Do limits exist on potential woody cover of Brazilian savanna?
With the increasing concern of woody plant encroachment worldwide in savanna ecosystems, many studies endeavor to examine the upper bound of woody plant cover, which is referred to as potential woody cover. Potential woody cover defines the maximum possible woody plant encroachment and bears strong...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Ecological Indicators |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2300362X |
| _version_ | 1797837773851328512 |
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| author | Xuebin Yang Kelley A. Crews Thoralf Meyer |
| author_facet | Xuebin Yang Kelley A. Crews Thoralf Meyer |
| author_sort | Xuebin Yang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the increasing concern of woody plant encroachment worldwide in savanna ecosystems, many studies endeavor to examine the upper bound of woody plant cover, which is referred to as potential woody cover. Potential woody cover defines the maximum possible woody plant encroachment and bears strong implications on savanna dynamics. Both African and North American savannas have been reported to exhibit limits on potential woody cover below 650 and 660 mm of mean annual precipitation (MAP), respectively. At present it is less clear whether that limit exists and at what level in the Brazilian savanna (the Cerrado) of South America, throughout which MAP is above 790 mm. This study models the potential woody cover pattern of Brazilian savanna over the present precipitation gradient and in relation to surface and subsurface soil moisture (SM) separately. Remotely sensed products were processed in Google Earth Engine (GEE), and included MODIS tree cover (MOD44B), TRMM monthly precipitation (3B43), and NASA-USDA Enhanced SMAP Global soil moisture. Quantile regression results suggest that below respective thresholds of MAP, surface SM, and subsurface SM, potential woody cover in Brazilian savanna is constrained. Comparison to the savanna in central Texas of the United States reveals that water availability is not the only determinant of potential woody cover. Regional context such as precipitation seasonality and woody plant species are important factors. This study also underscores the discrepancy between potential woody cover modelled based on MAP and that based on soil moisture (surface and subsurface). |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:31:08Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-5bea944f5b794deba8ef9158a7e7e440 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1470-160X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T15:31:08Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Ecological Indicators |
| spelling | doaj.art-5bea944f5b794deba8ef9158a7e7e4402023-04-28T08:54:26ZengElsevierEcological Indicators1470-160X2023-06-01150110220Do limits exist on potential woody cover of Brazilian savanna?Xuebin Yang0Kelley A. Crews1Thoralf Meyer2Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA; Department of Geography and the Environment, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA; Corresponding author at: Department of Geography and the Environment, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA.Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USADepartment of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USAWith the increasing concern of woody plant encroachment worldwide in savanna ecosystems, many studies endeavor to examine the upper bound of woody plant cover, which is referred to as potential woody cover. Potential woody cover defines the maximum possible woody plant encroachment and bears strong implications on savanna dynamics. Both African and North American savannas have been reported to exhibit limits on potential woody cover below 650 and 660 mm of mean annual precipitation (MAP), respectively. At present it is less clear whether that limit exists and at what level in the Brazilian savanna (the Cerrado) of South America, throughout which MAP is above 790 mm. This study models the potential woody cover pattern of Brazilian savanna over the present precipitation gradient and in relation to surface and subsurface soil moisture (SM) separately. Remotely sensed products were processed in Google Earth Engine (GEE), and included MODIS tree cover (MOD44B), TRMM monthly precipitation (3B43), and NASA-USDA Enhanced SMAP Global soil moisture. Quantile regression results suggest that below respective thresholds of MAP, surface SM, and subsurface SM, potential woody cover in Brazilian savanna is constrained. Comparison to the savanna in central Texas of the United States reveals that water availability is not the only determinant of potential woody cover. Regional context such as precipitation seasonality and woody plant species are important factors. This study also underscores the discrepancy between potential woody cover modelled based on MAP and that based on soil moisture (surface and subsurface).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2300362XPotential woody coverCerradoPrecipitationSoil moistureMODIS tree coverQuantile regression |
| spellingShingle | Xuebin Yang Kelley A. Crews Thoralf Meyer Do limits exist on potential woody cover of Brazilian savanna? Ecological Indicators Potential woody cover Cerrado Precipitation Soil moisture MODIS tree cover Quantile regression |
| title | Do limits exist on potential woody cover of Brazilian savanna? |
| title_full | Do limits exist on potential woody cover of Brazilian savanna? |
| title_fullStr | Do limits exist on potential woody cover of Brazilian savanna? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Do limits exist on potential woody cover of Brazilian savanna? |
| title_short | Do limits exist on potential woody cover of Brazilian savanna? |
| title_sort | do limits exist on potential woody cover of brazilian savanna |
| topic | Potential woody cover Cerrado Precipitation Soil moisture MODIS tree cover Quantile regression |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470160X2300362X |
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