Savanna Vegetation-Fire-Climate Relationships Differ Among Continents

Caroline Lehmann; Michael Anderson; Mahesh Sankaran; Steven Higgins; Sally Archibald; William Hoffmann; Niall Hanan; Richard J Williams; Roderick Fensham; Jeanine Felfili; Lindsay Hutley; Jayashree Ratnam; Jose San Jose; Ruben Montes; Donald Franklin; Jeremy Russell-Smith; Casey Ryan; Giselda Durigan; Pierre Hiernaux; Ricardo Haidar; David Bowman; William Bond

doi:10.1126/science.1247355

Savanna Vegetation-Fire-Climate Relationships Differ Among Continents

Caroline Lehmann, Michael Anderson, Mahesh Sankaran, Steven Higgins, Sally Archibald, William Hoffmann, Niall Hanan, Richard J Williams, Roderick Fensham, Jeanine Felfili, Lindsay Hutley, Jayashree Ratnam, Jose San Jose, Ruben Montes, Donald Franklin, Jeremy Russell-Smith, Casey Ryan, Giselda Durigan, Pierre Hiernaux, Ricardo HaidarDavid Bowman, William Bond

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

Abstract

Ecologists have long sought to understand the factors controlling the structure of savanna vegetation. Using data from 2154 sites in savannas across Africa, Australia, and South America, we found that increasing moisture availability drives increases in fire and tree basal area, whereas fire reduces tree basal area. However, among continents, the magnitude of these effects varied substantially, so that a single model cannot adequately represent savanna woody biomass across these regions. Historical and environmental differences drive the regional variation in the functional relationships between woody vegetation, fire, and climate. These same differences will determine the regional responses of vegetation to future climates, with implications for global carbon stocks.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	548-552
Number of pages	5
Journal	Science
Volume	343
Issue number	6170
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1247355
Publication status	Published - 2014

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Lehmann, C., Anderson, M., Sankaran, M., Higgins, S., Archibald, S., Hoffmann, W., Hanan, N., Williams, R. J., Fensham, R., Felfili, J., Hutley, L., Ratnam, J., San Jose, J., Montes, R., Franklin, D., Russell-Smith, J., Ryan, C., Durigan, G., Hiernaux, P., ... Bond, W. (2014). Savanna Vegetation-Fire-Climate Relationships Differ Among Continents. Science, 343(6170), 548-552. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1247355

Lehmann, Caroline ; Anderson, Michael ; Sankaran, Mahesh ; Higgins, Steven ; Archibald, Sally ; Hoffmann, William ; Hanan, Niall ; Williams, Richard J ; Fensham, Roderick ; Felfili, Jeanine ; Hutley, Lindsay ; Ratnam, Jayashree ; San Jose, Jose ; Montes, Ruben ; Franklin, Donald ; Russell-Smith, Jeremy ; Ryan, Casey ; Durigan, Giselda ; Hiernaux, Pierre ; Haidar, Ricardo ; Bowman, David ; Bond, William. / Savanna Vegetation-Fire-Climate Relationships Differ Among Continents. In: Science. 2014 ; Vol. 343, No. 6170. pp. 548-552.

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title = "Savanna Vegetation-Fire-Climate Relationships Differ Among Continents",

abstract = "Ecologists have long sought to understand the factors controlling the structure of savanna vegetation. Using data from 2154 sites in savannas across Africa, Australia, and South America, we found that increasing moisture availability drives increases in fire and tree basal area, whereas fire reduces tree basal area. However, among continents, the magnitude of these effects varied substantially, so that a single model cannot adequately represent savanna woody biomass across these regions. Historical and environmental differences drive the regional variation in the functional relationships between woody vegetation, fire, and climate. These same differences will determine the regional responses of vegetation to future climates, with implications for global carbon stocks.",

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author = "Caroline Lehmann and Michael Anderson and Mahesh Sankaran and Steven Higgins and Sally Archibald and William Hoffmann and Niall Hanan and Williams, {Richard J} and Roderick Fensham and Jeanine Felfili and Lindsay Hutley and Jayashree Ratnam and {San Jose}, Jose and Ruben Montes and Donald Franklin and Jeremy Russell-Smith and Casey Ryan and Giselda Durigan and Pierre Hiernaux and Ricardo Haidar and David Bowman and William Bond",

year = "2014",

doi = "10.1126/science.1247355",

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Lehmann, C, Anderson, M, Sankaran, M, Higgins, S, Archibald, S, Hoffmann, W, Hanan, N, Williams, RJ, Fensham, R, Felfili, J, Hutley, L, Ratnam, J, San Jose, J, Montes, R, Franklin, D, Russell-Smith, J, Ryan, C, Durigan, G, Hiernaux, P, Haidar, R, Bowman, D & Bond, W 2014, 'Savanna Vegetation-Fire-Climate Relationships Differ Among Continents', Science, vol. 343, no. 6170, pp. 548-552. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1247355

Savanna Vegetation-Fire-Climate Relationships Differ Among Continents. / Lehmann, Caroline; Anderson, Michael; Sankaran, Mahesh; Higgins, Steven; Archibald, Sally; Hoffmann, William; Hanan, Niall; Williams, Richard J; Fensham, Roderick; Felfili, Jeanine; Hutley, Lindsay; Ratnam, Jayashree; San Jose, Jose; Montes, Ruben; Franklin, Donald; Russell-Smith, Jeremy; Ryan, Casey; Durigan, Giselda; Hiernaux, Pierre; Haidar, Ricardo; Bowman, David; Bond, William.

In: Science, Vol. 343, No. 6170, 2014, p. 548-552.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

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AU - Sankaran, Mahesh

AU - Higgins, Steven

AU - Archibald, Sally

AU - Hoffmann, William

AU - Hanan, Niall

AU - Williams, Richard J

AU - Fensham, Roderick

AU - Felfili, Jeanine

AU - Hutley, Lindsay

AU - Ratnam, Jayashree

AU - San Jose, Jose

AU - Montes, Ruben

AU - Franklin, Donald

AU - Russell-Smith, Jeremy

AU - Ryan, Casey

AU - Durigan, Giselda

AU - Hiernaux, Pierre

AU - Haidar, Ricardo

AU - Bowman, David

AU - Bond, William

PY - 2014

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N2 - Ecologists have long sought to understand the factors controlling the structure of savanna vegetation. Using data from 2154 sites in savannas across Africa, Australia, and South America, we found that increasing moisture availability drives increases in fire and tree basal area, whereas fire reduces tree basal area. However, among continents, the magnitude of these effects varied substantially, so that a single model cannot adequately represent savanna woody biomass across these regions. Historical and environmental differences drive the regional variation in the functional relationships between woody vegetation, fire, and climate. These same differences will determine the regional responses of vegetation to future climates, with implications for global carbon stocks.

AB - Ecologists have long sought to understand the factors controlling the structure of savanna vegetation. Using data from 2154 sites in savannas across Africa, Australia, and South America, we found that increasing moisture availability drives increases in fire and tree basal area, whereas fire reduces tree basal area. However, among continents, the magnitude of these effects varied substantially, so that a single model cannot adequately represent savanna woody biomass across these regions. Historical and environmental differences drive the regional variation in the functional relationships between woody vegetation, fire, and climate. These same differences will determine the regional responses of vegetation to future climates, with implications for global carbon stocks.

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KW - herbivore

KW - priority journal

KW - soil property

KW - South America

KW - structural equation modeling

KW - temperature

KW - vegetation

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U2 - 10.1126/science.1247355

DO - 10.1126/science.1247355

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EP - 552

JO - Science

JF - Science

SN - 0036-8075

IS - 6170

ER -