Object structure
Title:

Comparative analysis of eight neotropical savanna ecosystems: production-decomposition indexes

Subtitle:

Neotropical savanna ecosystems

Creator:

Breymeyer, Alicja I.

Contributor:

Polish Academy of Sciences. Institute of Ecology

Publisher:

Polish Academy of Sciences. Institute of Ecology. Publishing Office

Place of publishing:

Dziekanów Leśny

Date issued/created:

2001

Description:

Pages 339-358 : illustrations ; 27 cm ; Bibliographical references (pages 356-358)

Type of object:

Journal/Article

Subject and Keywords:

neotropical savannas ; grass production/decomposition ; decomposition of standing plants

Abstract:

Comparative studies of the functioning of eight neotropical savannas were conducted in Venezuela and Panama. Savannas were classified in the following 4 types of increasing productivity: Trachypogon savanna, ''Bajio" savanna, Paspalum savanna and Hyparrhenia savanna. Each savanna type was reprezented by sites ungrazed or grazed by cows. All stands, except for the flooded "Bajio" were burnt at the end of the rainy season. The rates of two ecosystem processes were measured: productivity (NPP) and decomposition. The index of productivity was the maximum biomass of ABVG (above ground biomass) and BLG (below ground mass of roots); this was measured at the end of the rainy season just before the fire. Decomposition rate was evaluated using litterbags with local litter or filter paper exposed in different layers of savannas. ABVG production of biomass is highest in non-grazed Hyparrhenia savanna, where it reaches 19-20 g d.w.m-2 daily and 2850-2950g d.w.m-2 in the rainy season. This is a very high figure rarely noted in grasslands. The lowest productivity -544 g d.w.m-2 ABVG in the rainy season - was noted in Trachypogon savannas. Roots constitute a small part of savanna biomass: 14-25% in Hyparrhenia savanna, and 6-45% in Venezuelan savannas. The biomass of roots is concentrated in the 0-10cm layer: 86-90% in Hyparrhenia, 40-72% in Venezuelan savannas. The decomposition of litter evaluated for 6 Venezuelan savannas and calculated for the wet season ranges from 180 to 1126 g d.w.-2. Higher decomposition occur in stands with higher productivity. To the new findings can be assigned the results of comparative measures of decomposition on four levels (from soil to 40 cm above the ground surface). In the Hyparrhenia stand as much as 52% of decomposition takes place in the standing plants. The OM budget calculations suggest that all 8 stands are characterized by an accumulation of organic matter; however, decomposition rate is underestimated as the fraction of OM decomposed in standing plants is not considered.

References:

Alio Ming E., Israeliantz C., Larralde A., Mejias C. O. 1968 - Bases para el desarrollo de un plan de control de aguas y recuperacion de tierras en el Estado Apure - Ministerio de Obras Publicas, Caracas: 115 p. (in Spanish)
Bartoli D. L. 1976 - Valor nutritivo y contenido mineral en ralacion a parametros ambientales y la fenologia de los pastos tropicales Panicum laxum Swartz y Paspalum chaffanjonii Maury - Tesis de Grado, UCV, Caracas: 293 p. (in Spanish)
Beadle C. L., Long S. P., Imbamba S. K., Hall D. O., Olembo R. J. 1985 - Photosynthesis in relation to plant production in terrestrial environments, UNEP/Tycooly, Oxford.
Bennett Ch. F. 1968 - Human influence on the zoogeography of Panama - Univ. Calif. Press. Berkeley, Los Angeles, 99 pp.
Blydenstein J. 1962 - La sabana de Trachypogon del Alto Liano - Bol. Soc. Ven. Cienc. Nat., 102: 139-206. (in Spanish)
Blydenstein J. 1963 - Cambios en la vegetacion despues de la proteccion contra el fuego. I. Aumento anual de la materia vegetal en varios sittos quemados y no quemados de la Estacion Biologica - Bol. Soc. Ven. Cienc. Nat., 103: 233-238. (in Spanish)
Bourliere F., Hadley M. 1970 - The ecology of tropical savannas - Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 1: 125-152.
Breymeyer A. 1978 - Analysis of the trophic structure of some grasslands ecosystem - Pol. Ecol. Stud. 4 (2): 55-128.
Bulla L., Pacheco J., Miranda R. 1979 - Estabilidad, dinamica del mantilla y descomposicion en una sabana inundable - Bol. Soc. Ven. Cienc. Nat. 34-136. (in Spanish)
Bulla L, Miranda R., Pacheco J. 1980 - Ciclo estacional de la biomasa verde, muerta y raices en una sabana inundada de estero en Mantecal (Venezuela) - Acta Cient. Venezolana. 31 : 339-344. (in Spanish)
Bulla L., Pacheco J., Morales G. 1990 - Seasonally flooded neotropical savanna closed by dikes (In : Managed grasslands, Ed. A. Breymeyer) - Ecosystems of the World 17A, Elsevier 177-212.
Cola M. M. 1986 - The savannas. Biogeography and Geobotany - Academic Press London, Orlando: 438 pp.
Corrales E., Gonzalez M. 1973 - Introduccion al estudio del ecosistema sabana y su manejo en suelos pesados de A pure y Barinas - Ganaderia de los Tropicos, Asociacion Venezolana de Criadores de Ganado Cebu, Caracas: 451-492. (in Spanish)
Eden M. J. 1967 - The effect of changing fire conditions on vegetation of the Estacion Biologica de Llanos, Calabozo - Bol. Soc. Ven. Cienc. Nat. 27 (3): 104-113.
Entrena I. 1976 - Estudio de la biomasa aerea, produccion primaria aerea neta y composicion floristica a lo largo de un gradiente microtopogralico en un area del Modulo Experimental de Mantecal (Alto Apure) - Tesis de Grado, UCV, Caracas: 97 pp. (in Spanish)
Escobar A. 1977 - Estudio de las sabanas inundables de Paspalum fasciculatum - Tesis de Grado, IVIC, Caracas: 152 pp. (in Spanish)
Escobar A., Medina E. 1977 - Estudio sobre las sabanas inundables de gamelote (Paspalum fasciculatum) - IV Symp. Internac. Ecol. Trop., Panama (Resumen). (In Spanish)
Gil Beroes R. A. 1976 - Produccion y manejo de pastos en las sabanas inundables del Alto Apure - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 32: 103-113 (in Spanish)
Gonzales J. A. 1977 - Valor nutritivo y contenido mineral en relacion a parametros ambientales y la fenologia de los pastas tropicales Leersia haxandra (Swartz) y Axonopus purpusii (Mez) - Tesis de Grado, UCV, Caracas: 102 pp. (in Spanish)
Gonzales Jimenez E., Escobar A. 1976a - Flood adaptations and productivity of savanna grasses - XIII Int. Grassland Cong., Leipzig (1977): 88-92.
Gonzales Jimenez, E., Escobar A. 1976b - Production primaire de la savanne inondable - Proc. 4th Trap. Ecol. Symp., Lumumbashi, Zaire (Abstract). (in French)
Gonzales Jimenez E., Escobar A., Parra R. 1981 - Productividad primaria, secundaria, sistemas de produccion actuales y potenciales para las sabanas de Venezuela - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 36 (139): 305-324. (in Spanish)
Gomez S. 1976 - Zonacion y dinamica de la vegetacion en una sabana inundable de la region de Mantecal - Tesis de Grado, UCV, Caracas: 81 pp. (in Spanish)
Jones M. B., Long S. P., Roberts M. J. 1992 - Synthesis and conclusions Nairobi (In: Primary productivity of grass ecosystems of the tropics and sub-tropics, Eds: S.P. Long, M.B. Jones, M.J. Roberts) - Chapman and Hall, London, New York, Tokyo, Melbourne, Madras, 212-255.
Kinyamario J. I., Imbamba S. K. 1992 - Savanna at Nairobi National Park, Nairobi (In: Primary productivity of grass ecosystems of the tropics and sub-tropics, Eds: S.P. Long, M.B. Jones, M.J. Roberts) - Chapman and Hall, London, New York, Tokyo, Melbourne, Madras, 25-69.
Lamotte M., Bourliere F. 1983 - Energy flow and nutrient cycling in tropical savannas (In: Tropical savannas, Ed. F. Bourliere) - Ecosystems of the World 13. Elsevier 730 pp.
Lieth H., Whittaker R. H. 1975 - The Primary Production of the Biosphere - Springer Verlag, Berlin.
Lopez D., Roa P., Ramirez I. 1971 - Estudios de un sedimento ferruginoso llamado localmente "ripio" - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 119-120: 27-49. (in Spanish)
Lopez-Hernandez D., Manzo Lares C. 1981 - Estudios fisicos y quimicos sabre los suelos de un area escogida del Modulo Experimental de Mantecal (Estado Apure) - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 36 (139): 259-280. (in Spanish)
McCorkle J. S. 1968 - Ranching in Panama - J. Range Managm. 21: 242-247.
McNeill M. 1964 - Lateritic soils. Sci. Amer. 211:96-102.
Medina E., Mendoza A., Mantes R. 1977 - Balance nutricional y produccion de materia organica en las sabanas de Trachypogon de Calabozo, Venezuela - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 134: 101-120. (in Spanish)
Monasterio M., Sarmiento G. 1968 - Analisis ecologico y fitosociologico de la sabana de la Estacion Biologica de los Llanos - Bol. Soc.Ven. Cienc. Nat., 113-114: 447-524. (in Spanish)
Morris J. W., Bezuidenhout J. I., Furniss P. R. 1982 - Litter decomposition (In: Ecology of tropical savannas, Eds: B. J. Huntley, B. H. Walker) - Springer Verlag Ecological Studies 42: 535-553.
Nix H. A. 1981 - The environment of Terra Australis (In: Ecological Biogeography of Australia, Ed. A. Keast) - vol. 41 Monographiae Biologicae, dr W. Jung, The Hague: 103-133.
Ojasti J. 1978 - The relation between population and production of the Capybara (Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris) - Ph. D. Thesis, Univ. of Georgia, Athens: 158 pp.
Perez C. E., Pedregal H., Figueroa D. 1974 - Plan integral de aprovechamiento y produccion de los Modulos de Apure - CODEHIMA, Caracas: 148 pp. (in Spanish)
Piedade M. T. F., Junk W. J., and J. A., N. De Mello 1992. A floodplain grassland of the central Amazon. In: Primary Productivity of Grass Ecosystems of the Tropics and Sub-tropics. Eds: S.P. Long, M.B. Jones and M.J. Roberts. Chapmann and Hall London: 127-158
Ramia M. 1967 - Tipos de sabanas de los llanos de Venezuela - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 28: 264-288. (in Spanish)
Ramia M. 1972 - Cambios en la vegetacion del Hato El Frio causados por diques - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 30 (112): 57-90. (in Spanish)
Ramia M. (1974): Estudio ecologico del Modulo Experimental de Mantecal (Alto Apure) - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 31: 117-142. (in Spanish)
Ramia M. 1978 - Observaciones fenologicas en las sabanas del Alto Apure - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 33 (135): 149-184. (in Spanish)
Ramia M., Mantes R. 1975 - Vegetacion y uso de la tierra del Asentamiento Payarita (Media Apure) - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cinec. Nat., 31: 417-446. (in Spanish)
San Jose J. J. 1980 - Contribucion de la Estacion Biologica de los Llanos al conocimiento de la ecologia de la region llanera - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cicnc. Nat., 137: 365-369. (in Spanish)
San Jose J. J., Garcia Miragaya J. 1979 - Contenido de nutrientes en el suelo y la fitomasa de comunidades de la sabana de Trachypogon, Calabozo, Venezuela - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cinec. Nat., 34 (136): 113-122. (in Spanish)
San Jose J. J., Medina E. 1977 - Produccion de materia organica de la sabana de Trachypogon, Calabozo, Venezuela - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 134: 75-100. (in Spanish)
San Jose J. J., Mantes R. 1991 - Regional interpretation of environmental gradients which influence Trachypogon savannas in the Orinoco Llanos - Kluwer Academic Publishers, Printed in Belgium, Vegetatio 95:21-32.
Santamaria F., Bonazzi A. 1963 - Factores edaphicos que contribuyen a la creacion de un ambiente xerofitico en el Alto Llano de Venezuela - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 25: 175-186. (in Spanish)
Sarmiento G. 1984 - The Ecology of Neotropical Savannas - Transl. by Otto Solbrig, Harvard University Press, 235 pp.
Sarmiento G., Monasterio M. 1975 - A critical consideration of environmental conditions associated with the occurrence of savanna ecosystems in Tropical America (In: Tropical Ecological Systems, Eds: F.B. Galley, E. Medina) - Springler Verlag, N.Y.: 235-252.
Sarmiento G., Vera M. 1979 - Composicion, estructura, biomasa y produccion primaria de diferentes sabanas de los llanos occidentales de Venezuela - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 34 (136): 5-42.
Schargel R., Gonzales R. A. 1973 - Estudio agrologico preliminar, sectores Bruzual y Mantecal, Estado Apure - Ministerio de Obras Publicas, Caracas: 144 p.
Scholes R. J., Hall D. O. 1996 - The carbon budget of tropical savannas, woodlans and grasslands (In: Global change effects on coniferous forests and grasslands, Eds A. I. Breymeyer, D.O. Hall, J.M. Melillo, G.I. Agren) - Wiley and Sons, Chichester: 69-100.
Singh J. S., Joshi M. C. 1979 - Tropical grasslands; primary production (In: Grassland ecosystems of the world, Ed. R.T. Coupland) - Cambridge Univ. Press: 197-219.
Smith G. D., Brito P., Luque O. 1977 - The lithoplintic horizon, a diagnostic horizon for soil taxonomy - Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., 41: 1212-1214.
Vareschi V. 1960a - La Estacion Biologica de Los Llanos de la Sociedad Venezolana de Ciencias Naturales y su tarea - Bol. Soc. Yen. Nat. 96: 107-117. (in Spanish)
Vareschi V. 1960b - Observaciones sabre la transpiracion de arboles llaneros durante la epoca de sequia - Bot. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat. 96: 128-134. (in Spanish)
Velazquez J. 1965 - Estudio fitosociologico acerca de los pastizales de la sabana de Calabozo, Edo. Guarico - Bol. Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 109: 59-101. (in Spanish)
Walker B. H. 1987 - A general model of savanna structure and function. (In: Determinants of tropical savannas, Ed. B.H. Walker) - IUBS Monograph Series No 3, ICSU Press: 1-12.
Waiter H., Medina E. 1971 - Caracterizacion climatica de Venezuela sobre la base de climadiagramas de estaciones particulares - Soc. Yen. Cienc. Nat., 119-120; 211-240. (in Spanish)
Wiegert R. G., McGinnis J. T. 1975 - Annual production and disappearance of detritus in three South Carolina old fields - Ecology, 56: 129-140.

Relation:

Polish Journal of Ecology

Volume:

49

Issue:

4

Start page:

339

End page:

358

Resource type:

Text

Detailed Resource Type:

Article

Resource Identifier:

ISSN 1505-2249

Source:

MiIZ PAN, call no. P.2840 ; click here to follow the link

Language:

eng

Language of abstract:

Rights:

Creative Commons Attribution BY 3.0 PL license

Terms of use:

Copyright-protected material. [CC BY 3.0 PL] May be used within the scope specified in Creative Commons Attribution BY 3.0 PL license, full text available at: ; -

Digitizing institution:

Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Original in:

Library of the Museum and Institute of Zoology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Projects co-financed by:

Operational Program Digital Poland, 2014-2020, Measure 2.3: Digital accessibility and usefulness of public sector information; funds from the European Regional Development Fund and national co-financing from the state budget.

Access:

Open

×

Citation

Citation style: