How does fire exclusion affect the belowground biomass of tropical open ecosystems?

Dataset associated with the manuscript "How does fire exclusion affect the belowground biomass of tropical open ecosystems?" (Teixeira et al., 2025) published at Journal of Vegetation Science journal. It includes 1 dataset and one associate metadata. data: It includes data related to the study site description (temperature, precipitation, location coordinates, altitude, phytoshysiognomy, treatment) and aboveground and belowground ( roots and bud-bearing belowground organs) biomass.AbstractAims: Belowground biomass, including roots and belowground bud-bearing organs, is crucial in tropical open ecosystems, particularly during post-fire regeneration. However, we still do not understand how variation in fire regime modulates the allocation of biomass in these belowground parts. In two distinct fire regimes, we investigated aboveground and belowground biomass, as well as the distribution of biomass and the composition of bud-bearing belowground organs in open tropical ecosystems. Location: Five tropical open ecosystems in Brazil (from Nothern to southeast Brazil).Methods: We assed above- and belowground plant biomass across 100 plots (ten plots at each of the two treatments conditions i.e frequently burnt and fire excluded, and at each of the five plots). We sorted out biomass as live aboveground, belowground bud-bearing organs, coarse (> 2 mm), and fine roots (< 2 mm). Bud-bearing belowground organs were classified into morphological categories (e.g., xylopodia, woody rhizome, fleshy rhizome) Results: Fire-excluded areas had a lower root-to-shoot ratio and lower total belowground to aboveground biomass allocation than areas frequently burnt. The total belowground biomass, as well as fine and coarse root biomass and belowground bud-bearing organ biomass remained unchanged with fire exclusion. The composition of belowground bud-bearing organs changed towards organs with lateral spread as woody and fleshy rhizomes when fire was excluded. Conclusions: More than ten years of fire exclusion did not affect the total belowground biomass but changed the composition of bud-bearing belowground organs in tropical open ecosystems.本数据集关联发表于《Journal of Vegetation Science》期刊的论文"How does fire exclusion affect the belowground biomass of tropical open ecosystems?"（Teixeira等，2025）。本数据集包含1份核心数据与1份配套元数据。 数据说明：本数据集涵盖研究样地描述信息（气温、降水量、地理位置坐标、海拔、植物群落外貌、火烧处理），以及地上与地下（根系和具芽地下器官（bud-bearing belowground organs））生物量数据。 摘要 研究目标：地下生物量（包括根系与具芽地下器官）在热带开阔生态系统中至关重要，尤其在火烧后再生阶段。但目前学界仍未明确火烧制度的变化如何调控这类地下组分的生物量分配。本研究针对两种不同火烧制度，探究热带开阔生态系统的地上与地下生物量、生物量分配格局，以及具芽地下器官的组成特征。 研究区域：巴西境内5处热带开阔生态系统（覆盖巴西北部至东南部区域）。 研究方法：我们在100个样地中测定植物地上与地下生物量——在5个研究区域中，两种火烧处理（高频火烧与无火烧）各设置10个样地。我们将生物量划分为活地上生物量、具芽地下器官、粗根（直径＞2mm）与细根（直径＜2mm）四类，并将具芽地下器官按形态类别进行分类（如木质块根（xylopodia）、木质根茎、肉质根茎等）。 研究结果：无火烧区域的根冠比（root-to-shoot ratio）以及地下总生物量与地上生物量的分配比例均低于高频火烧区域。但无火烧处理下，地下总生物量、细根与粗根生物量以及具芽地下器官生物量均未发生显著变化。不过，无火烧区域的具芽地下器官组成向以侧向扩展型的木质根茎与肉质根茎类群转变。 研究结论：长达十余年的无火烧措施未改变热带开阔生态系统的地下总生物量，但显著改变了具芽地下器官的群落组成。