WE PROPOSE TO STUDY WOOD BIOMASS DISTRIBUTIONS AND CARBON CYCLE DYNAMICS UNDER CURRENT AND FUTURE CLIMATE AND LAND USE IN THE DROUGHTSEASONAL SAVANNAS AND WOODLANDS OF AFRICA. WE WILL FOCUS ON THE DROUGHT SEASONAL SYSTEMS OF AFRICA BECAUSE (1) THEY REPRESENT A KEY MISSINGLINK IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF GLOBAL BIOMASS DISTRIBUTIONS (2) THEY ARE ONE OF THE MAJOR SOURCES OF INTERANNUAL VARIABILITY IN TERRESTRIAL CARBON SOURCES AND SINKS ASSOCIATED WITH VARIABILITY IN PRODUCTIVITY AND FIRE (3) THE POTENTIAL AMPLIFYING FEEDBACKS AND THRESHOLDS IN SAVANNA SYSTEMS SUGGEST THAT GRADUAL GLOBAL CHANGE (ATMOSPHERIC CO2 RAINFALL AND TEMPERATURE) MAY TRIGGER THRESHOLD RESPONSES IN ECOSYSTEM PROCESSES (WITH ASSOCIATED RAPID CHANGES IN CARBON SOURCESINK DISTRIBUTIONS) (4) HUMAN MANAGEMENT OF KEY PROCESSES (FIRE HERBIVORY WOOD HARVEST AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES) CAN ALSO TRIGGER STRONGLY DIVERGENT VEGETATION STRUCTURE RESPONSES PROVIDING OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANAGEMENT OF CARBON SOURCES AND SINKS AND BECAUSE (5) METHODS DEVELOPED IN AFRICAN SEASONAL WOODLANDS AND SAVANNAS WILL (WITH DUE ATTENTION TO REGIONAL DIFFERENCES; LEHMAN ET AL. 2014) BE APPLICABLE TO THE PAN TROPICAL DROUGHT SEASONAL SYSTEMS OF SOUTH AND CENTRAL AMERICA SOUTH ASIA AND AUSTRALASIA.