Browser Population–Woody Vegetation Relationships in Savannas

Schmitt, Melissa H.; Shrader, Adrian M.

doi:10.1002/9781119081111.ch9

Cited by 2 publications

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References 205 publications

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“…Woody plant cover is a key factor that influences the distribution of mammalian herbivores across the landscape because it synergistically influences both top-down (i.e., predation risk) and bottom-up (i.e., food availability/quality) processes [8][9][10]. Specifically, in African savannas, herbivores perceive habitats with low woody plant cover to be less risky because of increased visibility [11]. By contrast, increasing woody plant cover is often associated with increased perceived predation risk [12], most likely due to increased ambush opportunities and reduced visibility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating herbivore assemblages and woody plant cover in an African savanna to reveal how herbivores respond to ecosystem management

et al. 2022

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African savannas are experiencing anthropogenically-induced stressors that are accelerating the increase of woody vegetation cover. To combat this, land managers frequently implement large-scale clearing of trees, which can have a cascading influence on mammalian herbivores. Studies rarely focus on how differences in woody cover influence the herbivore assemblage, making it difficult to assess how aggressive measures, or the lack of management, to counteract increasing woody cover affect the local composition and biodiversity of herbivores. We address this knowledge gap by applying a model-based clustering approach to field observations from MalaMala Game Reserve, South Africa to identify multiple herbivore–vegetation ‘configurations,’ defined as unique sets of herbivore assemblages (i.e., groups of herbivores) associated with differing woody plant covers. Our approach delineated how tree-clearing influences the distribution and abundance of the herbivore community in relation to surrounding savanna areas, which represent a natural mosaic of varying woody cover. Regardless of season, both intensively managed areas cleared of trees and unmanaged areas with high tree cover contained configurations that had depauperate assemblages of herbivores (low species richness, low abundance). By contrast, habitats with intermediate cover of woody vegetation had much higher richness and abundance. These results have substantial implications for managing African savannas in a rapidly changing climate.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating herbivore assemblages and woody plant cover in an African savanna to reveal how herbivores respond to ecosystem management

et al. 2022

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Seasonal pattern of food habits of large herbivores in riverine alluvial grasslands of Brahmaputra floodplains, Assam

Devi

Hussain

Sharma

et al. 2022

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Jarman–Bell (1974) hypothesized that in the dry savanna of Africa, small-bodied herbivores tend to browse more on forage with high protein and low fibre content. This implies browsing on high nutritive forage by meso-herbivores, and grazing and mixed feeding on coarse forage by mega-herbivores. We tested this hypothesis in the riverine alluvial grasslands of the Kaziranga National Park (KNP), where seasonal flood and fire play an important role in shaping the vegetation structure. We analyzed the feeding habits and quality of major forage species consumed by three mega-herbivores, viz. greater one-horned rhino, Asian elephant, and Asiatic wild buffalo, and three meso-herbivores, viz. swamp deer, hog deer, and sambar. We found that both mega and meso-herbivores were grazers and mixed feeders. Overall, 25 forage plants constituted more than 70% of their diet. Among monocots, family Poaceae with Saccharum spp. (contributing > 9% of the diet), and, among dicots, family Rhamnaceae with Ziziphus jujuba (contributing > 4% of the diet) fulfilled the dietary needs. In the dry season, the concentration of crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, calcium, sodium, and phosphorous varied significantly between monocots and dicots, whereas only calcium and sodium concentrations varied significantly in the wet season. Dicots were found to be more nutritious throughout the year. Compared to the dry season, the monocots, viz. Alpinia nigra, Carex vesicaria, Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa crus-galli, Hemarthria compressa, Imperata cylindrica, and Saccharum spp., with their significantly high crude protein, were more nutritious during the wet season. Possibly due to the availability of higher quality monocots in the wet season, both mega and meso-herbivores consume it in high proportion. We concluded that the Jarman–Bell principle does not apply to riverine alluvial grasslands as body size did not explain the interspecific dietary patterns of the mega and meso-herbivores. This can be attributed to seasonal floods, habitat and forage availability, predation risk, and management practices such as controlled burning of the grasslands. The ongoing succession and invasion processes, anthropogenic pressures, and lack of grassland conservation policy are expected to affect the availability of the principal forage and suitable habitat of large herbivores in the Brahmaputra floodplains, which necessitates wet grassland-based management interventions for the continued co-existence of large herbivores in such habitats.

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Browser Population–Woody Vegetation Relationships in Savannas

Cited by 2 publications

References 205 publications

Integrating herbivore assemblages and woody plant cover in an African savanna to reveal how herbivores respond to ecosystem management

Integrating herbivore assemblages and woody plant cover in an African savanna to reveal how herbivores respond to ecosystem management

Seasonal pattern of food habits of large herbivores in riverine alluvial grasslands of Brahmaputra floodplains, Assam

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