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Tropical savannas have been increasingly targeted for carbon sequestration by afforestation, assuming large gains in soil organic carbon (SOC) with increasing tree cover. Because savanna SOC is also derived from grasses, this assumption may not reflect real changes in SOC under afforestation. However, the exact contribution of grasses to SOC and the changes in SOC with increasing tree cover remain poorly understood. Here we combine a case study from Kruger National Park, South Africa, with data synthesized from tropical savannas globally to show that grass-derived carbon constitutes more than half of total SOC to a soil depth of 1 m, even in soils directly under trees. The largest SOC concentrations were associated with the largest grass contributions (>70% of total SOC). Across the tropics, SOC concentration was not explained by tree cover. Both SOC gain and loss were observed following increasing tree cover, and on average SOC storage within a 1-m profile only increased by 6% (s.e. = 4%, n = 44). These results underscore the substantial contribution of grasses to SOC and the considerable uncertainty in SOC responses to increasing tree cover across tropical savannas.

Process-based vegetation models attempt to represent the wide range of trait variation in biomes by grouping ecologically similar species into plant functional types (PFTs). This approach has been successful in representing many aspects of plant physiology and biophysics but struggles to capture biogeographic history and ecological dynamics that determine biome boundaries and plant distributions. Grass-dominated ecosystems are broadly distributed across all vegetated continents and harbour large functional diversity, yet most Land Surface Models (LSMs) summarise grasses into two generic PFTs based primarily on differences between temperate C3 grasses and (sub)tropical C4 grasses. Incorporation of species-level trait variation is an active area of research to enhance the ecological realism of PFTs, which form the basis for vegetation processes and dynamics in LSMs. Using reported measurements, we developed grass functional trait values (physiological, structural, biochemical, anatomical, phenological, and disturbance-related) of dominant lineages to improve LSM representations. Our method is fundamentally different from previous efforts, as it uses phylogenetic relatedness to create lineage-based functional types (LFTs), situated between species-level trait data and PFT-level abstractions, thus providing a realistic representation of functional diversity and opening the door to the development of new vegetation models.

Plants adopt particular growth‐forms when they are exposed to extreme environmental conditions. In this study, we describe a unique woody plant growth‐form induced by large mammalian herbivores and discuss that this growth‐form could have evolved as a strategy for escaping the browser zone in herbivore driven ecosystems.We analysed responses of key architectural and morphological attributes (branching and thorn density, tree dimensions, presence of flowers and fruits) of three Eurasian spiny tree species (Malus sylvestris, Prunus cerasifera and Pyrus communis) to different levels of browsing by large herbivores in the temperate Białowieża Forest, Poland.Under high browsing pressure, studied trees displayed two distinct forms of the crown: a bottom sterile part developing into a densely branched structure with high density of thorns ('cage‐form'), and an upper reproductive part that escaped from herbivore control ('escaped‐form'). The size of cage‐form influenced the feeding behaviour of red deer (Cervus elaphus) by increasing the time deer spend foraging and increasing the bite rate. The height at which cages started to escape and their diameter matched with foraging reach of red deer.Synthesis. We argue that the frequency and cage dimensions of this woody growth‐form in the landscape could inform on the type and intensity of recent herbivory. Moreover, its distinctive inducibility suggests that this growth‐form did not emerge recently under anthropogenic pressure but could be the legacy of ancient herbivory effects. Observational evidence suggests that this growth‐form emerged in several herbivore‐driven systems around the globe and may be used to identify the dominant herbivores that control vegetation structure in these ecosystems. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the need for mechanistic explanations in seed ecology and highlights the limitations of broad-scale correlative studies that ignore mechanisms. The authors specifically focus on seed dormancy and argue that the current understanding of seed dormancy as an adaptive response to climate seasonality is flawed. They propose that fire regime, rather than climate seasonality, is a more plausible mechanism for selecting prolonged seed dormancy. The article also mentions similar issues in other areas of ecology, such as species diversity and trait ecology, and emphasizes the importance of a mechanistic understanding and hypothesis-driven research. [Extracted from the article]

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Societal Impact Statement: Madagascar is famous for its unique forests and their fauna. Most of the island is covered by flammable grassy ecosystems long considered to be of human origin and threatening the remaining forests. Yet new studies show that many plants and animals of the grassy systems are unique to Madagascar and restricted to these open habitats. Open grassy ecosystems have markedly different management requirements from forests and bring different contributions to society. We argue that the grassy ecosystems can benefit Madagascar if understood and managed wisely using expanded knowledge bases that also include collaboration with locals. Summary: Until recently, nearly all research and interests in Madagascar focused on forested habitats. To help place Madagascar's grassy ecosystems in context, we provide a summary of the origin, development, and evolution of open tropical, C4 grassy ecosystems elsewhere, especially those from Africa; we summarize similarities and differences with the distribution of C3 and C4 grasses in the Malagasy landscape, their plant traits, and inferences on the evolutionary legacy of grasses. We also discuss the animal communities that use and have coevolved in these grassy systems; to help resolve controversies over the pre‐settlement extent of grassy ecosystems, we suggest a variety of complementary geochemical, palaeobotanical, and molecular genetic tools that have been effectively used elsewhere to untangle forest/grassy ecosystem mosaics and the ecological and evolutionary processes that influence them. Many of these tools can and should be employed in Madagascar to fully understand the spatio‐temporal dynamics of open, grassy, and closed forest systems across the island; as regards conservation, we discuss the ecosystem services provided by grassy systems, which are too often ignored in general, not only as a biome, vis‐à‐vis forests, but also for their global importance as a carbon sink and role they play in water management and providing goods to local villagers. We conclude by outlining the necessary research to better manage open ecosystems across Madagascar without threatening endangered forest ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]