Productivity of Tropical Savannas and Grasslands

摘要: The savanna biome is diverse, including formations ranging from almost treeless grasslands to more or less closed-canopy woodlands with considerable variation in plant composition, biomass, and net primary productivity (NPP). Savannas cover an extensive area the tropics, inhabited by a fifth of human population, supporting majority world's livestock large mammals. Savanna ecosystems dynamics are currently poorly understood because little attention has been paid these areas compared tropical forests temperate grasslands. Yet it emerging that savannas have higher biodiversity, greater productivity, larger impact on global carbon cycles than previously realized. Most research carried out form short-term site studies one two ecological aspects. This will impacts NPP predictions climate change, thus important improve understanding them. proportion trees grasses highly variable space time, yet very about complex dynamic processes interactions controlling There great paucity even basic data for heterogeneous relatively few this past. Additionally, there need large-scale syntheses existing knowledge understanding.