Global ETD Search
Search theses and dissertations gathered from participating repositories worldwide. Every result links back to the library that holds it. No account is needed.
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Showing 1 to 20 of 87 for “"savannas"”.
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Historical fire regimes in southeasern pine savannas
Southeastern coastal plain pine savannas lack direct evidence of past fire regimes. As a result, uncertainty exists regarding the range of variation in frequency and seasonal timing of past fire regimes and the relative importance of anthropogenic and lightning-ignited fires. Characterization of …
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Forest colonization of savannas : patterns and process
In this study, I explored factors that influence forest colonization in a South African savanna. I used a 50 year fire experiment in the Kruger National Park to explore patterns of forest colonization in a mesic Terminalia sericea savanna. I studied woody seedling and sapling distribution in …
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Plant Community Development of Isle Royale's Moose-Spruce Savannas
… in a shift towards more open forests and savannas. By 1996, 16% of the forests at the southwest end of Isle Royale had become savanna and another 20% were starting to break-up. The changes in understory vegetation brought about by savanna formation have received little attention, even …
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Understory vegetation patterns in oak savannas of the Missouri Ozarks
Indigenous oak savannas are among the most endangered natural communities in Missouri. Understanding the floristic patterns which characterize savannas is important for the management and restoration of these rare communities. The purposes of this investigation were to describe the plant …
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The role of topography in the emergence of African savannas
The coexistence of trees and grasses in savannas are not well understood even though savannas occupy a wide area of West Africa. In this study, a hypothesis is proposed to investigate the question of how trees and grasses coexist in a region. The hypothesis suggests that the variation in elevation …
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The ecology of sprouting in South African forests, savannas and fynbos
… the ecology of sprouting in forests, fynbos and savannas respectively; and the fourth undertakes to determine whether sprouting is considered in plant ecological strategy schemes. Chapter 1 and 2 deals with the role of sprouting in forests in relation to reseeding as key regeneration strategies …
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Sustainable management of semi-arid African savannas under environmental and political change
… the vegetation dynamics of semi-arid and arid savannas. Again, the difference in predictions is related to the bottleneck at the seedling establishment stage of woody plants, which has not been sufficiently considered in earlier studies. The ecological-economic role plays with Namibian land …
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Looking into the Past: The Diversification of Amphibians in the Neotropical Savannas
… is distributed in the Bolivian and Brazilian savannas and Chaco and it is comprised of at least tree species <em>C. albopunctata, C. mehelyi</em>, and a composite lineage that includes: <em>C. bicegoi, C. centralis</em>, and <em>C.</em> sp. The Cerrado species <em>C. centralis, D. …
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Evolution of reptile diversity in tropical savannas - a study across scales and continents
… speciation and local adaptation. Tropical savannas are environmentally heterogeneous biomes, covering one sixth of the Earth's terrestrial surface, in which a high number of species coexist, with high levels of endemism. My thesis compares pattern and process of savanna reptile diversity …
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Evolution of reptile diversity in tropical savannas - a study across scales and continents
… speciation and local adaptation. Tropical savannas are environmentally heterogeneous biomes, covering one sixth of the Earth's terrestrial surface, in which a high number of species coexist, with high levels of endemism. My thesis compares pattern and process of savanna reptile diversity …
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Niche differentiation in savannas : exploring competition-based hypotheses for inter-life form coexistence
… predict that coexistence of trees and grasses in savannas may be possible if trees and grasses occupy different niches when exploiting limited resources such as water and nutrients. I investigated two competition-based models, each of them considering a different axis for niche separation: the …
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Do trees suppress grass fuel loads? : canopy cover effects in South African savannas
Continental scale analysis of the savanna biome indicated that fire did not spread at tree canopy cover above 40%. This study investigates this relationship in a field study. It is possible that the type of tree (forest vs. savanna) may influence the amount of shade experienced by the understory …
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A Quantitative Analysis of the Vegetation of Post Oak Savannas in Taney County, Missouri
… States is responsible for the conversion of savannas into closed woodlands. To assess the impact of past and future fire management of savannas in southwest Missouri I quantified the overstory and understory composition of an old growth savanna, a recently restored savanna, and a closed …
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Ecological assembly of high-diversity plant communities: dispersal, competition, and environmental filtering in longleaf pine savannas
… for community assembly in high-diversity pine savannas, with implications for other species-rich plant communities. I propose that characteristics of high-diversity communities (large species pools and pervasive recruitment limitation in populations of many rare species) generally contribute to …
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The demographic impacts of browsing on woody plants in savannas : from individual branches to whole populations
… patterns. This is particularly true in African savannas where many large browsers persist at high densities. Most of the theory and models outlining mechanisms of impact on plants and predicting responses are framed in terms of biomass impacts and responses. However, for trees in African …
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Exploring the potential impacts of global change on the woody component of of South African savannas
… change in other biomes, including African savannas. In savannas elevated CO2 has been implicated in driving an increase in woody cover, however attribution to global drivers is often confounded by land - use management which is also implicated as a driver of tree cover increases. Climate …
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Characterization of Sites for Native Herbaceous Understory Restoration in West Gulf Coast Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Savannas
<p>Longleaf pine (<em>Pinus palustris</em>) savannas were once dominant in East Texas and parts of western and central Louisiana. Native understory species have since been removed or reduced by exotic plants that were introduced and from the reduction in the frequency of both wild and prescribed …
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Characterization of Sites for Native Herbaceous Understory Restoration in West Gulf Coast Longleaf Pine (Pinus palustris) Savannas
<p> Longleaf pine (<em>Pinus palustris</em>) savannas were once dominant in East Texas and parts of western and central Louisiana. Native understory species have since been removed or reduced by exotic plants that were introduced and from the reduction in the frequency of both wild and prescribed …
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