Neighbors consistently influence growth and survival in a frequently
burned savanna
- Mark Davis,
- Richard Condit
Abstract
Successful management of savannas is challenging and requires knowledge
of the causes and consequences of the spatial arrangement of the trees.
In savannas, trees are often aggregated, and the ability of trees within
the clumps to survive fires plays a significant role in determining the
savannas landscape dynamics. Whether or not a tree survives a fire is
often dependent on the nature of their interactions with neighboring
trees, positive or negative. In cases where disturbances are episodic,
detecting these interactions is only going to be possible through
long-term studies. Data reported here, from twenty-five years of annual
tree censusing of a large grid-plot in a frequently burned savanna,
showed consistent neighbor facilitated survival, irrespective as to
whether the neighbors were conspecifics or heterospecifics. The positive
interactions likely involve the reduction of both herbaceous and woody
fuel in denser sites, and possibly mycorrhizal sharing among nearby
trees.