Herbaceous biomass–species diversity relationships in nutrient hotspots of a semi-arid African riparian ecosystem

• Published in: African journal of range & forage science Vol. 32; no. 3; pp. 213 - 223
• Main Authors: van Coller, Helga, Siebert, Frances
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Scottsville Taylor & Francis 03.07.2015; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Biomass; Ecosystems; fire; forage; habitats; herbaceous vegetation; Herbivores; Herbivory; Heterogeneity; Nutrients; overgrazing; regression analysis; Savannahs; savannas; sodic patches; Species diversity; Species richness; unimodal; Africa

The hump-back relationship between species diversity and productivity predicts highest species richness at intermediate levels of biomass, and low species numbers in least and most productive habitats. Sodic patches of semi-arid savannas are considered ‘nutrient hotspots’ by producing high-quality f...