Savanna woody encroachment is widespread across three continents

Abstract Tropical savannas are a globally extensive biome prone to rapid vegetation change in response to changing environmental conditions. Via a meta‐analysis, we quantified savanna woody vegetation change spanning the last century. We found a global trend of woody encroachment that was established prior the 1980s. However, there is critical regional variation in the magnitude of encroachment. Woody cover is increasing most rapidly in the remaining uncleared savannas of South America, most likely due to fire suppression and land fragmentation. In contrast, Australia has experienced low rates of encroachment. When accounting for land use, African savannas have a mean rate annual woody cover increase two and a…

• CN
  Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico

  Awards: 303402/2012‐1, 303402/2012, 303402/2012-1
• AR
  Australian Research Council

  Award: DE130100434