Patch and species specific responses of savanna woody vegetation to browser exclusion

Biological Conservation

Volumn 141, Issue 2, 2008, Pages 489-498

  Levick, Shaun ^a   Rogers, Kevin ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND   (South Africa)

Author keywords

Boundary; Elephant; Monitoring; Savanna; Scale; Spatial

Indexed keywords

BROWSING; CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT; ELEPHANT; HETEROGENEITY; MONITORING; PATCH DYNAMICS; PROTECTED AREA; SAVANNA; SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION; VEGETATION;

AFRICA; KRUGER NATIONAL PARK; SOUTH AFRICA; SOUTHERN AFRICA; SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA;

MAMMALIA;

EID: 39649109207     PISSN: 00063207     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.11.001     Document Type: Article

References (56)

1. Augustine D.J., and McNaughton S.J. Regulation of shrub dynamics by native browsing ungulates on East African rangeland. Journal of Applied Ecology 41 (2004) 45-58
2. Barnes R.F.W. The elephant problem in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania. Biological Conservation 26 (1983) 127-148
3. Belsky A.J., and Canham C.D. Forest gaps and isolated savanna trees. BioScience 44 (1994) 77-84
4. Ben Shahar R. Do elephants over-utilize mopane woodlands in northern Botswana. Journal of Tropical Ecology 12 (1996) 505-515
5. Beuchner H.K., and Dawkins H.C. Vegetation change induced by elephants and fire in Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda. Ecology 42 (1961) 752-766
6. Biggs H.C., and Rogers K.H. An adaptive system to link science, monitoring, and management in practice. In: du Toit J.T., Rogers K.H., and Biggs H. (Eds). The Kruger Experience: Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity (2003), Island Press, Washington, DC 61-82
7. Birkett A. The impact of giraffe, rhino and elephant on the habitat of a black rhino sanctuary in Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 40 (2002) 276-282
8. Bond W.J., and Loffell D. Introduction of giraffe changes acacia distribution in a South African savanna. African Journal of Ecology 39 (2001) 286-294
9. Braack, L., 1997. A revision of parts of the management plan for the Kruger National Park. Volume VII. An objectives hierarchy for the management of the KNP, South African National Parks, Skukuza. (http://www.parks-sa.co.za).
10. Briske D.D., Fuhlendorf S.D., and Smeins F.E. Vegetation dynamics on rangelands: a critique of the current paradigms. Journal of Applied Ecology 40 (2003) 601-614
11. Cadenasso M.L., and Pickett S.T.A. Linking forest edge structure to edge function: mediation of herbivore damage. Journal of Ecology 88 (2000) 31-44
12. Cadenasso M.l., and Pickett S.T.A. Effect of edge structure on the flux of species into forest interiors. Conservation Biology 15 (2001) 91-97
13. Christensen N.L. Implementing ecosystem management: where do we go from here. In: Boyce M., and Haney A. (Eds). Ecosystem Management (1997), Yale University Press, New Haven 325-341
14. Cumming D.H.M., Fenton M.B., Rautenbach I.L., Taylor R.D., Cumming G.S., Cumming M.S., Dunlop J.M., Ford A.G., and Hovorka M.D. Elephants, woodlands and biodiversity in southern Africa. South African Journal of Science 93 (1997) 231-236
15. Dollar E.S.J., James C.S., Rogers K.H., and Thoms M.C. A framework for interdisciplinary understanding of rivers as ecosystems. Geomorphology (2007)
16. Dublin H.T. Vegetation dynamics in the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem: the role of elephants, fire and other factors. In: Sinclair A.R.E., and Norton-Griffith M. (Eds). Serengeti II: dynamics (1995), Management and Conservation of an Ecosystem University of Chicago Press, Chicago
17. Du Toit J., Biggs H., and Rogers K.H. The Kruger experience: ecology and management of savanna heterogeneity (2003), Island Press, Washington, D.C
18. Eckhardt H.C., van Wilgen B.W., and Biggs H.C. Trends in woody vegetation cover in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, between 1940 and 1998. African Journal of Ecology 38 (2000) 108-115
19. Fortin M.J. Effects of quadrat size and data measurement on the detection of boundaries. Journal of Vegetation Science 10 (1999) 43-50
20. Gosz J.R. Fundamental ecological characteristics of landscape boundaries. In: Naiman R.J., and Risser P.G. (Eds). Ecotones: the role of landscape boundaries in the management and restoration of changing environments (1991), Chapman and Hall, New York 8-31
21. Grant C.C., and Scholes M.C. The importance of nutrient hot-spots in the conservation and management of large wild mammalian herbivores in semi-arid savannas. Biological Conservation 130 (2006) 426-437
22. Harrington R., Owen-Smith N., Viljoen P.C., Biggs H.C., Mason D.R., and Funston P. Establishing the causes of the roan antelope decline in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. Biological Conservation 90 (1999) 69-78
23. Illius A.W., and O'Connor T.G. On the relevance of nonequilibrium concepts to arid and semiarid grazing systems. Ecological Applications 9 (1999) 798-813
24. Keyser A.J., Hill G.E., and Soehren E.C. Effects of forest fragment size, nest density, and proximity to edge on the risk of predation to ground-nesting passerine birds. Conservation Biology 12 (1998) 986-994
25. Khomo L.M., and Rogers K.H. Proposed mechanism for the origin of sodic patches in Kruger National Park, South Africa. African Journal of Ecology 43 (2005) 29-34
26. Kotliar N.B., and Wiens J.A. Multiple scales of patchiness and patch selection: a hierarchical framework for the study of heterogeneity. Oikos 59 (1990) 253-260
27. Kroger R. Vlei boundary characteristics and their implications for Roan conservation on the northern plains of Kruger National Park. Honours Dissertation (2000), University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
28. Kroger R., and Rogers K.H. Roan (Hippotragus equinus) population decline in Kruger National Park, South Africa: influence of a wetland boundary. European Journal of Wildlife Research 51 (2005) 25-30
29. Laws R.M. Elephants as agents of habitat and landscape change in east Africa. Oikos 21 (1970) 1-15
30. Levin S.A. The problem of pattern and scale in ecology. Ecology 73 (1992) 1943-1967
31. Lock J.M. Vegetation change in Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda: 1970-1988. African Journal of Ecology, Nairobi 31 (1993) 106-117
32. Ludwig J.A., Tongway D.J., Bastin G.N., and James C.D. Monitoring ecological indicators of rangeland functional integrity and their relation to biodiversity at local to regional scales. Austral Ecology 29 (2004) 108-120
33. Ludwig J.A., Wilcox B.P., Breshears D.D., Tongway D.J., and Imeson A.C. Vegetation patches and runoff-erosion as interacting ecohydrological processes in semiarid landscapes. Ecology 86 (2005) 288-297
34. Naiman R.J., Braack L., Grant R., Kemp A.C., du Toit J., and Venter F.J. Interactions between species and ecosystem characteristics. In: du Toit J.T., Rogers K.H., and Biggs H. (Eds). The Kruger Experience: Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity (2003), Island Press, Washington, DC 41-58
35. Nellemann C., Moe S.R., and Rutina L.P. Links between terrain characteristics and forage patterns of elephants (Loxodonta africana) in northern Botswana. Journal of Tropical Ecology 18 (2002) 835-844
36. Noss R.F. Indicators for monitoring biodiversity: a hierarchical approach. Conservation Biology 4 (1990) 355-364
37. O'Keeffe J., and Rogers K.H. River heterogeneity: ecosystem structure, function and management. In: du Toit J.T., Rogers K.H., and Biggs H. (Eds). The Kruger Experience: Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity (2003), Island Press, Washington, DC 41-58
38. Olsvig-Whittaker L. Relating small scale vegetation patterns to the environment. In: During H.J., Werger M.J.A., and Willems J.H. (Eds). Diversity and Pattern in Plant Communities (1988), SPB Academic Publishing, The Hague, The Netherlands
39. Owen-Smith N., and Cooper S.M. Palatability of woody plants to browsing ruminants in a South African Savanna. Ecology 68 (1987) 319-331
40. Peters D.P.C., Gosz J.R., Pockman W.T., Small E.E., Parmenter R.R., Collins S.L., and Muldavin E. Integrating patch and boundary dynamics to understand and predict biotic transitions at multiple scales. Landscape Ecology V21 (2006) 19-33
41. Rietkerk M., Ketner P., Burger J., Hoorens B., and Olff H. Multiscale soil and vegetation patchiness along a gradient of herbivore impact in a semi-arid grazing system in West Africa. Plant Ecology 148 (2000) 207-224
42. Rogers K.H. Adopting a heterogeneity paradigm: implications for management of protected savannas. In: du Toit J.T., Rogers K.H., and Biggs H. (Eds). The Kruger Experience: Ecology and Management of Savanna Heterogeneity (2003), Island Press, Washington, DC 41-58
43. Rogers, K.H., 2005. Biodiversity custodianship in SANParks: a protected area management planning framework in South African National Parks, Pretoria.
44. Rogers K.H., and Biggs H. Integrating indicators, endpoints and value systems in strategic management of the rivers of the Kruger National Park. Freshwater Biology 41 (1999) 439-451
45. Roques K.G., O'Connor T.G., and Watkinson A.R. Dynamics of shrub encroachment in an African savanna: relative influences of fire, herbivory, rainfall and density dependance. Journal of Applied Ecology 38 (2001) 268-280
46. Sankaran M., Hanan N.P., Scholes R.J., Ratnam J., Augustine D.J., Cade B.S., Gignoux J., Higgins S.I., Le Roux X., Ludwig F., Ardo J., Banyikwa F., Bronn A., Bucini G., Caylor K.K., Coughenour M.B., Diouf A., Ekaya W., Feral C.J., February E.C., Frost P.G.H., Hiernaux P., Hrabar H., Metzger K.L., Prins H.H.T., Ringrose S., Sea W., Tews J., Worden J., and Zambatis N. Determinants of woody cover in African savannas. Nature 438 (2005) 846-849
47. Schindler D.W. Replication versus realism: the need for ecosystem-scale experiments. Ecosystems 1 (1998) 323-334
48. Smit I.P.J., Grant C.C., and Devereux B.J. Do artificial waterholes influence the way herbivores use the landscape? Herbivore distribution patterns around rivers and artificial surface water sources in a large African savanna park. Biological Conservation 136 (2007) 85-99
49. Ter Braak C.J.F. The analysis of vegetation-environment relationships by canonical correspondence analysis. Plant Ecology 69 (1987) 69-77
50. Treydte A.C., Heitkönig I.M.A., Prins H.H.T., and Ludwig F. Trees improve grass quality for herbivores in African savannas. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics 8 (2007) 197-205
51. Trollope W.S.W., Trollope L.A., Biggs H.C., Pienaar D., and Potgieter A.L.F. Long-term changes in the woody vegetation of the Kruger National Park, with special reference to the effects of elephant and fire. Koedoe 41 (1998) 103-112
52. van de Koppel J., Rietkerk M., van Langevelde F., Kumar L., Klausmeier C.A., Fryxell J.M., Hearne J.W., van Andel J., de Ridder N., Skidmore A., Stroosnijder L., and Prins H.H.T. Spatial heterogeneity and irreversible vegetation change in semiarid grazing systems. American Naturalist 159 (2002) 209-218
53. van de Vijver C.A.D.M., Foley C.A., and Olff H. Changes in the woody component of an East African savanna during 25 years. Journal of Tropical Ecology 15 (1999) 545-564
54. Wiens J.A., Crawford C.S., and Gosz J.R. Boundary dynamics: a conceptual framework for studying landscape ecosystems. Oikos 45 (1985) 421-427
55. Wu J., and Loucks O.L. From balance of nature to hierarchical patch dynamics: a paradigm shift in ecology. The Quarterly Review of Biology 70 (1995) 439-464
56. Zar J. Biostatistical Analysis. 4th ed. (1998), Prentice-Hall, New Jersey