High-intensity fire experiments to manage shrub encroachment: lessons learned in South Africa and the United States

R Scholtz, VM Donovan, T Strydom… - African Journal of …, 2022 - Taylor & Francis
Human alteration of fire regimes is a hallmark of the Anthropocene; yet few studies have fully
explored the implications of utilizing high-intensity fires in grasslands and savannas to …

A handbook for the standardised sampling of plant functional traits in disturbance-prone ecosystems, with a focus on open ecosystems

BJ Wigley, T Charles-Dominique… - Australian Journal of …, 2020 - CSIRO Publishing
Plant functional traits provide a valuable tool to improve our understanding of ecological
processes at a range of scales. Previous handbooks on plant functional traits have …

Survival trends (2008–2020) of three tree species in response to elephant impact, environmental variation, and stem wire-netting protection in an African savanna

RM Cook, ETF Witkowski, MD Henley - Forest Ecology and Management, 2023 - Elsevier
Reduced levels of the survival of large trees (≥ 5 m height) in Africa's savannas are a
conservation concern, particularly where large trees co-occur with African elephants …

Heterogeneity in African savanna elephant distributions and their impacts on trees in Kruger National Park, South Africa

JO Abraham, ER Goldberg, J Botha… - Ecology and …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
Though elephants are a major cause of savanna tree mortality and threaten vulnerable tree
species, managing their impact remains difficult, in part because relatively little is known …

The hard lives of trees in African savanna—even without elephants

C Coetsee, J Botha, MF Case, A Manganyi… - Austral …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
The ongoing loss of large trees and densification of shrubs are two prevalent processes that
take place in African savannas, with profound consequences for their structure and function …

Trunk spines of trees: a physical defence against bark removal and climbing by mammals?

T Lefebvre, T Charles-Dominique… - Annals of …, 2022 - academic.oup.com
Abstract Background and Aims The defensive role of spines has previously been related to
leaves, young shoots and reproductive organs. However, some woody species harbour …

Impacts of African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) on tall trees and their recovery within a small, fenced reserve in South Africa

KE Thompson, A Ford, G Esteban… - African Journal of …, 2022 - Wiley Online Library
African savannah elephants (Loxodonta africana) can have detrimental impacts on trees;
studies exploring elephant impact within small, fenced reserves, have lacked focus in …

Impacts of African elephants and other environmental drivers on trees nested in by critically endangered white‐backed vultures

RM Cook, ETF Witkowski, MD Henley - Wildlife Biology, 2025 - Wiley Online Library
The decline of white‐backed vultures Gyps africanus (hereafter termed vultures) across
Africa highlights the need to understand their habitat and nesting requirements, especially in …

Bark strip** behaviour by a large-sized rodent, the crested porcupine, as an adaptation to climate change

E Mori, A Viviano, M Scarfò, F Preti, C Pucci, F Ciuti… - Biologia, 2022 - Springer
The ongoing climatic change is forcing animal species to cope with global warming and to
use different resources to improve their survival. Several species have been favoured by …

Protecting the resource: an assessment of mitigation methods used to protect large trees from African elephant impact in a savanna system

RM Cook, ET F. Witkowski, MD Henley - Wildlife Biology, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
African elephants Loxodonta africana can alter the structural components of savanna
ecosystems, often through the reduction of the large tree (≥ 5 m height) cover component …