JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. British Ecological Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal of Ecology.Summary 1 In the debate on the stability of savanna vegetation, spatial processes are often neglected. A spatial simulation model based on a cellular automata approach was constructed to identify the factors and processes crucial to the coexistence of trees and grass, and their effects on the spatial arrangement of trees in arid and semiarid savannas. 2 The simulation shows that the traditional key determinants of savannasrain, fire and grazinggenerate and sustain a coexistence of trees and grasses only under specific conditions. 3 An increase in the rainfall (improved tree establishment) or in grazing (reduced competition from grass), led to an increase in the woody component in the model. Where this trend was reversed by occasional fires, the simulation indicated that trees would be patchily distributed in thickets that excluded fire. 4 For an intermediate range of fire, grazing and rainfall variables this strongly clumped distribution pattern of trees represented a stable tree-grass mixture for more than 20 000 simulated years. 5 The hypothesis is formulated that factors or processes other than competition for moisture, herbivory and fire are needed in addition to induce a long-term persistence of scattered trees. 6 By exploring the long-term and spatial consequences of altering the variables that were thought to be key determinants of savanna vegetation, this spatiotemporal model provides a novel insight into the understanding of savanna dynamics.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.