Long-term compositional responses of a South African mesic grassland to burning and mowing

Applied Vegetation Science

Volumn 8, Issue 1, 2005, Pages 5-12

  Fynn, Richard W S ^a   Morris, Craig D ^a   Edwards, Trevor J ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF KWAZULU NATAL   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Competition; Disturbance; Plant trait; Succession

Indexed keywords

POACEAE;

EID: 26444494902     PISSN: 14022001     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1654-109X.2005.tb00623.x     Document Type: Article

References (37)

1. Anon. 1993. Genstat 5.3. Reference manual. Clarendon Press, Oxford, UK.
2. Aerts, R. & Berendse, F. 1988. The effect of increased nutrient availability on vegetation dynamics in wet heathlands. Vegetatio 76: 63-69.
3. Arnold, T.H. & De Wet, B.C. 1993. Plants of Southern Africa: Names and Distribution. Memoirs of the Botanical Survey of South Africa, No. 62. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria, ZA.
4. Belsky, A.J. 1992. Effects of grazing, competition, disturbance and fire on species composition and diversity in grassland communities. J. Veg. Sci. 3: 187-200.
5. Collins, S.L., Knapp, A.K., Briggs, J.M., Blair, J.M. & Steinauer, E.M. 1998. Modulation of diversity by grazing and mowing in native tallgrass prairie. Science 280: 745-747.
6. Everett, P.S., Perrin, M.R. & Rowe-Rowe, D.T. 1991. Responses by Oribi to different range management practices in Natal. S. Afr. J. Wildl. Res. 21: 114-118.
7. Everson, C.S. & Tainton, N.M. 1984. The effect of thirty years of burning on the highland sourveld of Natal. J. Grassld. Soc. S. Afr. 1(3): 15-20.
8. Everson, C.S., Everson, T.M. & Tainton, N.M. 1988. Effects of intensity and height of shading on the tiller initiation of six grass species from the highland sourveld of Natal. S. Afr. J. Bot. 54: 315-318.
9. Fuhlendorf, S.D. & Engle, D.M. 2001. Restoring heterogeneity on rangelands: ecosystem management based on evolutionary grazing patterns. BioScience 51: 625-632.
10. Fuhlendorf, S.D. & Smeins, F.E. 1997. Long-term vegetation dynamics mediated by herbivores, weather and fire in a Juniperus-Quercus savanna. J. Veg. Sci. 8: 819-828.
11. Fynn, R.W.S., Haynes, R.J. & O'Connor, T.G. 2003. Burning causes long-term changes in soil organic matter content of a South African grassland. Soil Biol. Biochem. 35: 677-687.
12. Fynn, R.W.S., Morris, C.D. & Edwards, T.J. 2004. Effect of burning and mowing on grass and forb diversity in a long-term grassland experiment. Appl. Veg. Sci. 7: 1-10.
13. Gaudet, C.L. & Keddy, P.A. 1995. Competitive performance and species distribution in shoreline plant communities: a comparative approach. Ecology 76: 280-291.
14. Ghermandi, L., Guthmann, N. & Donaldo, B. 2004. Early post-fire succession in north western Patagonia grasslands. J. Veg. Sci. 15: 67-76.
15. Gibson, D.J. & Hulbert, L.C. 1987. Effects of fire, topography and year-to-year climatic variation on species composition in tallgrass prairie. Vegetatio 72: 175-185.
16. Gibson, D.J., Seastedt, T.R. & Briggs, J.M. 1993. Management practices in tallgrass prairie: large- and small-scale experimental effects on species composition. J. Appl. Ecol. 30: 247-255.
17. Knapp, A.K. & Seastedt, T.R. 1986. Detritus accumulation limits productivity of tallgrass prairie. BioScience 36: 662-668.
18. MacDougall, A. & Turkington, R. 2004. Relative importance of suppression-based and tolerance-based competition in an invaded oak savanna. J. Ecol. 92: 422-434.
19. McIntyre, S., Díaz, S., Lavorel, S. & Cramer, W. 1999. Plant functional types and disturbance dynamics - Introduction. J. Veg. Sci. 10: 604-608.
20. Mentis, M.T. 1981. Evaluation of the wheel-point and step-point methods of veld condition assessment. Proc. Grassld. Soc. Sth. Afr. 16: 89-94.
21. Milchunas, D.G. & Lauenroth, W.K. 1993. Quantitative effects of grazing on vegetation and soils over a global range of environments. Ecol. Monogr. 63: 327-366.
22. Morris, C.D., Tainton, N.M. & Hardy, M.B. 1992. Plant species dynamics in the Southern Tall Grassveld under grazing, resting and fire. J. Grassld. Soc. Sth. Afr. 9: 90-96.
23. Morrison, D.A., Le Brocque, A.F. & Clarke, P.J. 1995. An assessment of some improved techniques for estimating the abundance (frequency) of sedentary organisms. Vegetatio 120: 131-145.
24. Ojima, D., Schimel, D.S., Parton, W.J. & Owensby, C.E. 1994. Long and short-term effects of fire on N cycling in tallgrass prairie. Biogeochemistry 24: 67-84.
25. Osem, Y., Perevolotsky, A. & Kigel, J. 2004. Site productivity and plant size explain the response of annual species to grazing exclusion in a Mediterranean semi-arid rangeland. J. Ecol. 92: 297-309.
26. Reinhart, K.O. & Menges, E.S. 2004. Effects of re-introducing fire to a central Florida sandhill community. Appl. Veg. Sci. 7: 141-150.
27. Seastedt, T.R., Briggs, J.M. & Gibson, D.J. 1991. Controls of N limitation in tallgrass prairie. Oecologia. 87: 72-79.
28. Snyman, H.A. 2002. Fire and the dynamics of a semi-arid grassland: influence on soil characteristics. Afr. J. Range For. Sci. 19: 137-145.
29. Snyman, H.A. 2004. Estimating the short-term impact of fire on rangeland productivity in a semi-arid climate of South Africa. J. Arid Environ. 59: 685-697.
30. Stuart-Hill, G.C. & Mentis, M.T. 1982. Coevolution of African grasses and large herbivores. Proc. Grassld. Soc. S. Afr. 17: 122-128.
31. Sydes, C. & Grime, J.P. 1981. Effects of tree leaf litter on herbaceous vegetation in deciduous woodland. J. Ecol. 69: 237-248.
32. Tainton, N.M., Booysen, P. de V., Bransby, D.I. & Nash, R.C. 1978. Long-term effects of burning and mowing on tall grassveld in Natal: dry matter production. Proc. Grassld. Soc. S. Afr. 13: 41-44.
33. Tainton, N.M. & Mentis, M.T. 1984. Fire in grassland. In: Booysen, P. de V. & Tainton, N.M. (eds.) Ecological effects of fire in South African ecosystems, pp. 115-148. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, DE.
34. ter Braak, C.J.F. & Šmilauer, P. 1998. CANOCO Reference manual and User's Guide to Canoco for Windows: Software for Canonical Community Ordination (version 4). Microcomputer Power, Ithaca, NY, US.
35. Tilman, D. 1988. Plant strategies and the dynamics and structure of plant communities. Princeton University Press, Princton, NJ, US.
36. Wedin, D. & Tilman, D. 1993. Competition among grasses along a N gradient: initial conditions and mechanisms of competition. Ecol. Monogr. 63: 199-229.
37. Xiong, S.J. & Nilsson, C. 1999. The effects of plant litter on vegetation - a meta-analysis. J. Ecol. 87: 984-994.