Contribution to the Discussions on the Origin of the Cerrado Biome: Brazilian Savanna/Contribuicao As Discussoes Sobre a Origem Do Bioma Cerrado: Savana Brasileira (Report‪)‬

1. Introduction The origins of the cerrado biome, which occupies approximately 2 million [km.sup.2] of the Brazilian territory, bordered by the Amazon and the Atlantic Forests (Ratter et al., 1997; Oliveira Filho and Ratter, 2002), is still a matter of debate (Ribeiro and Walter, 1998; Ledru, 2002). Several theories have been proposed to explain its formation (Alvin, 1954; Cole, 1960; Fernandes, 2000; Oliveira Filho and Ratter, 2002), including the possibilities of natural or anthropogenic origin (Ledru, 2002). The best known theories support the notion that the origin of cerrados is related to the influence of climate (Warming and Ferri, 1973), soil (Alvin, 1954) and fire (Rawitscher, 1951; Coutinho, 1990).