Effects of experimental fire regimes on the abundance and diversity of cursorial arachnids of Brazilian savannah (cerrado biome)

We investigated the influence of burning frequency and timing on the abundance and diversity of cursorial arachnids in the cerrado (savannah of central Brazil). Five areas were subjected to different burning regimes. In each area, 40 pitfall traps were installed. The arachnids were sampled for three days each month from April 2007 to October 2008. Abundance was higher in the control area than in areas subjected to any fire regime. Species richness was similar in all areas. The evenness was lower in the control area. The areas subject to fires had significantly higher diversity than the control area. Although it was not possible to rank areas according to their diversity, areas burned in the middle of the dry season tended to have higher diversity than areas burned at the beginning or end of this season, indicating that the time at which fire occurs may be more important than the frequency of burning for the diversity of cursorial arachnids in the Brazilian cerrado.