Parkia biglobosa (néré).

P. biglobosa, known as néré or the shea butter tree, is an important multipurpose tree in tropical and subtropical Africa, particularly valued for food uses. It occurs naturally in Africa between 15°N and 0°N in a strip extending from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean across Mali and Chad, to Cameroon, Sudan and Uganda, as well as in the Central African Republic. The natural phytogeographical distribution of Parkia biglobosa corresponds to the "Sudanian Regional Centre of Endemism" and the "Guineo-Congolia/Sudania Regional Transition Zone" (White, 1983). The species is often found with Vitellaria paradoxa in cultivated parklands near villages with short fallows. In most cases, P. biglobosa has been conserved from land clearing, it is rarely planted. In savanna woodland, P. biglobosa occurs with Pterocarpus erinaceus, Khaya senegalensis, Daniellia oliveri, Afzelia africana, Prosopis africana etc.

Limited evidence of C4 plant consumption in mound building Macrotermes termites from savanna woodland chimpanzee sites

Stable isotope analysis is an increasingly used molecular tool to reconstruct the diet and ecology of elusive primates such as unhabituated chimpanzees. The consumption of C4 plant feeding termites by chimpanzees may partly explain the relatively high carbon isotope values reported for some chimpanzee communities. However, the modest availability of termite isotope data as well as the diversity and cryptic ecology of termites potentially consumed by chimpanzees obscures our ability to assess the plausibility of these termites as a C4 resource. Here we report the carbon and nitrogen isotope values from 79 Macrotermes termite samples from six savanna woodland chimpanzee research sites across equatorial Africa. Using mixing models, we estimated the proportion of Macrotermes C4 plant consumption across savanna woodland sites. Additionally, we tested for isotopic differences between termite colonies in different vegetation types and between the social castes within the same colony in a subset of 47 samples from 12 mounds. We found that Macrotermes carbon isotope values were indistinguishable from those of C3 plants. Only 5 to 15% of Macrotermes diets were comprised of C4 plants across sites, suggesting that they cannot be considered a C4 food resource substantially influencing the isotope signatures of consumers. In the Macrotermes subsample, vegetation type and caste were significantly correlated with termite carbon values, but not with nitrogen isotope values. Large Macrotermes soldiers, preferentially consumed by chimpanzees, had comparably low carbon isotope values relative to other termite castes. We conclude that Macrotermes consumption is unlikely to result in high carbon isotope values in either extant chimpanzees or fossil hominins.

Field observations of a cryptic agamid (Chameleon Dragon Chelosania brunnea Gray, 1845) in semi-arid savanna woodland of northern Australia

ABSTRACT Chameleon Dragons Chelosania brunnea Gray, 1845 are well known amongst naturalists of northern Australia as being one of the most cryptic and least frequently observed of Australia’s large, iconic lizards. Despite their broad distribution across the savanna woodlands that dominate northern Australia, very few records exist of this species and, as a consequence, nearly nothing is known about their natural history. Here, we present records of 19 Chameleon Dragons, detected during clearing activities of a small area of semi-arid woodland at Delamere Air Weapons Range, Northern Territory. Additionally, we provide notes on sexual dimorphism, antipredator behaviour and shelter site use in this species. We discuss how some of this novel information may explain why this species is so rarely detected and suggests that this cryptic agamid may be much more common in savanna woodland than currently appreciated.

Population structure of Annona coriacea Mart. (Annonaceae) in different Cerrado phytophysiognomies

Knowing the regeneration and structure of a species in different phytophysiognomies is extremely important to understand its pattern of occurrence. In spite of its importance, this type of study is still scarce in the Cerrado biome. In this perspective, this work aimed to compare the structure of the arboreal and regenerating strata of Annona coriacea in the cerrado sensu stricto and in the cerradão (savanna woodland). For that purpose, 13 plots of 400m² were installed in each physiognomy. All individuals of A. coriacea were sampled and had their diameter and height measured. The individuals were divided into regenerating and arboreal and were distributed in classes of height and diameter. Furthermore, the absolute density and the basal area of each extract were calculated in each physiognomy. The parameters were compared using the T-test. In total, 130 individuals of A. Coriacea were sampled, with 42 regenerating individuals in the cerrado sensu stricto and 49 in the cerradão. As for the arboreal individuals, 33 were sampled in the cerrado sensu stricto and 6 in the cerradão. All evaluated parameters revealed to be significantly different for the physiognomies. Based on these results, it is possible to affirm that A. coriacea did not present a distribution pattern in the two physiognomies, although it presents a better establishment success in the cerrado sensu stricto. In the cerradão, although the seeds can germinate, the seedlings fail to develop and reach the adult age.

Assessment of Commercial Charcoal Production Effect on Savannah Woodland of Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Charcoal is used as fuel in cooking for household, large food consumption and also in some industries especially those involved in casting bronze and other metals. It can be produced year round which involves woodland exploitation that contributes to deforestation with various negative consequences like loss of valuable resources and environment, drives climate change through the release of greenhouse gases, it also reduces the bio-productivity of ecosystems by disrupting the habitats of thousands of species, transforms forest lands into barren deserts and exposes bare surfaces which are susceptible to soil erosion, thus making the entire ecosystem unstable. These are among the major threats to forest reserves and contributes highly to deforestation with 0.038 hectare of savanna woodland depleted for production of a single 15 kg capacity bag of charcoal in the study area and this had led to forest degradation which 96.2% of the respondents attested. The study was to determine the impacts of charcoal production to the forest reserves and also the public perceptions of the environmental effect of unplanned cutting of tree for Charcoal Production and it recommended awareness, prudent forest management and getting involve the private sectors, combined with proactive actions and policies.

Effects of nutrient addition on polyphenol and nutrient concentrations in leaves of woody species of a savanna woodland in Central Brazil

We investigated whether changes in nutrient availability affected N, P, S and polyphenol concentrations in different leaf-development stages of three brevideciduous and three evergreen dominant woody species in a nutrient-limited savanna woodland in Central Brazil. Treatments included eight years of annual fertilization with 100 kg ha−1 of N, P, N plus P and control, each replicated in four randomized 15 × 15-m plots. All species increased S concentrations (minimum 28%) in young and mature leaves in fertilized plots. Dalbergia miscolobium decreased total phenol concentrations with P (−34.3%, −23.7%) and NP fertilization (−28.2%, −17.1%). Blepharocalyx salicifolius increased total phenol (27.6%, 18.8%) and tannin (46.3%; 43.5%) in P fertilized and increased total phenol (33.9%) and tannin (27.8%, 43.5%) in NP fertilized plots. Total phenol concentration decreased with leaf age in Ouratea hexasperma, Styrax ferrugineus and Blepharocalyx salicifolius, which also decreased tannin concentration with leaf age. For all treatments, brevideciduous species had higher N, P, total phenols and tannin concentrations and lower S concentration than evergreens. These differences between phenological groups suggest that tropical ecosystems responses to environmental changes are more complex than anticipated by global vegetation models, with consequences for predictions in ecosystem functions and resilience.