Our History​

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Since 1997, in Alter do Chão, POPA (PELD Western Pará) has been conducting studies in the savannas and semi-deciduous forests of the region, focusing on understanding Amazonian ecosystems and their biodiversity. In this unique landscape, permanent research plots were established to address three fundamental questions:

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1. What ecological factors maintain the boundaries between forest fragments and savannas?

2. What are the short- and long-term effects of fire and other local ecological filters on fauna and flora?

3. How does natural forest fragmentation influence local biodiversity?

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     Over the years, these studies have provided important insights:

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• Natural boundaries: Soil texture influences the delimitation between savannas and forest fragments (Sanaiotti et al. 2002). Fire, in turn, plays an essential role in maintaining open areas (de Deus 2011).

• Impacts of fire: In the short term, fire negatively affects populations of lizards and rodents (Faria et al. 2004; Layme et al. 2004; Ghizoni et al. 2005), although long-term direct effects on population dynamics are reduced (Magnusson et al. 2010). Longer time-series studies, combining environmental and genetic data, are necessary to understand the population cycles of certain species.

• Forest fragmentation: The effects of fragmentation vary according to the ecological traits of organisms, such as mobility, use of the savanna matrix, resource availability, habitat type, and human pressure (Bernard & Fenton 2007; Sampaio et al. 2010; Carvalho et al. 2008; Borges-Matos et al. 2016; Amaral et al. 2017).

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     Due to the sustained efforts of the research team at the National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA), the Alter do Chão Environmental Protection Area (APA) was established (Albernaz et al. 2004), although it covers only half of the originally proposed area. During this period, more than 70 scientific articles have been published, in addition to undergraduate theses, dissertations, and graduate theses.