Soizig Le Stradic discusses her recent article: ‘Variation in biomass allocation and root functional parameters in response to fire history in Brazilian savannas‘. Find out more about their new research into how below-ground plant components respond to fire in the open savannas of the Cerrado. Fire is a major factor in the structure of plant…
Author Sally Archibald discusses newly published article: “Browsing is a strong filter for savanna tree seedlings in their first growing season” by Archibald, Twine, Mthabini, & Stevens. This research found that establishment limitation through early browsing is an under-recognised constraint on savanna tree species distributions When trying to explain why an organism is found in…
Throughout May, we are featuring all the articles that were shortlisted for the Harper Prize 2020. The Harper Prize is an annual award for the best early career research paper published in Journal of Ecology. Madelon’s article ‘Root‐niche separation between savanna trees and grasses is greater on sandier soils‘ was one of those shortlisted for this year’s award. About…
The Editor’s Choice for our May issue is “Herbivore dung stoichiometry drives competition between savanna trees and grasses” by Judith Sitters & Harry Olde Venterink. This article shows that browsing and grazing herbivores potentially help maintain the tree‐grass balance in African savanna, through variation in the nitrogen (N) to phosphorus (P) ratio of their dung! Here the…
Author Adam Pellegrini discusses the findings of his new Journal of Ecology article – “Frequent burning causes large losses of carbon from deep soil layers in a temperate savanna.” Find out more about how fire frequency can impact carbon storage and root biomass in deep soil layers. Fires are dramatically changing in frequency and intensity, due…
In our second podcast in the EcoGist series, Justin Dohn of Colorado State University in Colorado, USA, describes his paper on tree effects on grass growth in Savannas. P.S. To give credit where it’s due, EcoGists are modeled after the 60 second science podcasts of Scientific American. If you haven’t heard them before, definitely go have a…
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