Lessons from aloes in the Thicket Biome: reconstructing past elephant browsing to understand the present
Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO QUANTIFY ELEPHANT-induced change to vegetation in the absence of adequate historical benchmarks. In this commentary, we explore the historical distribution of aloes in the Thicket Biome of South Africa. We contend that the large stands of aesthetically pleasing aloes in the Thicket Biome can be likened to the even-aged stands of tall trees in the riparian forests of Botswana, both being artefacts of the loss of large herbivores through disease and hunting in the past. Elephant browsing on aloes may therefore be the first step in the vegetation reverting to a situation similar to the one prior to excessive hunting in the region.
Source: South African Journal of Science
Authors: Daniel M. Parker, R. T. F. Bernard
Institution: Rhodes University
Language: English
Subfield: Ecology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Life on land
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2166685267