time prescribed burns to protect young plants during ecological restoration.

Survival rates exceeded 50% even at 3 months of age, rising above 70% in older plants and reaching nearly 100% by 12 months.

Plants burned at 18 months accumulated the most biomass after fire, likely because they had larger underground reserves and more buds ready to resprout.

Burning just before the dry season significantly slowed recovery compared to burns timed at other points in the year.

Species in Topic

eco Aristida riparia eco Loudetiopsis chrysothrix eco Trachypogon spicatus

restoration

Species in Topic

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