The hard lives of trees in African savanna—Even without elephants

The ongoing loss of large trees and densification of shrubs are two prevalent processes that take place in African savannas, with profound consequences for their structure and function. We evaluated herbivore impacts on savanna woody communities using a long-term exclosure experiment in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, with three treatments: the exclusion of large mammals only (i.e. elephant and giraffe), exclusion of all herbivores larger than a hare, and areas open to all herbivores. We asked three questions: (1) How did variable exclusion of herbivores affect woody density and structure across the catena (i.e. riparian, sodic and crest vegetation)? (2) Did the exclusion of herbivores result in unique woody species composition? (3) Did herbivore exclusion result in a higher proportion of palatable species? After 17 years, we found that herbivores mainly affected the heights and densities of existing species, rather than leading to turnover of woody species assemblages. Although densities of individuals increased in the full exclosure (350 ha⁻¹), the change was more moderate than expected. By contrast, mixed mega-and meso-herbivores decreased the number of trees and shrubs (decreases of 780 ha⁻¹) via a variety of physical impacts. Meso-herbivores alone, on the other hand, had less impact on individual density (i.e. no change), but limited average height growth and canopy dimensions in certain habitat types. Where elephants are present, they are effective at reducing the density of woody stems to the point of counteracting woody encroachment, but at the same time are actively preventing the persistence of large trees (>5 m) as well as preventing trees from recruiting to larger size classes. However, the lack of massive recruitment and woody cover increases with elephant exclusion, especially for more preferred species, suggests that factors beyond elephants, such as dispersal limitation, seed predation, and drought, are also acting upon species.     

The ecological impact of bush encroachment on the yield of grasses in Borana rangeland ecosystem

The ecological impact of woody encroachment and the responses of herbage yield to encroachment were assessed at three locations in Borana rangeland at the end of the growing season. The study was carried out in two communal grazing areas (Medhecho and Dubluk) and one Government ranch (Dida‐Tuyura) in bush and/or shrub encroached and non‐encroached sites. In each area, three altitude ranges were distinguished and in each altitude range one transect, covering both encroached and non‐encroached rangeland, was selected. The assessment was based on the yield and botanical composition of the herbaceous layer. The grasses Cenchrus ciliaris, Chrysopogon aucheri and Panicum coloratum were common or dominant in both encroached and non‐encroached sites. Pennisetum mezianum and Pennise‐tum stramineum were typically found in encroached vegetation. The relative yield increased with non‐encroached sites and varied at different altitude ranges from about 106% to about 150%, thus increases ranged from 75% in Medhecho to 350% in Dubluk as determined from the lower values of the ranges. The encroached vegetation had a significantly lower score for herbage yield than the non‐encroached vegetation for most of the sites, although the differences were small. Differences based on altitude range were also significant for Eragrostis papposa and Pennisetum stramineum, while the three areas showed a significant difference for the mean yield of Aristida adscensionis, Cenchrus ciliaris and Eragrostis papposa.     

荒漠草原向灌丛地转变过程中两种优势植物种子萌发及阈值特征

选取宁夏荒漠草原人为灌丛地转变过程中的两种优势种沙芦草（Agropyron mongolicum）和柠条锦鸡儿（Caragana korshinskii）为对象,利用不同浓度PEG条件下的种子萌发特性来探究其在干旱胁迫下植被更新萌发特征,结果表明：柠条锦鸡儿平均初始萌发时间早于沙芦草14 h,且柠条锦鸡儿吸水率低于沙芦草,分别为201.21%、293.43%;柠条锦鸡儿和沙芦草种子萌发率和萌发速率均随渗透势的升高呈先上升后下降趋势,且均在-0.02 MPa时萌发率最高,分别为28.67%、44.67%,在-1.2 MPa时最低,分别为6.67%、1.33%;两者萌发速率均在-0.02 MPa时达到最大,分别为12.84%、9.52%,且柠条锦鸡儿起始萌发天数少于沙芦草1-4 d;通过S型生长曲线和线性模型模拟种子萌发水势和萌发率关系,分析得出柠条锦鸡儿萌发水势阈值范围为-0.3--0.86 MPa、沙芦草为-0.3--0.65 MPa,灌木柠条锦鸡儿种子萌发水势阈值范围低于多年生禾草沙芦草。以上结果表明灌丛引入下的荒漠草原在未来干旱条件下,其灌丛柠条锦鸡儿种子在植被更新中较沙芦草更具萌发优势。     

青藏高原木本植物扩张对生长季地表昼夜温度的影响

木本植物扩张或灌丛化是全球性的生态环境问题。近年来青藏高原发生了大规模的木本植物扩张。然而木本植物在青藏高原扩张的时空分布特征及其对局地地表温度(LST)如何影响尚不清楚。基于MODIS土地覆盖产品识别出青藏高原木本植物扩张的空间分布,并利用移动窗口搜索法,探究其对生长季昼夜LST的影响规律及成因。结果表明,2001至2018年木本植物扩张的范围和程度均整体呈增加的趋势。在2018年,木本植物扩张使生长季白天LST降低(2.60±0.34)℃,夜间LST增加(0.94±0.22)℃,净效应使日均LST降低(0.83±0.24)℃。产生这种现象的原因是蒸散发增加((+13.46±6.65)mm/a)等引发的降温效应超过了以反照率减少(-0.031±0.003)为代表的增温效应。气候背景对该影响的空间分布具有相当的控制作用,即降水主导着白天LST的改变,但气温在夜间LST变化中占据更重要的地位。总体上,在气温越低、降水率越高、高程越低的地方发生的木本植物扩张更倾向于降低局地LST。与同一年中越湿润的地方越倾向于降温“相悖”的是,在不同的水文年,更干旱的年份对白天LST具有更强的降温作用,这...     

How widespread is woody plant encroachment in temperate Australia? Changes in woody vegetation cover in lowland woodland and coastal ecosystems in Victoria from 1989 to 2005

Aim Encroachment or densification by woody plants affects natural ecosystems around the world. Many studies have reported encroachment in temperate Australia, particularly in coastal ecosystems and grassy woodlands. However, the degree to which published studies reflect broad-scale changes is unknown because most studies intentionally sampled areas with conspicuous densification. We aimed to estimate changes in woody vegetation cover within lowland grassy woodland and coastal ecosystems in Victoria from 1989 to 2005 to determine whether published reports of recent encroachment are representative of broad-scale ecosystem changes. Location All lowland grassy woodland and coastal ecosystems (c. 6.11 × 10⁵ ha) in Victoria, Australia. Four major ecosystems were analysed: Plains woodlands, Herb-rich woodlands, Riverine woodlands and Coastal vegetation. Methods Changes in woody vegetation cover from 1989 to 2005 were assessed based on state-wide vegetation maps and Landsat analyses of woody vegetation cover conducted by the Australian Greenhouse Office’s National Carbon Accounting System. The results show changes in woody cover within mapped patches of native vegetation, rather than changes in the extent of woody vegetation resulting from clearing and revegetation. Results When pooled across all ecosystems, woody vegetation increased by 18,730 ha from 1989 to 2005. Woody cover within Riverine woodlands and within Plains woodlands each increased by >7000 ha. At the patch scale, the mean percentage cover of woody vegetation in each polygon increased by >5% in all four ecosystems: Riverine woodlands (+9.2% on average), Herb-rich woodlands (+7.6%), Plains woodlands (+6.7%) and Coastal vegetation (+5.9%). Regression models relating degree of encroachment to geographic and climatic variables were extremely weak (r² ≤ 0.026), indicating that most variation occurred at local scales rather than across broad geographic gradients. Main conclusions At the scale of observation, woody vegetation cover increased in all lowland woodland and coastal ecosystems over the 16-year period. Thus, published examples of encroachment in selected coastal and woodland patches do appear to reflect widespread increases in woody vegetation cover in these ecosystems. This densification appears to be associated with changes in land management rather than with post-fire vegetation recovery and is likely to be ongoing and long-lasting, with substantial implications for biodiversity conservation and ecosystem services.