Gr. Mcpherson, RESPONSE OF ANNUAL PLANTS AND COMMUNITIES TO TILLING IN A SEMIARID TEMPERATE SAVANNA, Journal of vegetation science, 5(3), 1994, pp. 415-420
Despite the obvious importance of savannas, the response of semi-arid
temperate savannas to disturbance has hardly been studied. The objecti
ve of this study was to determine the response of annual plants and ve
getation to severe disturbance (tilling) in the grassland phase of a s
emi-arid savanna characterized by perennial bunchgrasses. Most species
of annual plants responded positively to tilling; however, 25 % of th
e species did not respond or responded negatively. Response of plants
and vegetation was more strongly influenced by precipitation than dist
urbance, even for the severe disturbance used in this study. Tilling-i
nduced differences were negligible during a relatively dry year. Respo
nse of annuals to disturbance in semi-arid temperate savannas may not
be consistent with response in other systems.