Abstract
This study assesses the impact of four fire treatments applied yearly over 3 y, i.e. early fire, mid-season fire, late fire and no fire treatments, on the grass communities of Lamto savanna, Ivory Coast. We describe communities of perennial tussock grasses on three replicated 5 × 5-m or 10 × 5-m plots of each fire treatment. Tussock density did not vary with fire treatment. The relative abundance of grass species, the circumference of grass tussocks and the probability of having a tussock with a central die-back, varied with fire treatment. Mid-season fire had the highest proportion of tussocks with a central die-back while the late fire had the smallest tussocks. Tussock density, circumference, relative abundance and probability of having a central die-back varied with species. Andropogon canaliculatus and Hyparrhenia diplandra were the most abundant of the nine grass species. They had the largest tussocks and the highest proportion of tussock with a central die-back. Loudetia simplex was the third most abundant species but was very rare in no fire plots. The distribution of tussock circumferences was right skewed and dominated by small tussocks. The proportion of the tussocks with a central die-back strongly increased with circumference, which could lead to tussock fragmentation. Taken together, this study suggests that fire regimes impact grass demography and that this impact depends on grass species and tussock size.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-7 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Tropical Ecology |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2019 |
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Keywords
- Fire regimes
- Humid savanna
- Perennial grass
- Savanna fire
- Tussock circumference
- Tussock density
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
Cite this
Effect of fire regime on the grass community of the humid savanna of lamto, ivory coast. / Koffi, Kouame Fulgence; N'dri, Aya Brigitte; Lata, Jean Christophe; Konaté, Souleymane; Srikanthasamy, Tharaniya; Konan, Marcel; Barot, Sébastien.
In: Journal of Tropical Ecology, Vol. 35, No. 1, 01.01.2019, p. 1-7.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Effect of fire regime on the grass community of the humid savanna of lamto, ivory coast
AU - Koffi, Kouame Fulgence
AU - N'dri, Aya Brigitte
AU - Lata, Jean Christophe
AU - Konaté, Souleymane
AU - Srikanthasamy, Tharaniya
AU - Konan, Marcel
AU - Barot, Sébastien
PY - 2019/1/1
Y1 - 2019/1/1
N2 - This study assesses the impact of four fire treatments applied yearly over 3 y, i.e. early fire, mid-season fire, late fire and no fire treatments, on the grass communities of Lamto savanna, Ivory Coast. We describe communities of perennial tussock grasses on three replicated 5 × 5-m or 10 × 5-m plots of each fire treatment. Tussock density did not vary with fire treatment. The relative abundance of grass species, the circumference of grass tussocks and the probability of having a tussock with a central die-back, varied with fire treatment. Mid-season fire had the highest proportion of tussocks with a central die-back while the late fire had the smallest tussocks. Tussock density, circumference, relative abundance and probability of having a central die-back varied with species. Andropogon canaliculatus and Hyparrhenia diplandra were the most abundant of the nine grass species. They had the largest tussocks and the highest proportion of tussock with a central die-back. Loudetia simplex was the third most abundant species but was very rare in no fire plots. The distribution of tussock circumferences was right skewed and dominated by small tussocks. The proportion of the tussocks with a central die-back strongly increased with circumference, which could lead to tussock fragmentation. Taken together, this study suggests that fire regimes impact grass demography and that this impact depends on grass species and tussock size.
AB - This study assesses the impact of four fire treatments applied yearly over 3 y, i.e. early fire, mid-season fire, late fire and no fire treatments, on the grass communities of Lamto savanna, Ivory Coast. We describe communities of perennial tussock grasses on three replicated 5 × 5-m or 10 × 5-m plots of each fire treatment. Tussock density did not vary with fire treatment. The relative abundance of grass species, the circumference of grass tussocks and the probability of having a tussock with a central die-back, varied with fire treatment. Mid-season fire had the highest proportion of tussocks with a central die-back while the late fire had the smallest tussocks. Tussock density, circumference, relative abundance and probability of having a central die-back varied with species. Andropogon canaliculatus and Hyparrhenia diplandra were the most abundant of the nine grass species. They had the largest tussocks and the highest proportion of tussock with a central die-back. Loudetia simplex was the third most abundant species but was very rare in no fire plots. The distribution of tussock circumferences was right skewed and dominated by small tussocks. The proportion of the tussocks with a central die-back strongly increased with circumference, which could lead to tussock fragmentation. Taken together, this study suggests that fire regimes impact grass demography and that this impact depends on grass species and tussock size.
KW - Fire regimes
KW - Humid savanna
KW - Perennial grass
KW - Savanna fire
KW - Tussock circumference
KW - Tussock density
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060657449&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85060657449&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1017/S0266467418000391
DO - 10.1017/S0266467418000391
M3 - Article
VL - 35
SP - 1
EP - 7
JO - Journal of Tropical Ecology
JF - Journal of Tropical Ecology
SN - 0266-4674
IS - 1
ER -