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Chapter 7 - How Trees and Grasses Grow and Compete
from Part II - The Savanna Garden: Grassy Vegetation and Plant Dynamics
Norman Owen-Smith, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Book:

Only in Africa

Published online:

09 September 2021

Print publication:

07 October 2021, pp 97-117
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Summary

This chapter considers the mechanisms of growth and competition among trees and grasses in the context of seasonally restricted and erratic rainfall. Competition operates largely below-ground, for water and nutrients, rather than for light, and primarily between grasses and tree seedlings. Fires promoted by seasonally dry grasses restrict growth by tree saplings. Grasses are the superior competitors unless the woody canopy closes. Most savanna trees are deciduous, while grasses become dormant and dry above-ground during the dry season, providing fuel for fires. Deeper roots enable trees to access water at deeper levels, but grasses capture water and nutrients at shallow depths faster than trees. C4 photosynthesis enables grasses to grow rapidly while moisture is available despite low atmospheric carbon dioxide. Grasses produce more biomass annually than woody plants in savannas.