Prescribed fire is used in the Sudanian savanna-woodland of West Africa as a forest management tool. An experiment was carried out to assess the effects of season of burning, and different vertical probe positions on ...Prescribed fire is used in the Sudanian savanna-woodland of West Africa as a forest management tool. An experiment was carried out to assess the effects of season of burning, and different vertical probe positions on maximum fire temperature and temperature residence time above 60℃ which is considered lethal for plant tissues. Seasons of burning considered were： an early season fire set at the beginning of the dry season （beginning of December）, mid-season fire set at the peak of the dry season （mid-January）, and a late season fire at the end of the dry season （end of March）. The effects of these fires on the germination of buried seeds of three socio-economically valuable tree species were also examined. Results indicated significant differences in maximum fire temperature and residence time with respect to season of burning and vertical probe position （p 〈 0.001）. The highest and longest lasting temperatures were observed at 20 cm above ground during early fire and at the soil surface during mid-season and late fires. This, in turn, affected germination responses of seeds buried at different soil depths. Implications of these findings in the current management practices are discussed.展开更多
Based on 120 stem discs collected during3 months of fieldwork along a 12 km route,the history of fires in the Wari Maro Forest（09 1000 N–02 1000E） over the past century in savanna woodland and dry forest was recons...Based on 120 stem discs collected during3 months of fieldwork along a 12 km route,the history of fires in the Wari Maro Forest（09 1000 N–02 1000E） over the past century in savanna woodland and dry forest was reconstituted.Three major ecological areas are characterized：one highly burnt zone located between two relative less burnt areas.By analyzing tree rings,246 fire scars were identified.The scars were caused by 51 fire years,occurring at a mean interval of 2.23 years.From 1890 to1965,only 6 years with fires were recorded from sampled trees.Since 1966,no year has passed without fire.The fire frequency point scale reached 14 years.This was the case of Burkea africana,which has been identified as a species tolerant to fire and could be planted to create a natural firewall.In contrast,Anogeissus leiocarpa is highly sensitive to fire,and in a dry forest ecosystem that burns seasonally,it requires a special conservation plan.Two new concepts are described：the rebarking of trees after fire and Mean Kilometer Fire Interval.The first concept was tested with Daniellia oliveri（Rolfe） Hutch ＆ Dalz trees,and the second concept was used to evaluate spatial fire distribution.We demonstrate that savanna woodland and dry forest were subject to a degradation process caused by destructive fires related to vegetation cover clearance and illegal logging.展开更多
Aims Vegetation succession depends on the availability of suitable prop-agules in the soils,thus knowledge of soil seed banks is essential for formulating effective strategies for restoring the vegetation of degraded ...Aims Vegetation succession depends on the availability of suitable prop-agules in the soils,thus knowledge of soil seed banks is essential for formulating effective strategies for restoring the vegetation of degraded sites.The W National Park,the only trans-boundary bio-sphere reserve in West Africa,is being extensively fragmented and degraded in recent decades.The aims of this study were to assess the reserve’s soil seed banks,their relationships with standing veg-etation and bundle of disturbances and their potential significance for vegetation restoration.Methods The size and composition of the above-ground species vegetation were assessed in nine plots of 1 ha each representing a range of habitats with differing disturbance severity(low,intermediate and high).A total of 702 soil samples were taken from three layers(0-3,3-6 and 6-9 cm)and soil seed bank was analyzed using the seed-ling emergence technique.Important Findings Generally,seeds of non-woody taxa dominated in samples from all soil depths and habitats of all disturbance severities.The mean soil seed density was 17.8,24.4 and 26.3 seeds/dm^(3) in samples from the least,intermediate and most disturbed sites,respectively,and highest in the upper soil layers in all cases.The results indi-cate that there is limited potential for restoring woody vegetation solely from soil seed banks,and that woody species in the region rely more on recently shed seeds trapped in the standing dead biomass and litter on the ground than soil seed banks for regen-eration.Thus,human intervention is needed to accelerate forest recovery,mainly through alleviating anthropogenic impacts on the ecosystem(for instance,avoiding destruction of new seeds by intense fire),and site manipulation to improve environmen-tal conditions for seedling establishment and growth.Other ways of restoring forests than through the soil seed bank(e.g.sowing seeds collected elsewhere,and planting tree seedlings)could also be relevant.展开更多
基金supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
文摘Prescribed fire is used in the Sudanian savanna-woodland of West Africa as a forest management tool. An experiment was carried out to assess the effects of season of burning, and different vertical probe positions on maximum fire temperature and temperature residence time above 60℃ which is considered lethal for plant tissues. Seasons of burning considered were： an early season fire set at the beginning of the dry season （beginning of December）, mid-season fire set at the peak of the dry season （mid-January）, and a late season fire at the end of the dry season （end of March）. The effects of these fires on the germination of buried seeds of three socio-economically valuable tree species were also examined. Results indicated significant differences in maximum fire temperature and residence time with respect to season of burning and vertical probe position （p 〈 0.001）. The highest and longest lasting temperatures were observed at 20 cm above ground during early fire and at the soil surface during mid-season and late fires. This, in turn, affected germination responses of seeds buried at different soil depths. Implications of these findings in the current management practices are discussed.
基金funded by Deutscher Akademisher Austausch Dienst(DAAD)Biodiversity Monitoring Transect Analysis(BIOTA)project
文摘Based on 120 stem discs collected during3 months of fieldwork along a 12 km route,the history of fires in the Wari Maro Forest（09 1000 N–02 1000E） over the past century in savanna woodland and dry forest was reconstituted.Three major ecological areas are characterized：one highly burnt zone located between two relative less burnt areas.By analyzing tree rings,246 fire scars were identified.The scars were caused by 51 fire years,occurring at a mean interval of 2.23 years.From 1890 to1965,only 6 years with fires were recorded from sampled trees.Since 1966,no year has passed without fire.The fire frequency point scale reached 14 years.This was the case of Burkea africana,which has been identified as a species tolerant to fire and could be planted to create a natural firewall.In contrast,Anogeissus leiocarpa is highly sensitive to fire,and in a dry forest ecosystem that burns seasonally,it requires a special conservation plan.Two new concepts are described：the rebarking of trees after fire and Mean Kilometer Fire Interval.The first concept was tested with Daniellia oliveri（Rolfe） Hutch ＆ Dalz trees,and the second concept was used to evaluate spatial fire distribution.We demonstrate that savanna woodland and dry forest were subject to a degradation process caused by destructive fires related to vegetation cover clearance and illegal logging.
文摘Aims Vegetation succession depends on the availability of suitable prop-agules in the soils,thus knowledge of soil seed banks is essential for formulating effective strategies for restoring the vegetation of degraded sites.The W National Park,the only trans-boundary bio-sphere reserve in West Africa,is being extensively fragmented and degraded in recent decades.The aims of this study were to assess the reserve’s soil seed banks,their relationships with standing veg-etation and bundle of disturbances and their potential significance for vegetation restoration.Methods The size and composition of the above-ground species vegetation were assessed in nine plots of 1 ha each representing a range of habitats with differing disturbance severity(low,intermediate and high).A total of 702 soil samples were taken from three layers(0-3,3-6 and 6-9 cm)and soil seed bank was analyzed using the seed-ling emergence technique.Important Findings Generally,seeds of non-woody taxa dominated in samples from all soil depths and habitats of all disturbance severities.The mean soil seed density was 17.8,24.4 and 26.3 seeds/dm^(3) in samples from the least,intermediate and most disturbed sites,respectively,and highest in the upper soil layers in all cases.The results indi-cate that there is limited potential for restoring woody vegetation solely from soil seed banks,and that woody species in the region rely more on recently shed seeds trapped in the standing dead biomass and litter on the ground than soil seed banks for regen-eration.Thus,human intervention is needed to accelerate forest recovery,mainly through alleviating anthropogenic impacts on the ecosystem(for instance,avoiding destruction of new seeds by intense fire),and site manipulation to improve environmen-tal conditions for seedling establishment and growth.Other ways of restoring forests than through the soil seed bank(e.g.sowing seeds collected elsewhere,and planting tree seedlings)could also be relevant.
