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Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas
Continental scale analysis of the savanna biome indicated that fire did not spread at tree canopy cover above 40%. This study investigates this relationship in a field study. It is possible that the type of tree (forest vs. savanna) may influence the amount of shade experienced by the understory a...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Biological Sciences
2017
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| _version_ | 1867613230282571776 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Donaldson, Jason |
| author_browse | Donaldson, Jason |
| author_facet | Donaldson, Jason |
| author_sort | Donaldson, Jason |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Continental scale analysis of the savanna biome indicated that fire did not spread at tree canopy cover above 40%. This study investigates this relationship in a field study. It is possible that the type of tree (forest vs. savanna) may influence the amount of shade experienced by the understory and therefore this study also explores differences in LAI between congeneric pairs of forest and savanna tree species. Data were collected in two major South African savanna parks. Plots were set out to measure grass biomass in reference to canopy cover in both Kruger National Park (n=60) and the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve (n=82). Seven congeneric pairs were selected to compare leaf area and LAI between forest and savanna tree species using a destructive method. Against expectations, it was only when canopy cover reached 80% that grass fuel load was too low to support fire spread in all Kruger National Park plots (Pr=O) and 89% of the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve plots (Pr=0.11). No consistent, general relationships were evident with leaf area or LAI in comparisons between forest-savanna congeneric pairs. The significance of these findings and future direction is discussed. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/26376 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:32:50.328Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2017 |
| publishDateRange | 2017 |
| publishDateSort | 2017 |
| publisher | Department of Biological Sciences |
| publisherStr | Department of Biological Sciences |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/26376 Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas Donaldson, Jason Botany canopy cover grass biomass fire leaf area Continental scale analysis of the savanna biome indicated that fire did not spread at tree canopy cover above 40%. This study investigates this relationship in a field study. It is possible that the type of tree (forest vs. savanna) may influence the amount of shade experienced by the understory and therefore this study also explores differences in LAI between congeneric pairs of forest and savanna tree species. Data were collected in two major South African savanna parks. Plots were set out to measure grass biomass in reference to canopy cover in both Kruger National Park (n=60) and the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve (n=82). Seven congeneric pairs were selected to compare leaf area and LAI between forest and savanna tree species using a destructive method. Against expectations, it was only when canopy cover reached 80% that grass fuel load was too low to support fire spread in all Kruger National Park plots (Pr=O) and 89% of the Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Game Reserve plots (Pr=0.11). No consistent, general relationships were evident with leaf area or LAI in comparisons between forest-savanna congeneric pairs. The significance of these findings and future direction is discussed. 2017-11-17T08:13:43Z 2017-11-17T08:13:43Z 2011 2017-02-01T13:12:03Z Bachelor Thesis Honours BSc (Hons) http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26376 eng application/pdf Department of Biological Sciences Faculty of Science University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | Botany canopy cover grass biomass fire leaf area Donaldson, Jason Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas |
| thesis_degree_str | Bachelor's / Honours |
| title | Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas |
| title_full | Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas |
| title_fullStr | Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas |
| title_short | Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas |
| title_sort | do trees suppress grass fuel loads canopy cover effects in south african savannas |
| topic | Botany canopy cover grass biomass fire leaf area |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/26376 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT donaldsonjason dotreessuppressgrassfuelloadscanopycovereffectsinsouthafricansavannas |