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5 results for “bush encroachment”
Livestock management promotes bush encroachment in savanna systems by altering plant-herbivore feedback
<p>This repository contains all code to reproduce the analysis in Koch et al. 2022 "Livestock management promotes bush encroachment in savanna systems by altering plant-herbivore feedback".</p> <p>We use a set of coupled differential equations to describe competition between shrubs and grasses, as well as plant biomass consumption via grazing and browsing. Grazers were assumed to receive a certain level of care from farmers, so that grazer densities emerge dynamically from the combined effect of vegetation abundance and farmer<br>support. Our main goal was to understand how critical transitions from grass-dominated to shrub-dominated system states were affected by the dynamic role of grazing.</p> <p>Our results show that bistability emerges for intermediate levels of farmer support due to positive feedback that arises from competition between shrubs and grasses and from herbivory. We furthermore demonstrate that disturbances, such as drought events, trigger abrupt transitions from the grass dominated to the shrub dominated state and that the system becomes more susceptible to disturbances with increasing farmer support.</p>
Livestock management promotes bush encroachment in savanna systems by altering plant-herbivore feedback
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Data from: Repeated clearing as a mechanism for savanna recovery following bush encroachment
<p>Many savannas are experiencing increased cover of trees and shrubs, resulting in reduced herbaceous productivity, shifts in savanna functional structure, and potential reductions in ecotourism. Clearing woody plants has been suggested as an effective management strategy to mitigate these effects and restore these systems to an open state with higher rates of grass production and herbivory. This study investigated the effectiveness of repeated shrub clearing as a tool to mitigate bush encroachment in a semi-arid savanna in Southern Africa.</p> <p>We present data from a 7-year experiment in the Mthimkhulu Game Reserve bordering Kruger National Park, South Africa. <em>Colophospermum mopane</em> stems and re-sprouting shoots were basally cut 2-3 times per year (2015-2022) in 3 pairs of treatment and control plots of 60 m x 60 m. We monitored changes in soil moisture, grass biomass, and herbivore activity via dung counts. We assessed <em>C. mopane</em> physiological responses to repeated cutting using non-structural carbohydrates and stable water isotopes to infer changes to energy storage and functional rooting depth, respectively.</p> <p>The cleared treatment had higher soil moisture and grass biomass than the control treatment. Dung counts showed impala and buffalo visited the cleared treatment more frequently than the control treatment.</p> <p>Repeated cutting had limited effects on <em>C. mopane</em> survival in the first 2-3 years after initial clearing, but 80% of individuals were dead after 7 years. Repeatedly cut <em>C. mopane</em> had lower belowground starch concentrations and used water from shallower soil depths than <em>C. mopane</em> in control plots.</p> <p><em>Synthesis and applications</em>: Repeated cutting increased soil moisture availability and grass biomass, and attracted charismatic grazing herbivores. While more costly than once-off clearing methods, this practice created more employment opportunities for a neighbouring rural community. Transforming portions of the ecosystem to a grass-dominated state may increase ecotourism potential through improved game viewing in open systems.</p>
Mapping the potential habitat suitability, and opportunities of bush encroacher species in Southern Africa: a case study of the SteamBioAfrica project.
<p>Senegalia mellifera (Benth) Seigler & Ebinger. , Dichrostachys cinerea (L.) Wight & Arn. and Terminalia sericea Burch. Ex DC., are three important bush encroacher species that contribute to the well-known ecological process named "thicketization" in Southern Africa. This issue has persisted for many years, impacting species distribution, plant communities, soil, and fauna dynamics. According to climate change projections, Southern Africa is expected to become drier and warmer in future scenarios, creating favourable conditions for proliferation of bush encroacher species.</p> <p>In the paper, we analyze the habitat suitability of these bush encroachers through MaxEnt 3.4.4 under three different future climate models and scenarios. Future projections were made using the shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs) for greenhouse gas concentrations, specifically SSP245-585 across two-time horizons: 2041-2060 and 2061-2180. We utilized <a href="https://www.worldclim.org/data/cmip6/cmip6climate.html">WorldClim 1-km resolution climate data</a> from three global Earth System Models (ESMs) from the sixth phase of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) that obtained better results than CMIP5 models (Bouramdane 2022; Mmame and Ngongondo 2024): the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology Earth System Model (MPI-ESM1.2-HR), the Hadley Climate Center Earth System Model (UK-ESM1.0-LL) and the Institute Model for Numerical Mathematics (INM-CM5-0). </p>
Data from: Repeated clearing as a mechanism for savanna recovery following bush encroachment
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