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Cited by 115Rangeland and Wildlife ManagementWildlife Ecology and ConservationEcosystem dynamics and resilience

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 75 of the 75 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

A model-framed evaluation of elephant effects on tree and fire dynamics in African savannas.

Open access
Baxter, Peter W. J., Getz, Wayne M.·2005·Ecological Applications
DOI 10.1890/02-5382
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Abstract

There is a concern that high densities of elephants in southern Africa could lead to the overall reduction of other forms of biodiversity. We present a grid‐based model of elephant–savanna dynamics, which differs from previous elephant–vegetation models by accounting for woody plant demographics, tree–grass interactions, stochastic environmental variables (fire and rainfall), and spatial contagion of fire and tree recruitment. The model projects changes in height structure and spatial pattern of trees over periods of centuries. The vegetation component of the model produces long‐term tree–grass coexistence, and the emergent fire frequencies match those reported for southern African savannas. Including elephants in the savanna model had the expected effect of reducing woody plant cover, mainly via increased adult tree mortality, although at an elephant density of 1.0 elephant/km 2 , woody plants still persisted for over a century. We tested three different scenarios in addition to our default assumptions. (1) Reducing mortality of adult trees after elephant use, mimicking a more browsing‐tolerant tree species, mitigated the detrimental effect of elephants on the woody population. (2) Coupling germination success (increased seedling recruitment) to elephant browsing further increased tree persistence, and (3) a faster growing woody component allowed some woody plant persistence for at least a century at a density of 3 elephants/km 2 . Quantitative models of the kind presented here provide a valuable tool for exploring the consequences of management decisions involving the manipulation of elephant population densities.

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Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Frost P. G. H. andP.Robertson.1987. The ecological effects of fire in savannas. Pages 93–140inB. H. Walker editor. Determinants of tropical savannas. Springer-Verlag Berlin Germany.
  2. Kiker G. A.1998. Development and comparison of savanna ecosystem models to explore the concept of carrying capacity. Dissertation. Cornell University Ithaca New York USA.
  3. Norton-Griffiths M.1979. The influence of grazing browsing and fire on the vegetation dynamics of the Serengeti. Pages 310–352inA. R. E. Sinclair and M. Norton-Griffiths editors. Serengeti: dynamics of an ecosystem. University of Chicago Press Chicago Illinois USA.
  4. Rutherford M. C.1997. Categorization of biomes. Pages 91– 98inR. M. Cowling D. M. Richardson and S. M. Pierce editors. Vegetation of southern Africa. Cambridge University Press Cambridge UK.
  5. Scholes R. J.1997. Savanna. Pages 258–277inR. M. Cowling D. M. Richardson and S. M. Pierce editors. Vegetation of southern Africa. Cambridge University Press Cambridge UK.
  6. Starfield A. M., 1993, A frame-based paradigm for dynamic ecosystem models, AI Applications, 7, 1
  7. Thomson P. J., 1975, The role of elephants, fire and other agents in the decline of a Brachystegia boehmii woodland, Journal of the Southern African Wildlife Management Association, 5, 11
  8. Tyson P. D., 1978, The predicted above-normal rainfall of the seventies and the likelihood of droughts in the eighties in South Africa, South African Journal of Science, 74, 372

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Metadata

Authors
Baxter, P. W. J., & Getz, W. M.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
  • University of Pretoria (ZA)
Corresponding author
Baxter, Peter W. J.
ORCID
Venue
Ecological Applications
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2005-08
Volume
15
Issue
4
Pages
1331-1341
ISSN
  • 1051-0761 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-5582
DOI
10.1890/02-5382
OpenAlex
W2164481256
Cited by
115
References
75
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 3
FWCI
7.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/termsAndConditions#vor (vor)
Locations
  • Ecological Applications (publishedVersion)
  • QUT ePrints (Queensland University of Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Science Foundation (0090323)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Rangeland and Wildlife Management
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Ecology › Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Ecosystem dynamics and resilience
Keywords
elephant browsing, savanna dynamics, tree-grass coexistence, fire regimes, woody plant cover, tree mortality, seedling recruitment, southern African savanna, elephant management

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