Dynamics of Savannas in Swaziland: Encroachment of Woody Plants in Relation to Land Use and Soil Classes and Indigenous Knowledge on Plants Utilization

Tefera, Solomon; Dlamini, B.J.; Dlamini, A.M.

doi:10.3923/rjb.2008.49.64

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 35 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, protected area managers should be able to aggressively thin shrubs to increase the abundance of large-bodied terrestrial mammals without losing bird species (Soto-Shoender et al, 2018), while community leaders on homestead lands (where large-bodied wild mammals rarely occur) may want to encourage people to retain shrubby vegetation, which should attract more birds without displacing the shrub-avoiding species that presently occupy homestead lands. Additional ancillary benefits to retaining shrubs on homestead lands might include: reduction of soil erosion; additional livestock forage; and natural pest control and pollination services provided by birds and beneficial insects that respond positively to shrub cover (Tefera, Dlamini, & Dlamini, 2008;Blaum et al, 2009;Morandin, Long & Kremen, 2016;Xiong, Sun, & Chen, 2018). Second, retaining suitable vegetation structure in community pastures and homestead lands should promote species' occurrence to a similar degree across bird diets, so managers probably do not need to promote specific plant species to see increased bird occurrence.…”

Section: Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of shrub encroachment on bird occupancy vary with land use in an African savanna

Stanton

Fletcher

Sibiya

et al. 2020

Animal Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Land-cover and land-use change are major drivers of global biodiversity loss. Savannas are experiencing shrub encroachment and land-use changes that affect animal communities, yet how the effects of shrub encroachment vary with land use remains unclear. We also need to determine which species traits explain the effects of shrub encroachment and land-use changes to identify potential drivers of community change and predict species' responses to conservation efforts. We sampled birds across gradients of shrub encroachment and land use (protected savanna, pastures, homestead lands, and sugarcane) in the lowveld savanna of Eswatini to: (1) test for the effects of shrub encroachment, land-use change, and their potential synergies on the occurrence of 48 species of birds; and (2) determine which species traits (those associated with nesting, foraging, or vulnerability to predation) explained species' associations with shrub encroachment and land-use change. We used Bayesian multispecies occupancy models to account for imperfect detection, interpret species responses, and understand the effects of species traits. We found evidence for community-wide synergies between shrub encroachment and land-use effects on birds that varied with species' diets. Agricultural intensification had negative effects on the occurrence of most species examined, while shrub cover typically had positive effects which were stronger in pastures and homestead lands than in protected areas. The negative effects of land-use change were greatest for insectivores and cavity nesters, whereas insectivore occurrence increased with shrub cover, collectively indicating that nesting and foraging traits best explained species responses to land-use and land-cover change in the region. Our results suggest that shrub cover management for bird conservation should vary with land use: shrubs could be thinned in protected areas without reducing bird occupancy but shrubs in homesteads should be retained.

show abstract

Section: Conservation Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effects of shrub encroachment on bird occupancy vary with land use in an African savanna

Stanton

Fletcher

Sibiya

et al. 2020

Animal Conservation

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The variations in the composition of dominant woody plants could also be explained by landscape patches and heterogeneity both within each site and between sites, which is a function of rainfall variability (Sankaran et al 2005) and soil fertility (Boone 2005, Tefera et al 2008. Pastoralists' descriptions of dominant woody vegetation may suggest that the landscape consists of patches of land highly encroached or not encroached, as suggested by patch dynamics (Meyer et al 2009).…”

Section: Woody Vegetation Composition As Perceived By Pastoralistsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pastoralists’ Perception and Ecological Knowledge on Savanna Ecosystem Dynamics in Semi-arid Botswana

Kgosikoma¹,

Mojeremane²,

Harvie³

2012

E&S

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. We investigated vegetation dynamics in relation to livestock grazing as perceived by pastoral farmers in different regions of Botswana. A structured questionnaire was used to collect farmers' understanding of vegetation changes and causes within three different grazing lands. The pastoral farmers' description of dominant vegetation differed significantly both at the local and district level, which suggests that rangelands consist of patches dominated by different grasses and woody vegetation. Most pastoralists indicated that grass composition has undergone changes, and unpalatable grasses such as Aristida congesta and Megaloprotachne albescens are increasing. The different factors perceived by pastoral farmers to cause changes in vegetation composition included rainfall, overgrazing, and fire. Bush encroachment is considered to be more common in communal grazing land than in ranches. According to pastoral farmers, the ranching system is less degrading to the environment and more sustainable for livestock production than is communal grazing.

show abstract

“…fire, rainfall and herbivores on the encroachment of woody species (Stevens et al, 2016). Despite such efforts mechanisms regulating savanna tree populations are still not well understood (Holdo et al, 2009;Tefera et al, 2008).…”

Section: Woody Plant Encroachment In Savannasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Along each transect, encroaching trees were identified and counted in plots and bare ground cover was visually estimated (Monteiro et al, 2018). Multi-stemmed woody plants were considered as separate individuals if they were >40 cm apart (Tefera et al, 2008). Data obtained were used in analysis of abundance, structure and composition of woody plant species.…”

Section: Sampling Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Encroachment dynamics of Acacia drepanolobium in Maswa game reserve

Kimaro¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Habitat degradation, caused in particular by woody plant encroachment, has been a common phenomenon in savanna ecosystems. With increasing woody plant cover in open savanna grassland, structural changes and their associated impact need to be assessed and quantified. We analyzed the extent of woody plant encroachment via remote sensing and assessed encroached sites and open grassland of Maswa Game Reserve on the ground to identify and examine encroaching woody plant species and their associated impacts on herbaceous plant and herbivore species. We found that woody plant cover increased by 0.5% to 2.6% per annum. Acacia drepanolobium dominated the woody encroaching species, and the number of stems in heavily encroached sites was seven times and three times higher than in open grassland and at medium encroached sites, respectively. Our results show that woody plant encroachment reduces grazers and mixed feeder species occurrence. Furthermore, the number of herbaceous species slightly increased with increase of woody plant encroachment, while herbaceous cover was negatively correlated with increase of woody plant cover. Fire significantly reduced germination success of A. drepanolobium. Intermediate simulated rainfall was more beneficial to seedling emergence success than infrequent simulated rainfall, while seedling shoots growth was significantly higher in frequent and intermediate simulated rainfall treatments than under infrequent simulated rainfall. Hence, our study suggests that the recent bush encroachment phenomena might have been stipulated by suppression of bush fires and frequent low rainfall. This understanding will contribute in management of vegetation specifically woody plants in savanna ecosystems that are important wildlife habitats.

show abstract

Dynamics of Savannas in Swaziland: Encroachment of Woody Plants in Relation to Land Use and Soil Classes and Indigenous Knowledge on Plants Utilization

Cited by 7 publications

References 35 publications

The effects of shrub encroachment on bird occupancy vary with land use in an African savanna

The effects of shrub encroachment on bird occupancy vary with land use in an African savanna

Pastoralists’ Perception and Ecological Knowledge on Savanna Ecosystem Dynamics in Semi-arid Botswana

Encroachment dynamics of Acacia drepanolobium in Maswa game reserve

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Dynamics of Savannas in Swaziland: Encroachment of Woody Plants in Relation to Land Use and Soil Classes and Indigenous Knowledge on Plants Utilization

Cited by 7 publications

References 35 publications

The effects of shrub encroachment on bird occupancy vary with land use in an African savanna

The effects of shrub encroachment on bird occupancy vary with land use in an African savanna

Pastoralists&#8217; Perception and Ecological Knowledge on Savanna Ecosystem Dynamics in Semi-arid Botswana

Encroachment dynamics of Acacia drepanolobium in Maswa game reserve

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About

Pastoralists’ Perception and Ecological Knowledge on Savanna Ecosystem Dynamics in Semi-arid Botswana