A better understanding of forest-savannah boundaries
Tropical forest-savanna transitions have historically been studied using global models and remote sensing approaches. This may not be enough to understand how these transitions occur in reality. The EU-funded TIPTROPTRANS (Looking for tipping points on tropical forest-savanna transitions) initiative aimed to understand the processes operating in tropical forest-savanna transitions. The researchers gathered detailed ecological and physiological data at a number of sites in Africa and Brazil. TIPTROPTRANS conducted detailed plot surveys in Brazil and Ghana to measure and describe functional diversity along forest-savanna transitions. From this information, the project created a database of tree species found along these transitions. In two different experiments, researchers tested the effects of water availability and fire on plant species ranging from forest to savanna. This information will help to improve dynamic vegetation models as well as global vegetation databases. The results of TIPTROPTRANS provide accurate information on the vulnerability of these forest-savannah transitions to ongoing climate changes.
