Original Research
Herbivores shape woody plant communities in the Kruger National Park: Lessons from three long-term exclosures
Submitted: 07 May 2013 | Published: 11 March 2014
About the author(s)
Benjamin J. Wigley, School of Natural Resource Management, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, George campus, South Africa; UMR CNRS 5558 LBBE, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, FranceHerve Fritz, UMR CNRS 5558 LBBE, University Claude Bernard Lyon 1, France
Corli Coetsee, School of Natural Resource Management, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, George campus, South Africa
William J. Bond, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Abstract
Conservation implications: Browsers were shown to have significant impacts on plant communities. They have noticeable effects on local species diversity and population structure, as well as soil nutrients. These impacts are shown to be related to the underlying geology and climate. The effects of browsers on woody communities were shown to be greater in low rainfall, fertile areas compared to high rainfall, infertile soils.
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Crossref Citations
1. A thorny issue: Woody plant defence and growth in an East African savanna
Benjamin J. Wigley, Corli Coetsee, David J. Augustine, Jayashree Ratnam, Dawood Hattas, Mahesh Sankaran, Giselda Durigan
Journal of Ecology vol: 107 issue: 4 first page: 1839 year: 2019
doi: 10.1111/1365-2745.13140