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 journalArticlepeer-review

    511 Citations (Scopus)

    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 languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)548-552
    Number of pages5
    JournalScience
    Volume343
    Issue number6170
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

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