The objective of this study was to analyse the phenological events in the herbaceous and sub-shrub layer of a campo sujo (15º55'478"S and 47º54'225"W) community in relation to rainfall. The climate is Aw by Köppen classification with a mean annual precipitation of 1,500 mm. Three to ten individuals belonging to 61 species were studied totaling 519 individuals. The individuals were observed quarterly, from October 1999 to February 2001. An accidental fire happened in the area two months before the beginning of this study. It stimulated flowering and fruiting of the species. Flowering occurred continuosly over the study period but, with a concentration in the rainy season. Fruiting presented a similar pattern with most species maturing their diaspores from the middle to the end of the rainy season. During the dry season there was a higher production of dry leaves. However, some species did not have all leaves completely dried in that period, 3.2% produced new leaves while 31% remained with mature green leaves. The vegetative and reproductive events of the plants in the herbaceous layer were dependent on the precipitation.
phenology; herbaceous layer; campo sujo; Cerrado; fire; savanna; Brazil
