Abstract
Cerrado is the Brazilian neotropical savanna threatened by invasive African grasses. We aimed to quantify the impact of invasive Melinis minutiflora and Urochloa brizantha on the cover of different functional groups (native graminoids, forbs, shrubs) and the structure (bare soil and the cover of natives’ and invasives’ dead biomass) of regenerating plant communities. We hypothesized that the impact of invasives would be negative and more pronounced in the rainy period, given the great influence of seasonality in savannas. In three community types (non-invaded, invaded by M. minutiflora and invaded by U. brizantha) we evaluated the cover of functional groups and structural components by sampling 120 1 m × 1 m plots, four times a year. Using the Cohen’s D impact index, we showed that both invasive species reduced the cover of all native functional groups, decreased bare soil and increased total dead cover. Greatest effects occurred when M. minutiflora was present. M. minutiflora’s impact on total graminoids varied from positive in the Early-Dry season to negative in the Mid-Dry season, while the negative impact of U. brizantha on bare soil became more pronounced from the dry to the rainy season. Differences in the impacts caused by the invasive species are probably due to the large biomass produced by M. minutiflora versus the fast colonization and soil occupancy by U. brizantha. Overall, invaded versus non-invaded communities differed in structure, as well as both invaded communities differed from each other. Our results demonstrate the need to control these species for conservation and restoration of Cerrado ecosystems.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Ana Carolina Ferreira, Cíntia Souza, Evaldo Souza, Giovana Chiari, Heloiza Zirondi, Jonathan Galdi Rosa, Karen Castillioni, Lucas Barbosa, Luis Felipe Daibes, Mariana Dairel, Mariana Rissi, Natacha Silva, Priscilla Sperandio, Rafael Consolmagno, Tamires Zepon and Vagner Zanzarini for helping during the field work, and the staff of the Itirapina Ecological Station for their valuable help during the establishment and maintenance of the experimental plots. G.D. received financial support from Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP 2015/10714-6), V.R.P. and A.F. were granted by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 305253/2015-8 and CNPq 306170/2015-9). This project was funded by Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP 2015/06743-0) and the Neotropical Grasslands Conservancy.
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Damasceno, G., Souza, L., Pivello, V.R. et al. Impact of invasive grasses on Cerrado under natural regeneration. Biol Invasions 20, 3621–3629 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1800-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1800-6