How expansive were Malagasy Central Highland forests, ericoids, woodlands and grasslands? A multidisciplinary approach to a conservation conundrum

GS Joseph, AR Rakotoarivelo, CL Seymour - Biological Conservation, 2021 - Elsevier
Madagascar is the world's highest profile conservation priority. Yet the natural habitat of its
largest biome, the 200,000 km 2 Malagasy Central Highlands (MCH) remains one of the …

A review of Madagascar's derived grasslands: Low palatability following anthropogenic fires may threaten food security

GS Joseph, AR Rakotoarivelo… - Plants, People …, 2024 - Wiley Online Library
Societal Impact Statement The 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference
emphasised the need to modify practices that negatively impact biodiversity and food …

Fire incongruities can explain widespread landscape degradation in Madagascar's forests and grasslands

GS Joseph, CL Seymour… - Plants, People …, 2024 - Wiley Online Library
Societal Impact Statement The relationship between rainfall, fire and habitat can display
incongruencies. The 2021 Malagasy Grassy Biomes Workshop identified understanding fire …

Madagascar's grassy biomes are ancient and there is much to learn about their ecology and evolution

WJ Bond, JA Silander, J Ratsirarson - Journal of Biogeography, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
For most of the 20th century, the hypothesis was accepted that Madagascar's extensive
grass‐dominated ecosystems were of anthropogenic origin, carved out of pristine forests …

The unlikely 'antiquity of Madagascar's grasslands': Disproportionately forest‐limited endemic fauna support anthropogenic transformation from woodland

GS Joseph, CL Seymour - Journal of Biogeography, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
Papers arguing for Malagasy central highlands (MCH) as natural grassland rely
disproportionally on a single reference (Bond et al. 2008, The antiquity of Madagascar's …

Tip** points induced by palaeo-human impacts can explain presence of savannah in Malagasy and global systems where forest is expected

GS Joseph, AR Rakotoarivelo… - Proceedings of the …, 2022 - royalsocietypublishing.org
Models aimed at understanding C4-savannah distribution for Australia, Africa and South
America support transition to forest at high mean annual precipitation (MAP), and savannah …

Co-evolution assists geographic dispersal: the case of Madagascar

F Génin, PP Mazza, R Pellen… - Biological Journal of …, 2022 - academic.oup.com
Interspecific associations may limit the dispersal of individual species, but may also facilitate
it when entire co-evolved systems expand their geographic ranges. We tested the recent …

The evolutionary history of sedges (Cyperaceae) in Madagascar

I Larridon, D Spalink, P Jiménez‐Mejías… - Journal of …, 2021 - Wiley Online Library
Aim Madagascar is renowned for its unparalleled biodiversity and endemism. With many
ecosystems under threat, research is urgently needed on its unique plant diversity. This …

The slow downwearing of Madagascar: Inferring patterns and controls on long‐term basin‐averaged erosion rates from in situ 10Be at the catchment and regional …

L Brosens, R Cox, B Campforts… - Earth Surface …, 2023 - Wiley Online Library
Cosmogenic nuclide analysis of river sediment provides insight into catchment‐wide erosion
rates and dynamics. Here, we investigate spatial patterns and controls on 10Be‐inferred …

Commentary: The role of palaeoecology in reconciling biodiversity conservation, livelihoods, and carbon storage in Madagascar

GS Joseph, CL Seymour - Frontiers in Conservation Science, 2024 - frontiersin.org
Currently, 80% of Madagascar is treeless grassland. Identifying lost savanna woodland and
grassland, forest, and heathland before pastoralism was introduced circa 0.5-1 ka (Hixon et …