In this blogpost, Ana Porto—from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Brazil—describes their interest in grasslands restoration ecology. Ana is particularly interested in grassland restoration techniques using hay and direct seeding. Ana is also interested in the community vegetation of this ecosystem, mainly following its development after endogenous and exogenous disturbances (e.g. grazing, fire, afforestation, and biological invasions).
Profile
I arrived at this topic by destiny—I did not choose it, it chose me! When I started my doctorate degree, my professor offered a scholarship to work in the restoration of grasslands and I accepted. In Brazil, at least 90% of research is carried out through postgraduate programs (McManus et al 2023) because working as a researcher is not regulated and scholarships act as our salaries.
Currently, I am working in the southern Brazilian grasslands called the Pampa biome—this biome occurs in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil. Despite the fact that these grasslands are an important component of human culture in this region, they are extremely threatened by degradation—in the last 20 years the biome has loss 16.3% of grassland (Mapbiomas 2021).
We lost proportionately more area of the Pampa than what was lost in the Brazilian Amazon Forest during the same period. There is very little research about the effect of ecological legacies, resilience after disturbance, and restoration techniques in southern Brazilian grasslands, and, until now, we only have four papers about the topics above (Thomas et al 2019a, Thomas et al. 2019b, Porto et al. 2023a, Porto et al. 2023b), all of which have come from our research group.
Unlike the Pampa, highland grasslands are not as threatened because they have protective legislation. However, just like the Pampa, they are also under threat mainly due to the invasion of exotic species such as the monoculture Pinus spp. Given all the threats that subtropical grasslands are facing, I strongly feel that studying them is an act of resistance.
Where in the world are you?
Currently I’m in southern Brazil—I live in Porto Alegre, state of Rio Grande do Sul (RS). I’m a researcher at UFSC and I divide my work in the Pampa biome and highland grasslands of the Mata Atlântica biome. The Pampa grasslands are extensive plains located in the south of RS, while highland grasslands are a mosaic of grasslands and Araucaria forests that stretch from Brazil to Paragauy and Argentina.
In the Pampa grasslands I studied restoration techniques with hay transfer, as well as grazing, fire, and native vegetation dynamics. In the highland grasslands, I’m studying ecological invasion by Sus scrofa (wild boar) and its subsequent impacts, as well as priority effects of the vegetation community after degradation.
In the beginning of my studies I was surprised by the fact that grazing and fire are endogenous disturbances in grasslands. These disturbances, when well managed, actually improve community vegetation biodiversity.
A positive aspect of my study site is that I am seeing more and more people researching the grasslands. At the universities, people at the beginning of biology courses, mainly, have been getting in touch with our research team’s laboratory to start working with grasslands. I also feel that the Brazilian press, at least the local press in RS, has been interested in our work and reporting our studies. Seeing the burgeoning interest in the these sites and new researchers specializing in grassland ecology gives me hope that we can begin to better protect these vital areas.
Tips for fieldwork
The reality of doing research in Brazil can be a little different from Europe and the United States. Here we organize all the fieldwork logistics, from where we are going to spend the night, to the separation, sorting, and identification of collected plants.
I worked with hay transfer during my doctorate and, unlike other countries, I myself collected the hay meaning I had to learn how to operate a brushcutter. Similarly, If we want to do direct sowing in our study, we have to go to the field to collect these seeds. Today, in southern Brazil, there is no commercialization of native grasslands seeds. We drive university cars to fieldwork sites ourselves, regardless of whether access is difficult or not, and we are responsible for maintaining them. Very often we have tight budgets to cover all field expenses and we do all the resource management ourselves. We overcome these challenges through teamwork, a lot of partnership, and mutual support in moments of doubt and insecurity.
What I like most about fieldwork is appreciating the exceptionally high levels of biodiversity we have in southern Brazil—colleagues in our work group were able to find 56 species of grassland plants in 1m² (Menezes et al. 2018). Appreciating, studying, and analyzing plant diversity, and its return after disturbances, are the things that most fascinate me in my work.
In fieldwork, socializing with colleagues/friends is something that is invaluable because it is in those moments that we create intimacy and ties that last for a lifetime.
The future
I am really enjoying my current workplace. I would like to study grassland formation between Argentina, Uruguay and the rest of Pampa that I haven’t explored yet. However, generally speaking, I am already working at my dream site.
