Emergent trees in Colophospermum mopane woodland: influence of elephant density on persistence versus attrition.

ABSTRACT: Colophospermum mopane (mopane) forms mono-dominant woodlands covering extensive areas of southern Africa. Mopane provides a staple foodstuff for elephants, who hedge woodland by reducing trees to small trees or shrubs, leaving emergent trees which are too large to be pollarded. Emergent trees are important for supporting faunal biodiversity, but they can be killed by ringbarking. This study first examined the influence of elephant density on woodland transformation and the height distribution of canopy volume, and, second, whether canopy volume is maintained, and tall emergent trees too large to be broken can persist, under chronic elephant utilisation. Three regimes of 0.23, 0.59 and 2.75 elephants km^-2 differed in vegetation structure and the height structure of trees.

SUBMITTER: O'Connor T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10903334 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature