SATCHMO: A spatial simulation model of growth, competition, and mortality in cycling savanna patches

Meyer, Katrin; Wiegand, Kerstin; Ward, David; Moustakas, Aristides

doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2007.07.001

Cited by 34 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Thus, taller trees produce more seeds. Shrubs shorter than 104 cm did not produce seeds (see also Meyer et al 2007b). The tallest trees were all in sandy habitats, with one individual reaching 7 m.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Further studies will be needed to elucidate this issue. Meyer et al (2007b) used a spatially explicit model to predict changes in the cover and number of A. mellifera in our study site. In their model, they found that three of the four most important sensitivity parameters for density of plants were related to soil moisture, namely interception of moisture by shrubs, field moisture capacity of the soil and cumulative amount of moisture available to seeds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What are the effects of substrate and grass removal on recruitment of Acacia mellifera seedlings in a semi-arid environment?

Ward

Esler

2010

Plant Ecol

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Acacia mellifera is one of the most important encroaching woody plants in southern African savannas. Previous studies found that this species encroaches far more readily on rocky areas than on sandy substrates, although it grows larger on sandy substrates. Rocky substrates are known to retain more water than sandy substrates, which may be of vital importance during recruitment in semi-arid and arid environments. A number of studies have also indicated that competition with grasses may reduce the recruitment and biomass of tree seedlings. We created an experiment in a semi-arid environment (mean annual rainfall = 388 mm) that tested for the effects of rockiness on A. mellifera recruitment. We also tested the hypothesis that grasses effectively compete with A. mellifera in this environment by simulating the effect of grazing by clipping grasses from half the plots in both the rocky and sandy treatments. Significantly more A. mellifera seedlings established in plots where grasses were clipped than in control plots. A. mellifera seedlings had greater biomass on sandy substrates than on rocky substrates. No significant interaction effects were found between substrate and grass clipping treatment for either seedling number or biomass. We conclude that A. mellifera seedlings are more likely to encroach in habitats with low grass density, although they may achieve greater biomass on sandy soils. Thus, it may be the lower grass density rather than rockiness, which increases the encroachment observed in naturally rocky habitats. These results are also consistent with our observations that adult A. mellifera trees are larger on sandy soils than on rocky soils.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What are the effects of substrate and grass removal on recruitment of Acacia mellifera seedlings in a semi-arid environment?

Ward

Esler

2010

Plant Ecol

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“…Recent work suggests that these models are not necessarily mutually incompatible but may be complementary when integrated in a multiscalar framework, especially in semi-arid savannas. The debate has therefore stimulated new research, developing models of treegrass coexistence, including spatial components, to explain the distribution of different species at landscape scale (Meyer et al, 2007b;Wiegand et al, 2008). This research has confirmed, for specific locations, that bush encroachment is a patch dynamic state of the savanna biome that is driven by a number of factors acting asynchronously.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Long-term resilience, bush encroachment patterns and local knowledge in a Northeast African savanna

Gil‐Romera

Lamb

Turton

et al. 2010

Global Environmental Change

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“…Once woody cover surpasses~40%, light attenuation occurs [43,45]. A reduction of light reduces C4 grass biomass as they are adapted to greater light intensity [46].…”

Section: Woody Regimementioning

confidence: 99%

Woody Encroachment as a Social-Ecological Regime Shift

et al. 2018

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African savannas are increasingly affected by woody encroachment, an increase in the density of woody plants. Woody encroachment often occurs unexpectedly, is difficult to reverse, and has significant economic, cultural and ecological implications. The process of woody encroachment represents a so-called regime shift that results from feedback loops that link vegetation and variables such as fire, grazing and water availability. Much of the work on woody encroachment has focused on the direct drivers of the process, such as the role of fire or grazing in inhibiting or promoting encroachment. However, little work has been done on how ecological changes may provide feedback to affect some of the underlying social processes driving woody encroachment. In this paper, we build on the ecological literature on encroachment to present a qualitative systems analysis of woody encroachment as a social-ecological regime shift. Our analysis highlights the underlying indirect role of human population growth, and we distinguish the key social-ecological processes underlying woody encroachment in arid versus mesic African savannas. The analysis we present helps synthesize the impacts of encroachment, the drivers and feedbacks that play a key role and identify potential social and ecological leverage points to prevent or reverse the woody encroachment process.

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SATCHMO: A spatial simulation model of growth, competition, and mortality in cycling savanna patches

Cited by 34 publications

References 41 publications

What are the effects of substrate and grass removal on recruitment of Acacia mellifera seedlings in a semi-arid environment?

What are the effects of substrate and grass removal on recruitment of Acacia mellifera seedlings in a semi-arid environment?

Long-term resilience, bush encroachment patterns and local knowledge in a Northeast African savanna

Woody Encroachment as a Social-Ecological Regime Shift

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