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Drivers of woody plant encroachment over Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Z. S. Venter

    (University of Cape Town)

  • M. D. Cramer

    (University of Cape Town)

  • H.-J. Hawkins

    (University of Cape Town
    Conservation South Africa)

Abstract

While global deforestation induced by human land use has been quantified, the drivers and extent of simultaneous woody plant encroachment (WPE) into open areas are only regionally known. WPE has important consequences for ecosystem functioning, global carbon balances and human economies. Here we report, using high-resolution satellite imagery, that woody vegetation cover over sub-Saharan Africa increased by 8% over the past three decades and that a diversity of drivers, other than CO2, were able to explain 78% of the spatial variation in this trend. A decline in burned area along with warmer, wetter climates drove WPE, although this has been mitigated in areas with high population growth rates, and high and low extremes of herbivory, specifically browsers. These results confirm global greening trends, thereby bringing into question widely held theories about declining terrestrial carbon balances and desert expansion. Importantly, while global drivers such as climate and CO2 may enhance the risk of WPE, managing fire and herbivory at the local scale provides tools to mitigate continental WPE.

Suggested Citation

  • Z. S. Venter & M. D. Cramer & H.-J. Hawkins, 2018. "Drivers of woody plant encroachment over Africa," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-7, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:9:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-018-04616-8
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-04616-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Florian Reiner & Martin Brandt & Xiaoye Tong & David Skole & Ankit Kariryaa & Philippe Ciais & Andrew Davies & Pierre Hiernaux & Jérôme Chave & Maurice Mugabowindekwe & Christian Igel & Stefan Oehmcke, 2023. "More than one quarter of Africa’s tree cover is found outside areas previously classified as forest," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Eric L. Bullock & Sean P. Healey & Zhiqiang Yang & Phoebe Oduor & Noel Gorelick & Steve Omondi & Edward Ouko & Warren B. Cohen, 2021. "Three Decades of Land Cover Change in East Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-15, February.
    3. L. Duncanson & M. Liang & V. Leitold & J. Armston & S. M. Krishna Moorthy & R. Dubayah & S. Costedoat & B. J. Enquist & L. Fatoyinbo & S. J. Goetz & M. Gonzalez-Roglich & C. Merow & P. R. Roehrdanz & , 2023. "The effectiveness of global protected areas for climate change mitigation," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-13, December.
    4. Edward Amara & Hari Adhikari & Janne Heiskanen & Mika Siljander & Martha Munyao & Patrick Omondi & Petri Pellikka, 2020. "Aboveground Biomass Distribution in a Multi-Use Savannah Landscape in Southeastern Kenya: Impact of Land Use and Fences," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(10), pages 1-24, October.
    5. Xiangzhong Luo & Haoran Zhou & Tin W. Satriawan & Jiaqi Tian & Ruiying Zhao & Trevor F. Keenan & Daniel M. Griffith & Stephen Sitch & Nicholas G. Smith & Christopher J. Still, 2024. "Mapping the global distribution of C4 vegetation using observations and optimality theory," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.

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