Benjamin J. Wigley
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View article: Site‐Specific Nutrient Data Reveal the Importance of Soils in Driving the Mycorrhizal Make‐Up of Woody Vegetation Worldwide
Site‐Specific Nutrient Data Reveal the Importance of Soils in Driving the Mycorrhizal Make‐Up of Woody Vegetation Worldwide Open
Aim Arbuscular mycorrhizas (AM) and ectomycorrhizas (ECM) have different impacts on nutrient cycling, carbon storage, community dynamics and enhancement of photosynthesis by rising CO 2 . Recent global analyses have concluded that patterns…
View article: Will trees or grasses profit from changing rainfall regimes in savannas?
Will trees or grasses profit from changing rainfall regimes in savannas? Open
Summary Increasing rainfall variability is widely expected under future climate change scenarios. How will savanna trees and grasses be affected by growing season dry spells and altered seasonality and how tightly coupled are tree–grass ph…
View article: Soil carbon storage capacity of drylands under altered fire regimes
Soil carbon storage capacity of drylands under altered fire regimes Open
The determinants of fire-driven changes in soil organic carbon (SOC) across broad environmental gradients remains unclear, especially in global drylands. Here we combined datasets and field sampling of fire-manipulation experiments to eval…
View article: Soil organic carbon is buffered by grass inputs regardless of woody cover or fire frequency in an African savanna
Soil organic carbon is buffered by grass inputs regardless of woody cover or fire frequency in an African savanna Open
Woody plant encroachment (WPE) is a global trend that occurs in many biomes, including savannas, and accelerates with fire suppression. Since WPE can result in increased storage of soil organic carbon (SOC), fire management, which may incl…
View article: Determinants of the capacity of dryland ecosystems to store soil carbon under altered fire regimes
Determinants of the capacity of dryland ecosystems to store soil carbon under altered fire regimes Open
Widespread changes in the intensity and frequency of fires across the globe are altering the terrestrial carbon (C) sink1–4. Although the changes in ecosystem C have been reasonably well quantified for plant biomass pools5–7, an understand…
View article: No evidence for the simultaneous induction of structural and chemical defences in spiny southern African savanna trees
No evidence for the simultaneous induction of structural and chemical defences in spiny southern African savanna trees Open
It is still not well established whether plant chemical and physical defence traits can be simultaneously induced in savanna trees and how this would affect plant nutritional quality. Here, we use a long‐term mammalian herbivore exclosure …
View article: Long‐term high densities of African elephants clear the understorey and promote a new stable savanna woodland community
Long‐term high densities of African elephants clear the understorey and promote a new stable savanna woodland community Open
Questions Species defined as ecosystem engineers (e.g. elephant) are able to strongly shape their habitat. In African savannas, elephants have often been shown to reduce woody‐plant abundance and diversity. However, recent studies highligh…
View article: Long-term high densities of African elephants clear the understorey and promote a new stable savanna woodland community
Long-term high densities of African elephants clear the understorey and promote a new stable savanna woodland community Open
Dataset and script associated to the journal article "Long-term high densities of African elephants clear the understorey and promote a new stable savanna woodland community". The dataset encompass the assessment of all woody plants in 12 …
View article: <i>Corrigendum to</i> : A handbook for the standardised sampling of plant functional traits in disturbance-prone ecosystems, with a focus on open ecosystems
<i>Corrigendum to</i> : A handbook for the standardised sampling of plant functional traits in disturbance-prone ecosystems, with a focus on open ecosystems Open
Plant functional traits provide a valuable tool to improve our understanding of ecological processes at a range of scales. Previous handbooks on plant functional traits have highlighted the importance of standardising measurements of trait…
View article: A handbook for the standardised sampling of plant functional traits in disturbance-prone ecosystems, with a focus on open ecosystems
A handbook for the standardised sampling of plant functional traits in disturbance-prone ecosystems, with a focus on open ecosystems Open
Plant functional traits provide a valuable tool to improve our understanding of ecological processes at a range of scales. Previous handbooks on plant functional traits have highlighted the importance of standardising measurements of trait…
View article: Rooting depth as a key woody functional trait in savannas
Rooting depth as a key woody functional trait in savannas Open
Summary Dimensions of tree root systems in savannas are poorly understood, despite being essential in resource acquisition and post‐disturbance recovery. We studied tree rooting patterns in Southern African savannas to ask: how tree rootin…
View article: Could drought constrain woody encroachers in savannas?
Could drought constrain woody encroachers in savannas? Open
Droughts are expected to become more frequent and severe, due to climate change, with uncertain consequences for savanna vegetation. Drought-driven tree mortality has been observed in some savannas, but little is known about how tolerant s…
View article: Large herbivores maintain a two‐phase herbaceous vegetation mosaic in a semi‐arid savanna
Large herbivores maintain a two‐phase herbaceous vegetation mosaic in a semi‐arid savanna Open
Many arid and semi‐arid rangelands exhibit distinct spatial patterning of vegetated and bare soil‐dominated patches. The latter potentially represent a grazing‐induced, degraded ecosystem state, but could also arise via mechanisms related …
View article: Leaf traits of African woody savanna species across climate and soil fertility gradients: evidence for conservative versus acquisitive resource‐use strategies
Leaf traits of African woody savanna species across climate and soil fertility gradients: evidence for conservative versus acquisitive resource‐use strategies Open
Summary Establishing trade‐offs among traits and the degree to which they covary along environmental gradients has become a key focal point in the effort to develop community ecology into a predictive science. While there is evidence for t…
View article: Browser impacts in Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa: Should we be worried?
Browser impacts in Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa: Should we be worried? Open
This study explores the impact of browsers on vegetation types within the Mapungubwe National Park and specifically whether rocky outcrops or ridges in the park serve as refugia from browsers, particularly elephants. We sampled 80 transect…