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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Effects of four decades of fire manipulation on woody vegetation structure in savanna
Ecology, Volume 88, No. 5, Year 2007
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Description
The amount of carbon stored in savannas represents a significant uncertainty in global carbon budgets, primarily because fire causes actual biomass to differ from potential biomass. We analyzed the structural response of woody plants to long-term experimental burning in savannas. The experiment uses a randomized block design to examine fire exclusion and the season and frequency of burn in 192 7-ha experimental plots located in four different savanna ecosystems. Although previous studies would lead us to expect tree density to respond to the fire regime, our results, obtained from four different savanna ecosystems, suggest that the density of woody individuals was unresponsive to fire. The relative dominance of small trees was, however, highly responsive to fire regime. The observed shift in the structure of tree populations has potentially large impacts on the carbon balance. However, the response of tree biomass to fire of the different savannas studied were different, making it difficult to generalize about the extent to which fire can be used to manipulate carbon sequestration in savannas. This study provides evidence that savannas are demographically resilient to fire, but structurally responsive. © 2007 by the Ecological Society of America.
Authors & Co-Authors
Higgins, Steven Ian
Germany, Munich
Technische Universität München
Bond, William J.
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
February, Edmund Carl
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Bronn, Andries
South Africa, Gqeberha
Nelson Mandela University
Euston-Brown, Douglas I.W.
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
Enslin, Beukes W.
South Africa, Skukuza
Kruger National Park
Govender, Navashni
South Africa, Skukuza
Kruger National Park
Rademan, Louise
South Africa, Cape Town
University of Cape Town
O'Regan, Sean
South Africa, Johannesburg
University of the Witwatersrand
Potgieter, Andre L.F.
South Africa, Skukuza
Kruger National Park
Scheiter, Simon
Germany, Munich
Technische Universität München
Sowry, Richard
South Africa, Skukuza
Kruger National Park
Trollope, Lynne A.
South Africa, Alice
University of Fort Hare
Trollope, Winston S.W.
South Africa, Alice
University of Fort Hare
Statistics
Citations: 459
Authors: 14
Affiliations: 6
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1890/06-1664
ISSN:
00129658
Research Areas
Environmental
Study Approach
Quantitative