Tree Community Dynamics in a Humid Savanna of the Cote-d'Ivoire: Modelling the Effects of Fire and Competition with Grass and Neighbours

Structure, Long-Term Dynamics, and Demography of the Tree Community

“…Our results at this stage do not enable us to validate the clump formation mechanism proposed by Menaut et al [53], partly because reality is more complex than model assumptions (i.e., fire is not the only cause of tree aggregation). We would require more detailed analysis based on tree size and grass presence to check whether tree recruitment is favored in grass-free areas.…”

“…50% over 25 years), there is an important qualitative difference: fire-sensitive species (first Terminalia shimperiana and Ficus sur, then edge and forest species) appear in the densest parts of the plots, apparently initiating a succession like that observed in the unburned savanna plots. The mechanism explaining this evolution in dense plots is probably that hypothesized by Gignoux [36] and Menaut et al [53]: when tree density locally increases, some dense tree clumps may appear at random (due to the initial pattern of the tree community); once a clump is established, it becomes a fire safe site where the recruitment of fire-sensitive species is possible. This idea seems confirmed by the comparison of plots G and I.…”

“…• Due to lower fuel (grass phytomass) loads in tree clumps, fire sensitive species should tend to have a clumped pattern [53,67].…”

Interannual Changes of Fire Activity in the Protected Areas of the SUN Network and Other Parks and Reserves of the West and Central Africa Region Derived from MODIS Observations

“…The temporal aspects of the fire regimes have been largely studied to support ecological assessments of the savanna ecosystem in the Southern Africa region [3][4][5][6][7][8][9] as well as in West Africa [10][11][12][13][14]. The combine effects of fire frequency and burning intensity have a direct impact on the respective proportions of grass, shrub and tree vegetation.…”

Root foraging strategies and soil patchiness in a humid savanna

“…At the 10 to 100 m 2 scale, the nutrient enriched patches are located under clumps (Mordelet et al, 1993) and mounds (Abbadie et al, 1992a). Clumps are considered to be favoured and maintained by fire (Hochberg et al, 1994;Menaut et al, 1990) and mounds are mainly attributed to termite activity.…”