Limited long-term effects of moderate livestock grazing and prescribed early fire on soil and root processes in Sudanian savanna-woodlands, West Africa

Geoderma ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 306 ◽  
pp. 18-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrice Savadogo ◽  
Sata Diawara ◽  
Sidzabda Djibril Dayamba ◽  
Louis Sawadogo ◽  
Hassan Bismark Nacro
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Long Term Effects

The influence of plant diversity on the resilience of harvester termites to fire

1995 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Max Abensperg-Traun ◽  
Dion Steven ◽  
Lyn Atkins
Keyword(s):  
Western Australia ◽  
High Intensity ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Grazing Pressure ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Floristic Diversity ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Burnt Area ◽  
Food Species

The harvester termites in floristically rich mallee-heath of southern Western Australia appear resilient to high-intensity fire. This contrasts with the temporary extinction of harvesters occupying a narrow food niche in floristically simple, intensely burnt spinifex Triodia angusta grassland in tropical Western Australia. The present study examines the effects of high-intensity fire on harvester termites Drepanotermes tamminensis in vegetation of intermediate floristic diversity and compares its findings with these earlier studies. We sampled 20 mounds (termitaria) in both an unburnt and (adjacent) burnt stand of Allocasuarina campestris shrubland. Although partially regenerated three years after the fire, 40% of mounds in the burnt area were abandoned, contrasting with 10% in the unburnt stand. No harvested chaff was found in any of the abandoned mounds. The extent of mound occupation by D. tamminensis was considerably lower, and ant invasion higher, in the burnt stand. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that high floristic diversity enhances the resilience of harvester termites to fire. The most likely mechanism is the availability of a range of plant (food) species with different regenerative responses to high-intensity fire. The death of spinifex and the associated harvester termites after fire may be atypical. We argue, however, that temporary extinction of harvester populations in arid Australia may not be exceptional, particularly where fire coincides with drought and high livestock grazing pressure. Rigorous experimental studies are necessary to enhance our understanding of the long-term effects of fire on harvester termite populations in different vegetation types and climatic zones.

scholarly journals A 13-Year Approach to Understand the Effect of Prescribed Fires and Livestock Grazing on Soil Chemical Properties in Tivissa, NE Iberian Peninsula

Forests ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 1013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meritxell Alcañiz ◽  
Xavier Úbeda ◽  
Artemi Cerdà
Keyword(s):  
Iberian Peninsula ◽  
Prescribed Fire ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Chemical Properties ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Land Abandonment ◽  
Prescribed Fires ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Ne Iberian Peninsula

The high density of fuel accumulated in the Mediterranean ecosystems due to land abandonment results in high severity fires. Traditional fire practices and livestock grazing have played an important role in shaping the structure and composition of Mediterranean landscapes, and both can be efficient tools to manage them now that land abandonment is widespread. Attempts at controlling forest fires are essential for landscape management practices that, in their turn, seek to maintain a specific species composition. Against this backdrop, this study aims to determine the short- and long-term effects of the combined management practices of prescribed fires and goat grazing on the chemical properties of soils in Tivissa, Tarragona (NE Iberian Peninsula). Forty-two samples were collected in a 4 × 18 m plot before the prescribed fire of 2002 (1), immediately after the 2002 prescribed fire (PF) (2), one year after the 2002 PF (3), three years after the 2002 PF (4), and thirteen years after the 2002 PF (5). Soil samples were taken at each sampling point from the top layer (0–5 cm), sieved to obtain a <2 mm fraction, and soil pH, EC, Total C, total N, available P, K+, Ca2+, and Mg2+ were determined. The results indicate that the short-term effects of fire are more relevant than those attributable to the livestock over the long term due to the low grazing intensity of less than one goat per ha. The long-term effects of prescribed fires were not visible in the research, suggesting that they recovered after burning with all their functions intact and with enhanced levels of natural fertility. Combined land management practices of prescribed fire and livestock grazing did not affect soil chemical properties. The applied management enhanced soil fertility and boosted the ecosystem’s resilience.

Long-term effects of fallow systems and lengths on crop production and soil fertility maintenance in West Africa

2005 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Tian ◽  
B. T. Kang ◽  
G. O. Kolawole ◽  
P. Idinoba ◽  
F. K. Salako
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Fallow Systems

scholarly journals Dominant species’ resprout biomass dynamics after cutting in the Sudanian savanna-woodlands of West Africa: long term effects of annual early fire and grazing

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sidzabda Djibril Dayamba ◽  
Patrice Savadogo ◽  
Louis Sawadogo ◽  
Didier Zida ◽  
Daniel Tiveau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Africa ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Biomass Dynamics
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