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Forbs are important contributors to species diversity and ecosystem functions in low-latitude grasslands, where they support diverse herbivore communities and millions of people. Native forb assemblages tolerate disturbances and physiological stressors (fire, herbivory, drought, and frost) that together have shaped their exceptional functional diversity. Yet, compared to trees and grasses, forbs have received much less attention in grassland studies until recently. Here, we review forb-centric literature to illustrate that land conversion and responsible management of fire and herbivory are crucial to maintaining forb diversity. Management practices promoting forb diversity offer (a) high-quality food items and medicinal resources that support rural livelihoods and animal diversity (from wild ungulates and livestock to fossorial rodents and insects), including their adaptive foraging patterns, and (b) carbon and nutrient inputs that regulate belowground processes. Improved understanding of the above- and belowground regeneration strategies of forbs is critical for restoration and conservation to secure their services in future old-growth tropical and subtropical grasslands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MotivationThe BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene.Main types of variables includedThe database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record.Spatial location and grainBioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km2 (158 cm2) to 100 km2 (1,000,000,000,000 cm2).Time period and grainBioTIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year.Major taxa and level of measurementBioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.Software format.csv and .SQL.

Questions: Fire is an important ecological factor influencing plant communities in many fire‐prone ecosystems. Savannas in the Cerrado are resilient to fire, with plants exhibiting fire‐related traits, allowing them to persist in post‐fire environments. Therefore, excluding fire may result in changes in plant community dynamics, thus affecting their resilience. We investigated the effect of the reintroduction of fire in savannas where fire has been excluded for longer periods (>12 years) on seedling recruitment. We asked the following questions: (i) how does fire affect seed bank germination in sites with different fire histories; and (ii) how did fire exclusion affect species composition of the seed bank? Location: Estação Ecológica de Itirapina (EEI), Southeastern Brazil. Methods: Two sites with different fire histories were selected: FE1985 – fire exclusion for more than 30 years, with one fire event in 1985; and FE2009 – fire exclusion for 12 years, with three fire events since 1985, the last one being in 2009. Both areas have low fire frequency, but different times since the last fire. Soil samples were collected before and after prescribed fires to evaluate the effects of fire after longer periods of fire exclusion in the soil seed bank. Using the seedling emergence method, we evaluate the effects of the reintroduction of fire after longer periods of fire exclusion in the soil seed bank. Results: We found that fire significantly increased the seed bank recruitment at both sites, FE1985 and FE2009 (increase of 16% and 50% in seedling recruitment, respectively), showing that species of the Cerrado responded positively to the fire passage. The reintroduction of fire promoted different effects on seed bank recruitment: shrubs experienced a significant decrease in seedling emergence from the seed bank at FE1985, while their recruitment was not affected at FE2009. Time since last fire appears to influence the seed bank composition, showing a shift in dominance from a grassy community to a woody one. Conclusions: After fire, more species germinated from the seed bank, showing that direct and indirect effects of fire are affecting seed germination from the seed bank, and its importance on seedling recruitment from the seed bank in the Cerrado. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Effective long-term management of invasive non-native species (INNS) in South America is a pressing yet complex task. Critically, the environmental, historical, cultural, and economic idiosyncrasies of the region call for the inclusion of a plurality of views from those sectors of society receiving the negative and positive impacts of INNS. This is a multifaceted, and often daunting, task that can be aided by an early identification of stakeholders – those affected by or with an interest in INNS and their management – accompanied by targeted stakeholder engagement. Here, we report the procedures and results of a stakeholder mapping activity aimed at identifying stakeholders and designing engagement strategies. Using expert knowledge procedures, we compiled comprehensive lists of stakeholders for six case-studies in South America: (i) invasive grasses (Urochloa spp.) in Brazil; (ii) glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum) in Argentina; (iii) lodgepole and Monterey pines (Pinus contorta and P. radiata) in Argentina; (iv) American mink (Neogale vison) in Argentina and Chile; (v) lodgepole and Monterey pines in Chile; and (vi) German yellow-jacket (Vespula germanica) in Chile. Overall, we identified 250 stakeholders, which, based on their interest and influence, were classified into "context settlers" (2%), "key players" (47%), "crowd" (5%), and "subjects" (49%). We outlined strategies to engage with each of these four groups and for each of our six case-studies. Across case studies, communication with stakeholders was the most common engagement strategy proposed (27%; 19 of 70 strategies), followed by active involvement of stakeholders in INNS research and management (23%). Our results highlight the importance of considering power imbalances, as those stakeholders more likely to benefit from INNS were assessed to have more influence over INNS management relative to local and indigenous communities. Our work illustrates how to identify stakeholders in a rigorous and rapid manner, which should be complemented with the involvement of the stakeholders themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Plant–animal interactions are pervasive in terrestrial ecosystems. They hold relevant ecological information for guiding biodiversity conservation and restoration practices. Despite plant–animal interactions being particularly sensitive to disturbance, the knowledge about how fire, a remarkable driver of changes in ecosystem structure and functioning, affects these relationships is still limited. In this sense, the assessment of how studies investigate the fire effects on plant–animal interactions through a systematic review proves to be relevant to guide future research agenda. In this study, we reviewed studies regarding the effects of fire on plant–animal interactions conducted in Brazil, which hosts many different fire‐prone and fire‐sensitive ecosystems and harbours several plant and animal species. Supported by an integrative database, we summarized the main goals, methodologies, and taxonomic groups used in studies addressing the effects of fire on plant–animal interactions and pointed out some shortfalls that future research should avoid and gaps that they shall fulfil. In sum, 39 studies published from 1995 to 2022 met our criteria of inclusion in the database. Most of them were conducted in Cerrado and mainly evaluated ant–plant or plant–pollinator interactions. In addition, studies were generally designed with inappropriate experimental approaches that commonly disregard relevant fire attributes that are important drivers of ecosystem structure and functioning. Altogether, our review shows that studies evaluating this topic present a geographic and taxonomic bias, which overlooks particular plant–animal interactions, and that we still have a superficial understanding of fire effects on plant–animal interactions in Brazilian ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]