A functional classification of a range of Southern African Savanna types
Date
1993
Authors
Carter, Glynnis Ann
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
The prediction that savanna communities with similar conditions of plant available moisture
(PAM) and available nutrients (AN) have similar structural and functional features was tested
for a range of southern African savanna types. This prediction forms the basis of an
hypothesis that savannas can be classified functionally on the basis of PAM and AN.
Nineteen South African savanna types were sampled over a rainfall gradient of 369 to 690
rnm pa and on different geological parent materials. Ecologically meaningful indices of
PAM and AN were derived using climate and soil physical and chemical data. The floristic
structural and functional characteristics of the woody plant and herbaceous components of
the savanna communities were ordinated and classified in relation to the PAM and AN
gradients. The functional classifications were assessed in the plane of PAM and AN.
Plant available moisture was indexed as the mean number of growth days per annum derived form a water balance modelling approach. This index reflected the duration of the growing
season in days and was suitably detailed for use at the community level. The AN indices
ranged in complexity from a measure of the availability of individual nutrients in the soil to
an index based on the results of a bioassay experiment. The usefulness of the AN indices
was assessed on a number of criteria and the soil A horizon total nitrogen content in mg/kg was chosen as a suitable AN index.
The species composition of the woody plant and graminoid communities was primarily
related to the PAM gradient with AN having a significant but secondary effect. There was
overall a high degree of similarity between woody plant and graminoid floristic types. The
distribution of members of the woody plant families, Mimosoideae, Caesalpinoideae and
Combretaceae were primarily related to the AN gradient. The higher taxonomic
classifications of the graminoid communities, based on subfamilies and tribes, were primarily related to PAM. Structural trends of the woody plant and herbaceous communities were related to the PAM gradient but not to soil fertility. There were a range of structural types for similar conditions of PAM and AN.
The functional trends of the woody plants were primarily related to the AN gradient with
PAM having a secondary but significant effect while the graminoid community functional
trends were primarily related to PAM with AN having a secondary but significant effect.
The woody plant and graminoid communities were notgrouped into functional types in the
same way. It was evident from this study that these South African savanna types were related floristically, structurally and functionally to either or both of PAM and AN, which are hypothesised to be the primary determinants of savanna structure and function. Although communities with similar conditions of PAM and AN were not consistently functionally similar, the functional classifications of both the woody plant ami graminoid communities mapped well onto the PAM-AN plane. This indicated that the PAM-AN plane does have potential foruse as an overall framework for the classification of savannas on a functional. basis.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand,
Johannesburg, for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg 1993.
Keywords
Citation
Carter, Glynnis Ann (1993) A functional classification of a range of Southern African Savanna types, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, <http://wiredspace.wits.ac.za/handle/10539/22097>