Fire history alters ecosystem services provided by tree species across forest and savanna landscapes in the Xingu Indigenous Territory

Abstract

Abstract Fire has become an increasingly pervasive disturbance in southern Amazonia, and climate projections indicate further intensification, posing growing risks to forest biodiversity and to the provisioning ecosystem services that sustain Indigenous peoples. Here, we evaluate how fire frequency influences provisioning ecosystem services derived from tree species used by the Kuikuro people in the Xingu Indigenous Territory, Brazil. We inventoried 32 plots (10 × 10 m) in forest (n = 20) and savanna (n = 12) environments near the Afukuri village, spanning a fire-frequency gradient of zero to six burn events over the past 32 years (1985–2017). For all trees with diameter at breast height (DBH) ≥ 10 cm, we identified species and recorded ethnobotanical uses through collaboration with Indigenous knowledge holders, grouping uses into three provisioning categories: food, construction/handicraft, and medicinal use. We also included environmental predictors from remote sensing (altitude, slope, soil pH, clay content, and bulk density). We recorded 91 tree species, of which 43 (47%) provided at least one provisioning ecosystem service relevant to the Kuikuro. Redundancy analysis indicated that vegetation type explained most of the variation in the composition of useful species, while fire frequency and soil variables accounted for additional variation. In forests, higher fire frequency was associated with a lower abundance of species used for construction/handicraft and medicinal purposes; in savannas, food-related species showed negative associations with fire frequency, whereas medicinal species showed weaker or contrasting responses. Species ecological importance and use relationships also differed between vegetation types, with useful species tending to be less abundant in forests and more abundant in savannas. Our findings indicate that fire history is associated with shifts in the composition and availability of culturally important tree species, particularly in forest environments that are increasingly exposed to fire. These changes may influence the provisioning ecosystem services that support Kuikuro livelihoods and traditional practices, highlighting the importance of fire management strategies that integrate ecological and Indigenous perspectives.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Biodiversity and Conservation, 2026 · DOI ↗