Community assembly processes in miombo woodland

Tropical savanna woodlands are vast in global extent, providing vital habitat for large animals, stocking substantial carbon, and providing critical resources for local communities. Miombo is the world's largest savanna, covering 2.7 million km2 across southern Africa.

Yet, there are no long-term ecological dynamics plots of any size in the miombo, and more broadly, only one of 71 Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGeo) plots is in tropical dry forest. Focusing on Zambia as the core of the miombo, this project has three CENTRAL aims. First, to establish a 36-hectare long-term forest dynamics plot in the miombo.

This will meet ForestGeo standards, including mapping, identifying, measuring and tagging all trees over 1 cm in diameter at breast height (DBH), providing a critical resource for sub-Saharan African botanists and ecologists more broadly.

Second, to determine how disturbance impacts the age and growth structure of miombo, testing the theory that miombo is a SUBCLIMAX habitat type.

Third, to quantify the role of plant traits and environmental factors in determining the spatial structure of miombo tree communities.

To deliver these aims, this project will facilitate a new international collaboration between two leading tropical ecologists: Prof. Edwards from the University of Sheffield, UK, and Prof. Harrison from World Agroforestry (ICRAF), Zambia.

In doing so, this research project will deliver a fundamental advance in our understanding of how miombo plant communities function and establishes the means for the long-term monitoring of these communities to understand how they will be affected by climate change.