Maria Carolina Guarinello de Oliveira Portes
University of Göttingen, Germany [mcportes@gmail.com]
Palaeoecological studies of Upper Montane Forest and Grasslands of southern and south-eastern Brazil
My studies focus in the Upper-Montane Forest and Grasslands to understand the ecosystems dynamics of these environments. For this, the reconstruction of vegetation dynamics, the identification of key species, the relationship with climate dynamics and human impacts, especially fire, are analyzed. These studies must provide fundamental data for planning of strategic actions for the management of ecosystems and biodiversity conservation. My first sediment core was recovered at the border between a swamp area of grassland and a small Araucaria forest area. This core is 600 years old and 228 cm long, and due to the high resolution, it can provide good information about the human impacts.