Drought tolerant species dominate as rainfall and tree cover returns in the West African Sahel

Hänke, Hendrik; Börjeson, Lowe; Hylander, Kristoffer; Enfors, Elin

doi:10.1016/j.landusepol.2016.08.023

Cited by 48 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…While no studies exist for the Sudanian zone, the few studies from the Sahelian zone show contradictory results. Using remote sensing data, Hänke, Börjeson, Hylander, and Enfors‐Kautsky () found a general greening trend in the Sahel at the regional scale. However, field studies on a local scale showed that this greening trend was at the expense of woody species richness (Brandt, Romankiewicz, Spiekermann, & Samimi, ) or was accompanied by a decrease in herbaceous (Dardel et al., ) and woody species biomass (Brandt, Verger, Diouf, Baret, & Samimi, ) for some vegetation types.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation changes over the past two decades in a West African savanna ecosystem

Leßmeister

Bernhardt‐Römermann

Schumann

et al. 2019

Applied Vegetation Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Questions: West African savanna ecosystems are affected by increasing land use intensity (e.g., agriculture and livestock herds) due to a growing human population. To understand the impact of land use intensification on savanna vegetation, we aim to answer the following questions: How do savanna species composition, diversity and structure change with increasing land use pressure? Are the impacts of land use change different in the woody and the herbaceous layers? Do the effects of land use change differ between vegetation types? Location: Southeastern Burkina Faso, West Africa. Methods: Vegetation plots from the early 1990s representing vegetation types occurring in fallows of different age and in uncultivated pasturing zones were resurveyed. We distinguished between woody (tree and shrub layer) and herbaceous vegetation types. Species composition changes were analyzed using ordination techniques (detrended correspondence analysis, DCA) and indicator species analysis (IndVal). Species turnover and plant diversity as represented by species richness and evenness were compared between the baseline survey and the resurvey. Results:In most woody vegetation types, we found no change in species composition and richness over the past two decades. However, some highly valued woody species decreased in abundance. In contrast, in most herbaceous vegetation types, species composition changed considerably and species richness increased. The proportion of wide-ranging, ruderal herbaceous species increased, indicating a homogenization of herbaceous vegetation types, while preferred fodder herbaceous species decreased. We assume that the increased grazing intensity over the past two decades is the driver of these changes in the herbaceous layer. Conclusions:Our results show different reactions of vegetation types and layers to land use intensification and reinforce the need for studies on the basis of vegetation type that incorporate both the herbaceous and the woody layers.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation changes over the past two decades in a West African savanna ecosystem

Leßmeister

Bernhardt‐Römermann

Schumann

et al. 2019

Applied Vegetation Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…O desenvolvimento da espécie nos primeiros anos é superior nos espaçamentos reduzidos (Lopes et al, 2017), porém com o passar dos anos, a maior competição por luz, nutrientes (Ghezehei et al, 2015) e menor taxa de mortalidade (Schumacher et al, 2011), faz com que os espaçamentos mais amplos consigam obter produtividades (Silva et al, 2016) e estocagem de carbono similares. O crescimento e maior volume de madeira das plantas tem relação direta com a estocagem de carbono, e são afetadas por fatores como qualidade do solo (Ueda et al, 2017), competição por luz (Coonen & Sillett, 2015), resistência a seca (Hänke et al, 2016), temperatura do local (Chen et al, 2017) e a susceptibilidade a pragas e doenças (Bett et al, 2016).…”

Section: Discussionunclassified

Balanço De Carbono Em Monocultivo De Eucalipto Com Diferentes Arranjos Espaciais

Brianezi

Jacovine

Schettini

et al. 2019

RBAS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As plantações de eucalipto podem compensar as emissões de gases com efeito estufa (GEE) das atividades de fertilização e plantio, devido à capacidade das árvores em armazenar carbono na forma de biomassa. O objetivo deste estudo foi estimar o sequestro de carbono em plantações de eucalipto com diferentes densidades de instalação. O estudo foi conduzido no município de Lamim, no estado de Minas Gerais - Brasil, numa plantação de eucalipto dividida em quatro áreas de 0,25 ha com diferentes densidades de instalação. O diâmetro à altura do peito e altura total dos indivíduos foram obtidos por inventário florestal. A biomassa foi calculada pela multiplicação do volume e densidade básica da madeira. As emissões de GEE foram calculadas a partir dos dados de fertilização e calagem. O reservatório de carbono (90,94 MgCO2eq ha-1) e as emissões de GEE foram superiores no espaçamento de 2 x 1 m. A menor emissão de GEE por m3 de madeira produzido foi no espaçamento 2 x 2 m. O balanço de carbono foi positivo em todos os espaçamentos avaliados. Foi possível concluir que as florestas de Eucalipto são capazes de compensar as emissões de GEE da fertilização nitrogenada e calagem em plantações pouco tecnificadas.

show abstract

“…However, detailed analyses of the nature of the woody plant species that now colonize the re-greened Sahelian agrosystems are rare. These have been largely confined to surveys of local people's perceptions of changes in woody plant species since the 1970s-1980s droughts (Sop & Oldeland, 2013, Hänke et al, 2016 and plant inventories at the scale of village landscapes (Hänke et al, 2016, Savadogo et al, 2016. Comprehensive data over a larger scale are urgently needed.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Re-greening of agrosystems in the Burkina Faso Sahel: greater drought resilience but falling woody plant diversity

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Summary Droughts and land degradation result in biodiversity and ecosystem service losses with serious implications for human wellbeing. The Sahel region has seen increased plant cover since the end of 1970s–1980s droughts, but understanding the nature and implications of this change remains a priority. This study aimed to assess changes in the woody floristic composition of re-greened agrosystems since the droughts in Burkina Faso. In 148 vegetation survey plots distributed across areas with increasing woody plant cover and those to some extent protected from exploitation, a total of 71 species from 51 genera and 23 families were identified. Compared to pre-drought flora, our measurements show a decline in the diversity and density of woody species. Combretaceae species and thorny species of the genera Acacia and Balanites, which are more tolerant of drought, were the most dominant, indicating a post-drought woody vegetation that is more resistant to water stress. The increased presence of food-producing species in agroforestry parks (cultivated fields with woody plants) seems to reflect the growing needs of the human population.

show abstract

Drought tolerant species dominate as rainfall and tree cover returns in the West African Sahel

Cited by 48 publications

References 44 publications

Vegetation changes over the past two decades in a West African savanna ecosystem

Vegetation changes over the past two decades in a West African savanna ecosystem

Balanço De Carbono Em Monocultivo De Eucalipto Com Diferentes Arranjos Espaciais

Re-greening of agrosystems in the Burkina Faso Sahel: greater drought resilience but falling woody plant diversity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About