Alternate Grassy Ecosystem States Are Determined by Palatability-Flammability Trade-Offs

Gareth P Hempson; Sally Archibald; Jason E Donaldson; Caroline E R Lehmann

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.007

Alternate Grassy Ecosystem States Are Determined by Palatability-Flammability Trade-Offs

Trends Ecol Evol. 2019 Apr;34(4):286-290. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.007. Epub 2019 Feb 18.

Authors

Gareth P Hempson¹, Sally Archibald², Jason E Donaldson³, Caroline E R Lehmann⁴

Affiliations

¹ Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa; South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON), Ndlovu Node, Phalaborwa Gate, Kruger National Park, 1390, South Africa. Electronic address: ghempson@gmail.com.
² Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa.
³ Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa; Department of Biology, Wake Forest University, 049 Winston Hall, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA.
⁴ Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2050, South Africa; School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH9 3FF, UK. Electronic address: Caroline.Lehmann@ed.ac.uk.

PMID: 30791976
DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.007

Abstract

Fire and mammalian grazers both consume grasses, and feedbacks between grass species, their functional traits, and consumers have profound effects on grassy ecosystem structure worldwide, such that savanna and grassland states determined by fire or grazing can be considered alternate states. These parallel savanna-forest alternate states, which likewise have myriad cascading ecosystem impacts.

Keywords: fire; forest; grass; grazers; grazing lawn; savanna.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Animals
Ecosystem*
Fires*
Forests
Mammals
Poaceae