Leaf exchange temporal dynamics of campo rupestre vegetation mosaic in the Serra do Cipó (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

Abstract

The campo rupestre represents one of the most complex and diverse Brazilian vegetations. It is formed by a herbaceous-shrub vegetation mosaic and composed of a rich diversity of species and high endemism, subject to fire and climate seasonality. The biomes of the Caatinga and Cerrado are in the North and West frontiers, riparian forests and some forest islands (capões) are elements of the landscape and the Atlantic forest dominates the East frontier of Espinhaço range. The campo rupestre is affected by human activities related to the extraction of mineral resources and species of economic interest. In this context, studies on phenology are essential to plan strategies for conservation and management of the environment and its natural resources. Phenology is highlighted in the global agenda of monitoring and forecasting vegetation responses in face of the effects of climate change. To obtain phenological data in tropical regions, the use of digital cameras and time data is an efficient and accurate tool. The technique called near-surface remote phenology allows data acquisition of high quality and temporal resolution, reduces costs of fieldwork, easy setup, and reduced size. In this work, the vegetative phenology of the campo rupestre of Serra do Cipó, South Espinhaço range will be investigated. This work aims to: (I) compile and process seven years of a digital camera monitoring collection; (II) evaluate the time series for each phytophysiognomy, verifying the agreement between key environmental factors with seasonality; (III) to evaluate a fire event that occurred during the sampling, comparing phenological patterns pre-and post-fire interference. (AU)