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Land
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Global Savanna Variation in Form and Function: Theory & Practice
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Global Savanna Variation in Form and Function: Theory & Practice

A special issue of Land (ISSN 2073-445X). This special issue belongs to the section "Land Systems and Global Change".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2024 | Viewed by 5331

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Kelley Crews

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Interests: Muddy Boots remote sensing; land change science and socio-ecological system resilience in developing states
Dr. Eugenio Arima

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA
Interests: human-environment interactions; land change science; GIS/Science; applied quantitative methods; Latin America
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Savannas globally remain both understudied and under-protected despite covering conservatively 20% of the world’s terrestrial surface, and up to 40% when considered across spatial structure/tree: grass ratios. These vulnerable systems are often discussed similarly across continents, yet few focused efforts on transdisciplinary theory building and practice across methodologies exist, despite disparities in vegetation assemblages, gross primary productivity, carbon sequestration, ecosystem services, and stakeholders. Climatic, edaphic, geomorphic, hydrological, pyrogeographic, economic, extractive, managerial and other anthropogenic components work together in complex, open systems where feedbacks, impacts, and drivers impact both the existence and the magnitude of these factors on landscapes and livelihoods.

Taken together, these challenge the very definition of savanna and seek to unpack that theoretically and methodologically. Thus this special issue seeks inter- and trans-disciplinary approaches to move beyond case studies and case studies comparisons to leverage those into a larger theoretical, epistemological, and methodological framework for understanding savanna form, function, and feedbacks involved in these systems globally. We posit that despite, and perhaps because of, disparities among the differing types of global savannas that contributors to this special issue will, taken together, provide a holistic perspective and testable framework uniting disparate approaches to savanna systems. We strongly encourage submissions by under-represented regions and groups, from academic to NGO to government to stakeholders for inclusive co-production of knowledge.

The aims of this special issue build on the above to understand both form and function of savannas globally, from microscale to local to regional to continental to global assessments. We seek a rich combination of quantitative/qualitative and applied/theoretical submissions that are geographically representative of where savannas exist and where savanna researchers, managers, and stakeholders are.

Themes are particular interest include (but are not limited to) savanna structure, savanna function, in situ and remote sensing assessments, social-ecological systems, ecosystems services, land system/change science, disturbance ecology, ecosystems services, critical physical geography, land grabs, disputed land tenure regimes, econometric modeling, climatic impacts, and conservation policy analysis.

Dr. Kelley Crews
Dr. Eugenio Arima
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Land is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • savanna systems
  • land grabs and land tenure
  • disturbance ecology
  • tree: grass ratio
  • remote sensing
  • socio-ecological systems
  • landuse / landcover change
  • ecosystem services
  • conservation policy and econometric modeling
  • climate change and ecological feedbacks in savannas

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 3826 KiB  
Article
Sustainability Consequences of Making Land Change Decisions Based on Current Climatology in the Brazilian Cerrados
by Daniel S. Silva and Eugenio Y. Arima
Land 2023, 12(4), 914; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12040914 - 19 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1397
Abstract
Brazil is one of the largest suppliers of commodities in the world, partly due to the agricultural expansion in the Brazilian savannas (also known as Cerrado) that began in the 1970s. However, as areas with better soil and climate for agriculture become scarce, [...] Read more.
Brazil is one of the largest suppliers of commodities in the world, partly due to the agricultural expansion in the Brazilian savannas (also known as Cerrado) that began in the 1970s. However, as areas with better soil and climate for agriculture become scarce, farmers have been advancing to the ecotone between the savanna and xeric shrubland, where precipitation is less reliable for rainfed agriculture. The expected increase in temperature will lead to extended drought periods, with negative consequences for surface and groundwater resources. This study explores the hazards associated with making land-use decisions based on current climatology in regions where projected increases in temperature and reductions in water availability are anticipated to pose significant challenges to rainfed agriculture in the Brazilian Cerrado biome. We modeled future farmland expansion and how that matches with future climate change predictions (2016–2046). According to our estimates, at least 129 thousand km2 of cropland and 418 thousand km2 of pastures will be added in places with projected higher annual temperatures ranging from 26–30 °C. This is equivalent to ~60% of the current agricultural areas, and a novel agro-climatology will emerge for the Cerrado biome. Therefore, we discuss the agro-environmental policies that are pushing and pulling farmland expansion in the Cerrado. For instance, payments for environmental services could support the conservation of native vegetation on private land in regions with the highest temperature increases and deforestation risks. Moreover, in areas with expected reduced water yields, such as in the western Cerrado, the protection of riparian vegetation and strict regulation of water use could mitigate future risks to agriculture. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Savanna Variation in Form and Function: Theory & Practice)
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12 pages, 5162 KiB  
Article
Monitoring of Carbon Stocks in Pastures in the Savannas of Brazil through Ecosystem Modeling on a Regional Scale
by Claudinei Oliveira dos Santos, Alexandre de Siqueira Pinto, Janete Rego da Silva, Leandro Leal Parente, Vinícius Vieira Mesquita, Maiara Pedral dos Santos and Laerte Guimaraes Ferreira
Land 2023, 12(1), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12010060 - 26 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1953
Abstract
In 2020, Brazil was the seventh largest emitter of GHG (greenhouse gases), releasing ~2.16 GtCO2e (gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent) into the atmosphere. Activities related to land use contributed approximately 73% of national emissions in that year. Considering that pastures represent the primary [...] Read more.
In 2020, Brazil was the seventh largest emitter of GHG (greenhouse gases), releasing ~2.16 GtCO2e (gigatons of carbon dioxide equivalent) into the atmosphere. Activities related to land use contributed approximately 73% of national emissions in that year. Considering that pastures represent the primary land use in the country, occupying approximately 20% of the territory, the mapping and monitoring of C stocks in these areas is essential to determine their contribution to national emissions. In this study, based on the integrated use of the CENTURY model, georeferenced databases, and the R environment, we mapped and analyzed, for the first time, the C stocks dynamics associated with the pasture areas of the Cerrado biome between 2000 and 2019. The average C stocks in the soil (0–20 cm) and in the aboveground biomass estimated by modeling were ~31 MgC·ha−1 and ~4 MgC·ha−1, respectively, values close to those observed in the literature for the region. Furthermore, the model results corresponded to the edaphic patterns of the region, with the highest average estimated C stocks in Cambisols (~34 MgC·ha−1) and the lowest in Neosols (~29 MgC·ha−1). The temporal dynamics of soil C stocks in these areas are directly related to the age of the pastures. In fact, stocks tend to be reduced in recently converted areas and stabilized in areas that have been under this land use for a longer time (≥30 years). As a result, a loss of ~103 MtC (millions of tons of carbon) was estimated in the Cerrado pasture soils in twenty years. The mapping and monitoring of C stocks in this land use type through approaches such as the one presented in this study is essential to support the Brazilian government’s efforts to mitigate C emissions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Savanna Variation in Form and Function: Theory & Practice)
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Other

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12 pages, 3598 KiB  
Essay
Reflections on the Dynamics of Savanna Landscapes
by Kenneth R. Young
Land 2023, 12(10), 1857; https://doi.org/10.3390/land12101857 - 29 Sep 2023
Viewed by 966
Abstract
Savanna landscapes are shaped by the interactions of disturbances with land use goals. Elephant hunting in a site in Botswana, and its consequences for wildlife, people, and landscapes, are described and discussed in order to make broader generalizations about the dynamics of savanna [...] Read more.
Savanna landscapes are shaped by the interactions of disturbances with land use goals. Elephant hunting in a site in Botswana, and its consequences for wildlife, people, and landscapes, are described and discussed in order to make broader generalizations about the dynamics of savanna landscapes. Change comes from alterations in tree-grass interactions, fire regimes, predator-prey relations, livestock raising, and conservation goals. Some of these implications are specific to African landscapes, but others may be apt in global contexts. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Savanna Variation in Form and Function: Theory & Practice)
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