Project Summary

Sahelian Savanna Disturbance Experiment

Savannas are defined by the simultaneous presence of trees (or woody shrubs) and grasses in seasonally dry areas of the tropics and sub-tropics. The region is subject to frequent drought, and resulting problems of food security, environmental degradation, and desertification. By understanding how human management practices impact ecological processes, scientists can help promote sound management in the face of future changing climate.

Overview
Savannas are ecosystems characterized by the simultaneous presence of trees (or woody shrubs) and grasses in seasonally dry areas of the tropics and sub-tropics. This coexistence of very different types of plants is important in terms of the functioning of the ecosystem (e.g., vegetation growth, water use, carbon sequestration), but also in terms of how humans benefit from and manage these unique systems (e.g., grazing cattle or fuel-wood harvest). In Africa, the savannas are key areas of biotic, economic and cultural diversity. The Sahel-Sudan zone of West Africa is a savanna that is crucial to the rural economy of Africa north of the equator and for the livelihoods of the regions pastoral and agricultural peoples. The region is subject to frequent drought, with attendant problems of food security, environmental degradation, and perceived problems of desertification. Understanding of how human management practices, especially grazing and fire, impact ecological processes will help scientists develop best practices for sound land management and help the regions people adapt to climate change looming on the horizon. Collaborators from Colorado State University and universities in Mali have designed a comprehensive field experiment to examine the interactive effects of fire and large herbivores on savanna vegetation across the West African rainfall gradient, from dry Sahel in the north to wetter savannas in the south.
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At each site fences and fire-breaks exclude domestic livestock, fires, and combined fires and livestock, from experimental plots. The team will monitor vegetation growth to examine how disturbances impact survival and growth of trees and grasses, determine the role of disturbance in changing vegetation structure, and how these patterns change across the rainfall gradient. The experiment will provide much needed empirical data on tree-grass interactions in West African savannas and complement research elsewhere in Africa, Australia and South America. This work contributes to ecological theory for savannas and the role of disturbance in species coexistence. In addition, this project will build long-term collaborative and scientific links between two research and teaching institutions in Mali (University of Bamako and the Institute Polytechnique Rural) and researchers and students at Colorado State University. This project will provide unique research experiences, and international scientific/cultural exposure, to U.S. students, and facilitate development of a collaborating nucleus of African and U.S. researchers that will endure well into the future. The project provides U.S. researchers and students significant opportunities to work in Africa, and African researchers and students opportunities to develop long-term research interests in collaboration with U.S. counterparts.

Objectives
1. Examine how grazing by domestic animals, and ground-fires, affect vegetation dynamics in West African savannas. 2. Explore cascading impacts of fire and herbivory on microbial, invertebrate, and vertebrate species and impacts on ecosystem functions such as carbon, water and nutrient cycles. 3. Assess the role of alternative land use options available to rural populations in West Africa for their contrasting economic and ecological impacts and long-term social-ecological sustainability.

More Information
Niall Hanan Research Scientist Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory (NREL) Colorado State University Phone/Email 970-491-4112 niall.hanan@colostate.edu

Links Institute for Livestock & the Environment: www.livestockandenvironment.info NREL Program for African Ecosystems: www.nrel.colostate.edu/african-program.html

A herd of cattle moves through the savanna in Mali. Understanding the role of fire, grazing, and vegetation will help cattle herders and rural communities adapt to climate change (Photo: Niall Hanan).

Solving problems at the interface of livestock production and science-based environmental management. www.livestockandenvironment.info