Biocomplexity in African Savannas

Colorado State University, Fort Collins CO

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Biocomplexity in African savannas Niall P. Hanan, Robert J. Scholes, Michael B. Coughenour, Luanne Otter, Philip Omi, Gerhard Dangelmayr Savannas are globally important ecosystems of great significance to human welfare and economies, especially in many less developed countries in Africa and Eurasia. In Africa, the savannas are also home to the greatest density and diversity of large herbivores and carnivores of any ecosystem on earth. However, the mixture of trees and grasses that defines savanna systems is inherently unstable and multiple factors related to soil type, climate, herbivore density, and wild-fire frequency are thought to contribute to their coexistence. Thus savannas are biocomplex systems where processes such as grazing intensity and fire frequency simultaneously depend on and control savanna structure, productivity and nutrient recycling. This project will investigate biocomplexity in the context of African savannas. We are developing the conceptual and numerical understanding of savanna ecosystems that will allow prediction of savanna structure and function resulting from the complex interactions and feedback between driving variables. This will include the change in stable states under varying conditions, the resilience of the different forms of savanna to change, and the thresholds between stable states. The project will further use savanna systems as a general model for understanding complexity in biological systems and to develop methods of analysis and interpretive tools that promote a broader public understanding of the inter-relatedness of environmental systems.