Citation

Lehmann CE, Anderson TM, Sankaran M, Higgins SI, Archibald S, Hoffmann WA, Hanan NP, Williams RJ, Fensham RJ, Felfili J, Hutley LB, Ratnam J, San Jose J, Montes R, Franklin D, Russell-Smith J, Ryan CM, Durigan G, Hiernaux P, Haidar R, Bowman DMJS, Bond WJ. Science 2014; 343(6170): 548-552.

Affiliation

Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, New South Wales 2109, Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, American Association for the Advancement of Science)

DOI

10.1126/science.1247355

PMID

24482480

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.

Language: en