Known as "a dream place for scientists," the Lamto savannas, located on the edge of the Cote d'Ivoire rain forests, are one of the only savannas in the world where ongoing ecological research has endured for more than forty years. Drawing from and synthesizing this abundance of research, the book examines the structure, functioning, and dynamics of the Lamto humid savanna. Beginning with the history of the Lamto ecology station and an overview of the major environmental conditions of the site, this exacting work specifically examines the integrative view of energy and nutrient fluxes relative to the dynamics of the savanna's vegetation.

Zusammenfassung

Known as "a dream place for scientists" the Lamto savannas, located on the edge of the Cote d'Ivoire rain forests, are some of the only savannas in the world where ongoing ecological research has endured for over forty years. Drawing from and synthesizing this abundance of research, the book examines the structure, function, and dynamics of the Lamto humid savanna. Beginning with the history of the Lamto ecology station, proceeding on to an overview of the major enivronmental conditions of the site, and specifically examining the integrative view of energy and nutrient fluxes relative to the dynamics of the region's vegetation, this exacting work is as unique and treasured as Lamto itself.

Inhalt
History of the Lamto Ecology Station and Ecological Studies at Lamto.- History of the Lamto Ecology Station and Ecological Studies at Lamto.- The Environment.- Geology, Landform, and Soils.- Climate.- Environmental Constraints on Living Organisms.- Vegetation.- Structure and Functioning of Plant Cover.- Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Exchanges.- Biomass Cycle and Primary Production.- Tree/Grass Interactions.- Modeling the Relationships between Vegetation Structure and Functioning, and Modeling Savanna Functioning from Plot to Region.- Modification of the Savanna Functioning by Herbivores.- Carbon Cycle and Soil Organic Matter Dynamics.- Origin, Distribution, and Composition of Soil Organic Matter.- Soil Carbon and Organic Matter Dynamics.- Perturbations of Soil Carbon Dynamics by Soil Fauna.- The Nitrogen Cycle.- Nitrogen Inputs to and Outputs from the Soil-Plant System.- Nitrogen Dynamics in the Soil-Plant System.- Role of Soil Fauna in Nitrogen Cycling.- Plant Community Dynamics.- Spatial Pattern, Dynamics, and Reproductive Biology of the Grass Community.- Structure, Long-Term Dynamics, and Demography of the Tree Community.- Modeling Tree and Grass Dynamics: From Demographic to Spatially Explicit Models.- Toward an Integration of Savanna Structure, Functioning, and Dynamics.- A Synthetic Overview of Lamto Savanna Ecology: Importance of Structure-Functioning-Dynamics Relationships.- Perspectives: From the Lamto Experience to Critical Issues for Savanna Ecology Research.