Chapters authored
Miombo Woodlands Research Towards the Sustainable Use of Ecosystem Services in Southern Africa
Part of the book: Biodiversity in Ecosystems
Contextualizing the Factors Affecting Species Diversity and Composition in the African Savanna
Recently, sustainable forest management has been the top priority for many international forest conservation organizations, governing authorities, and interest groups. Forest conversion to farmland for fuel wood removal, charcoal production, and woodland grazing is the principal mechanism of forest degradation, habitat change, and loss of biodiversity. Despite the increasing acknowledgment of conservation values of savanna, our understanding of the factors affecting species diversity and composition for the African savanna remains limited. This chapter provides a systematic review of the factors affecting species diversity and composition in an African savanna. However, in order to reduce this inadequacy, a careful examination of the existing literature was conducted. After a thorough review, it was revealed that species diversity and composition in savanna are significantly shaped by grazing, fire, and resource availability, that is, rainfall and soil nutrients, as well as anthropogenic activities. Understanding the diversity and composition of tree species is vital since they provide resources and habitats for several other species. Botanical assessments, such as floristic composition, species diversity, and structural analysis studies, are significant for providing accurate information on species richness, which is valuable for sustainable forest management and helps to understand forest ecology and ecosystem functions.
Part of the book: Vegetation Dynamics, Changing Ecosystems and Human Responsibility