FIRE EFFECTS ON SOIL AND VEGETATION IN A DEGRADED BRAZILIAN SAVANNA

ABSTRACT This research consists of a comparative study through the controlled application of fire under different conditions of natural and exotic phytophysiognomy of the Cerrado vegetation area. The area of study is located in Cerrado recovery vegetation and degraded pasture areas. On this area, five experimental plots were established from the specific characteristic of its vegetation cover, slope and soil type (treatments) and connected to a Gerlach trough that accumulates the runoff and were weekly measured. Two artificial fires were applied to plots in an interval of 8 months in attempt to understand the effects of fire on runoff, sediment yield and regrowth of vegetation. The results show that runoff do not present differences between treatments through the period of study. Medium values of sediment yield for all plots vary from 6.70 g L-1 to 57.24 g L-1 showing that the plots which present high protection by vegetation create conditions to diminish the impact of precipitation on the surface.