TY - JOUR
T1 - Autogenic succession in a subtropical savanna
T2 - conversion of grassland to thorn woodland
AU - Archer, S.
AU - Scifres, C.
AU - Bassham, C. R.
AU - Maggio, R.
PY - 1988
Y1 - 1988
N2 - Dense thorn woodlands occupy what are thought to have been grasslands and savannas prior to settlement of the Rio Grande Plains of Texas. To assess the physiognomic stability of the two-phase landscapes, cluster size, density and cover were quantified for 1941, 1960, and 1983 from aerial photographs. Results indicate: 1) mesquite Prosopis glandulosa invaded grasslands and served as the nucleus of cluster organization on upland sites; 2) woody plant community development has been highly punctuated by variations in precipitation; 3) clusters >5 m2 in area are persistent features of the landscape; and 4) the present two-phase pattern is moving toward a monophasic woodland as new clusters are initiated and existing clusters expand and coalesce. As a result, 5) shrub clusters on uplands represent an intermediate stage in the conversion of grassland to woodland, and 6) closed-canopy woodlands on more mesic sites appear to represent portions of the landscape where this has already occurred. -from Authors
AB - Dense thorn woodlands occupy what are thought to have been grasslands and savannas prior to settlement of the Rio Grande Plains of Texas. To assess the physiognomic stability of the two-phase landscapes, cluster size, density and cover were quantified for 1941, 1960, and 1983 from aerial photographs. Results indicate: 1) mesquite Prosopis glandulosa invaded grasslands and served as the nucleus of cluster organization on upland sites; 2) woody plant community development has been highly punctuated by variations in precipitation; 3) clusters >5 m2 in area are persistent features of the landscape; and 4) the present two-phase pattern is moving toward a monophasic woodland as new clusters are initiated and existing clusters expand and coalesce. As a result, 5) shrub clusters on uplands represent an intermediate stage in the conversion of grassland to woodland, and 6) closed-canopy woodlands on more mesic sites appear to represent portions of the landscape where this has already occurred. -from Authors
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U2 - 10.2307/1942463
DO - 10.2307/1942463
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0024257249
SN - 0012-9615
VL - 58
SP - 111
EP - 127
JO - Ecological Monographs
JF - Ecological Monographs
IS - 2
ER -