Ecology & Research
“We put realistic rainfall schemes into the model, then
generated corresponding grass or tree abundance,
and compared the numerical results with real-world
observations,” Xu said.
The researchers then tested the model using field
measurements from a well-studied savanna in Nylsvley,
South Africa, and nine other sites along the Kalahari
Transect, which is a sort of border of atmospheric and
climate activity in southern Africa. The researchers also
used remote-sensing data across the whole continent.
For each site, the model accurately predicted the tree
abundance that the researchers observed.
Gaby Katul, a professor of hydrology and
micrometeorology at Duke University, said that the
Princeton research makes apparent the local effect of
rainfall variation on plant dominance and an ecosystem’s
composition.
“This work offers evidence of how shifts in rainfall affect
the tree-grass interaction because rainfall variations are
large,” said Katul, who was not involved in the research.
“The approach can be used not only to ‘diagnose’ the
present state where rainfall pattern variation