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Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa

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dc.contributor.author Wessels, Konrad J
dc.contributor.author Mathieu, Renaud SA
dc.contributor.author Erasmus, BFN
dc.contributor.author Asner, GP
dc.contributor.author Smit, IPJ
dc.contributor.author Van Aardt, JAN
dc.contributor.author Main, Russell S
dc.contributor.author Fisher, J
dc.contributor.author Marais, W
dc.contributor.author Kennedy-Bowdoin, T
dc.contributor.author Knapp, DE
dc.contributor.author Emerson, R
dc.contributor.author Jacobson, J
dc.date.accessioned 2011-03-22T08:17:06Z
dc.date.available 2011-03-22T08:17:06Z
dc.date.issued 2011-01
dc.identifier.citation Wessels, KJ, Mathieu, R, Erasmus, BFN et al. 2011. Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa. Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 261(1), pp 19-29 en_US
dc.identifier.issn 0378-1127
dc.identifier.uri http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=MImg&_imagekey=B6T6X-51B8G7V-1-9&_cdi=5042&_user=958262&_pii=S037811271000544X&_origin=search&_coverDate=01%2F01%2F2011&_sk=997389998&view=c&wchp=dGLbVzW-zSkWb&md5=f3bdda9cd2c092914efb8268fba5aacc&ie=/sdarticle.pdf
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4917
dc.description Copyright: 2011 Elsevier. This is the post print version of the work. The definitive version is published in Forest Ecology and Management, Vol. 261(1), pp 19-29 en_US
dc.description.abstract Millions of people rely on savannas for ecosystem services, such as the provision of grazing and fuel wood, so it is important to determine the extent to which utilization affects woody vegetation resources. Using airborne LiDAR from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO), we quantified and compared tree canopy cover and height distributions between areas of contrasting management in the Lowveld savanna region of South Africa – a region connecting communal landscapes with heavy utilization (especially fuel wood harvesting) to fully protected public (Kruger National Park – KNP) and private reserves (SabiSand Game Reserve – SSGR) that conserve biodiversity. Differences in total woody vegetation cover and cover within functional height classes (1–2 m, 2–3 m, 3–5 m, 5–7mand >7m) were investigated between 7 sites located within (i) conservation areas (in KNP, SSGR), (ii) communal rangelands or (iii) cultivated fields in communal areas. The impact of human utilization on wood resources in the communal areas varied widely between sites. Heavy utilization on gabbro substrate greatly reduced total woody cover of the rangelands, while two other communal rangelands that were presumably less intensively utilised had double the total woody cover of conservation areas. Rangelands and fields in most of the communal sites had more vegetation cover in the 5–7mand >7mclasses than most of the conservation sites, presumably due to the absence of elephants in communal rangelands and the active preservation of large fruiting trees. On granite substrates, which account for the majority of the study area, there was a 50% reduction in woody cover below 5m in communal rangelands. Although large trees were clearly being conserved in communal rangelands and fields, there was a relatively low cover of vegetation below 5m, which raise doubts about recruitment and long-term sustainability of the tree resources. These results in conjunction with other studies based on theCAOLiDAR data for experimental burn plots and largemammalexclosures in KNP, suggest that communal land use on granite substrates have a higher impact on the woody cover below 5m than both elephants and fire. en_US
dc.language.iso en en_US
dc.publisher Elsevier en_US
dc.relation.ispartofseries Workflow request;5236
dc.subject LiDAR en_US
dc.subject Fuel wood en_US
dc.subject Communal landuse en_US
dc.subject Savanna en_US
dc.subject Woody vegetation structure en_US
dc.subject Kruger National Park en_US
dc.subject Forest ecology en_US
dc.subject Forest management en_US
dc.title Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa en_US
dc.type Article en_US
dc.identifier.apacitation Wessels, K. J., Mathieu, R. S., Erasmus, B., Asner, G., Smit, I., Van Aardt, J., ... Jacobson, J. (2011). Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa. http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4917 en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitation Wessels, Konrad J, Renaud SA Mathieu, BFN Erasmus, GP Asner, IPJ Smit, JAN Van Aardt, Russel S Main, et al "Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa." (2011) http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4917 en_ZA
dc.identifier.vancouvercitation Wessels KJ, Mathieu RS, Erasmus B, Asner G, Smit I, Van Aardt J, et al. Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa. 2011; http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4917. en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Article AU - Wessels, Konrad J AU - Mathieu, Renaud SA AU - Erasmus, BFN AU - Asner, GP AU - Smit, IPJ AU - Van Aardt, JAN AU - Main, Russel S AU - Fisher, J AU - Marais, W AU - Kennedy-Bowdoin, T AU - Knapp, DE AU - Emerson, R AU - Jacobson, J AB - Millions of people rely on savannas for ecosystem services, such as the provision of grazing and fuel wood, so it is important to determine the extent to which utilization affects woody vegetation resources. Using airborne LiDAR from the Carnegie Airborne Observatory (CAO), we quantified and compared tree canopy cover and height distributions between areas of contrasting management in the Lowveld savanna region of South Africa – a region connecting communal landscapes with heavy utilization (especially fuel wood harvesting) to fully protected public (Kruger National Park – KNP) and private reserves (SabiSand Game Reserve – SSGR) that conserve biodiversity. Differences in total woody vegetation cover and cover within functional height classes (1–2 m, 2–3 m, 3–5 m, 5–7mand >7m) were investigated between 7 sites located within (i) conservation areas (in KNP, SSGR), (ii) communal rangelands or (iii) cultivated fields in communal areas. The impact of human utilization on wood resources in the communal areas varied widely between sites. Heavy utilization on gabbro substrate greatly reduced total woody cover of the rangelands, while two other communal rangelands that were presumably less intensively utilised had double the total woody cover of conservation areas. Rangelands and fields in most of the communal sites had more vegetation cover in the 5–7mand >7mclasses than most of the conservation sites, presumably due to the absence of elephants in communal rangelands and the active preservation of large fruiting trees. On granite substrates, which account for the majority of the study area, there was a 50% reduction in woody cover below 5m in communal rangelands. Although large trees were clearly being conserved in communal rangelands and fields, there was a relatively low cover of vegetation below 5m, which raise doubts about recruitment and long-term sustainability of the tree resources. These results in conjunction with other studies based on theCAOLiDAR data for experimental burn plots and largemammalexclosures in KNP, suggest that communal land use on granite substrates have a higher impact on the woody cover below 5m than both elephants and fire. DA - 2011-01 DB - ResearchSpace DP - CSIR KW - LiDAR KW - Fuel wood KW - Communal landuse KW - Savanna KW - Woody vegetation structure KW - Kruger National Park KW - Forest ecology KW - Forest management LK - https://researchspace.csir.co.za PY - 2011 SM - 0378-1127 T1 - Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa TI - Impact of communal land use and conservation on woody vegetation structure in the Lowveld savannas of South Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10204/4917 ER - en_ZA


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