Effects of frequent burning on grass-grazer interactions in a mesic savanna

dc.contributor.advisorBond, William Jen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorArchibald, Sallyen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-08-13T14:14:03Z
dc.date.available2014-08-13T14:14:03Z
dc.date.issued2003en_ZA
dc.descriptionBibliography: leaves 127-133.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractFires are often used as a management tool in both game reserves and rangelands to manipulate food availability for grazing animals. After fires, large areas of the landscape are quickly covered with nutritious new regrowth, which grazers move into and utilise as a food resource. The effect of this change in animal grazing patterns on the grass communities is not yet well understood. Certain grass communities depend on heavy, continuous grazing for their persistence: they are out-competed by taller-growing species in the absence of grazing. Conversely, the taller-growing species die out under heavy grazing. Thus, in many savanna and grassland ecosystems, the grass community present in an area depends on how frequently and how intensively the area is grazed. Every year, fires in these systems are altering the distribution of grazing in space and time, by altering the proportions and distributions of short, palatable grass. In my MSc I present data describing how fire alters grazing patterns, and I show how this can result in the disappearance of intensively grazed patches in the landscape. I also use a model to illustrate how this effect might be mediated by rainfall and grazer density, and by different fire regimes. I investigate long-term consequences of this process on the distributions of alternative grassland states in Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park and show that lawn-grass-dominated areas are associated with a less-frequent fire regime. Thus, although large fires provide high-quality grazing in the short term, in the long term they could be limiting the amount of grazing in an area, because they prevent the initiation and spread of grazing-tolerant lawn-grasslands, which can support high grazer numbers and a high diversity of grazers.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationArchibald, S. (2003). <i>Effects of frequent burning on grass-grazer interactions in a mesic savanna</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6222en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationArchibald, Sally. <i>"Effects of frequent burning on grass-grazer interactions in a mesic savanna."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2003. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6222en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationArchibald, S. 2003. Effects of frequent burning on grass-grazer interactions in a mesic savanna. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Archibald, Sally AB - Fires are often used as a management tool in both game reserves and rangelands to manipulate food availability for grazing animals. After fires, large areas of the landscape are quickly covered with nutritious new regrowth, which grazers move into and utilise as a food resource. The effect of this change in animal grazing patterns on the grass communities is not yet well understood. Certain grass communities depend on heavy, continuous grazing for their persistence: they are out-competed by taller-growing species in the absence of grazing. Conversely, the taller-growing species die out under heavy grazing. Thus, in many savanna and grassland ecosystems, the grass community present in an area depends on how frequently and how intensively the area is grazed. Every year, fires in these systems are altering the distribution of grazing in space and time, by altering the proportions and distributions of short, palatable grass. In my MSc I present data describing how fire alters grazing patterns, and I show how this can result in the disappearance of intensively grazed patches in the landscape. I also use a model to illustrate how this effect might be mediated by rainfall and grazer density, and by different fire regimes. I investigate long-term consequences of this process on the distributions of alternative grassland states in Hluhluwe Umfolozi Park and show that lawn-grass-dominated areas are associated with a less-frequent fire regime. Thus, although large fires provide high-quality grazing in the short term, in the long term they could be limiting the amount of grazing in an area, because they prevent the initiation and spread of grazing-tolerant lawn-grasslands, which can support high grazer numbers and a high diversity of grazers. DA - 2003 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2003 T1 - Effects of frequent burning on grass-grazer interactions in a mesic savanna TI - Effects of frequent burning on grass-grazer interactions in a mesic savanna UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6222 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/6222
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationArchibald S. Effects of frequent burning on grass-grazer interactions in a mesic savanna. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2003 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/6222en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherBotanyen_ZA
dc.titleEffects of frequent burning on grass-grazer interactions in a mesic savannaen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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