Woody encroachment and its consequences on hydrological processes in the savannah

Honda, Eliane Akiko; Durigan, Giselda

doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0313

Cited by 86 publications

(81 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…Savannas are mixed tree-grass systems that are characterised by a continuous grass layer and a discontinuous tree layer [5], and support a range of livelihoods, economic activities and biodiversity [2,6]. Savannas are home to 505 million people in Africa, most of whom rely directly on these ecosystems for their livelihoods [7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Woody encroachment is a shift from a grassy savanna to a persistently woody savanna, and typically involves indigenous woody species rather than invasive alien species [1,3]. Woody encroachment threatens the provision of ecosystem services such as food and clean water, grazing for livestock farming, and habitats for some of the world's last remaining mega herbivores [6,8,9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Woody Encroachment as a Social-Ecological Regime Shift

et al. 2018

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“…Honda & Durigan [59] provide, for the first time, estimates of rainfall partitioning in the cerrado and demonstrate how fire suppression, indirectly via woody encroachment, can reduce rain interception. Given many TGB regions are experiencing woody encroachment, this is a reminder of the functional role of disturbance in the provision of water resources.…”

Section: Human Use and Valuementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Active suppression of fire in the savannah regions of Asia and Brazil in particular has facilitated woody or weed encroachment [59,75]. The increasing extent of roads and fences act as fire breaks and also prohibit large-scale animal movements [6].…”

Section: Drivers Of Changementioning

confidence: 99%

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Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation

Lehmann

Parr

2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Tropical grassy biomes (TGBs) are changing rapidly the world over through a coalescence of high rates of land-use change, global change and altered disturbance regimes that maintain the ecosystem structure and function of these biomes. Our theme issue brings together the latest research examining the characterization, complex ecology, drivers of change, and human use and ecosystem services of TGBs. Recent advances in ecology and evolution have facilitated a new perspective on these biomes. However, there continues to be controversies over their classification and state dynamics that demonstrate critical data and knowledge gaps in our quantitative understanding of these geographically dispersed regions. We highlight an urgent need to improve ecological understanding in order to effectively predict the sensitivity and resilience of TGBs under future scenarios of global change. With human reliance on TGBs increasing and their propensity for change, ecological and evolutionary understanding of these biomes is central to the dual goals of sustaining their ecological integrity and the diverse services these landscapes provide to millions of people. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation’.

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Assessing the Roles of Fire Frequency and Precipitation in Determining Woody Plant Expansion in Central U.S. Grasslands

et al. 2017

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Woody plant expansion into grasslands and savannas is occurring and accelerating worldwide and often impacts ecosystem processes. Understanding and predicting the environmental and ecological impacts of encroachment has led to a variety of methodologies for assessing its onset, transition, and stability, generally relying on dynamical systems approaches. Here we continue this general line of investigation to facilitate the understanding of the roles of precipitation frequency and intensity and fire frequency on the conversion of grasslands to woody‐dominated systems focusing on the central United States. A low‐dimensional model with stochastic precipitation and fire disturbance is introduced to examine the complex interactions between precipitation and fire as mechanisms that may suppress or facilitate increases in woody cover. By using Lyapunov exponents, we are able to ascertain the relative control exerted on woody encroachment through these mechanisms. Our results indicate that precipitation frequency is a more important control on woody encroachment than the intensity of individual precipitation events. Fire, however, exerts a much more dominant impact on the limitation of encroachment over the range of precipitation variability considered here. These results indicate that fire management may be an effective strategy to slow the onset of woody species into grasslands. While climate change might predict a reduced potential for woody encroachment in the near future, these results indicate a reduction in woody fraction may be unlikely when considering anthropogenic fire suppression.

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Woody encroachment and its consequences on hydrological processes in the savannah

Cited by 86 publications

References 62 publications

Woody Encroachment as a Social-Ecological Regime Shift

Woody Encroachment as a Social-Ecological Regime Shift

Tropical grassy biomes: linking ecology, human use and conservation

Assessing the Roles of Fire Frequency and Precipitation in Determining Woody Plant Expansion in Central U.S. Grasslands

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