Effect of fire on the palatability of plants in an African woodland savanna: varying impacts depending on plant functional groups.

ABSTRACT: Fire and herbivores are two important drivers of changes in vegetation composition, quality and dynamics and both are highly related to each other. Herbivores are known to respond to fire both in terms of foraging decisions and distribution. However, little is known about the actual changes in plant chemistry following a fire event and how long these changes will last. We investigated the effect of fire on two different plant functional groups (grasses and woody species) in a woodland savanna of southern Africa. We studied chemical compounds known to be important for palatability of five perennial grass and seven woody species (trees and shrubs) common in the woodland savanna and known to be utilized by herbivores. We wanted to know if plant chemistry differs between a recently burned site

SUBMITTER: Stolter C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8783561 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature