This award provides funds to enhance Gabriela Bucini's Ph. D. dissertation research, which is focused on developing an ecological model of the complex factors and processes controlling tree cover patterns in savannas ecosystems in and around Kruger National Park, South Africa. The major contribution of this research will be to consider these phenomena at much finer spatial scales than have previously been attempted. Existing studies of woody vegetation from remotely sensed data for Africa are at relatively coarse resolution (1 km) and so have tended to underestimate the number of smaller trees and shrubs. This has important consequences for understanding ecosystem dynamics, tree-grass relationships, and the complex interactions between plants, climate, soil characteristics, and perturbation that characterize savanna systems. This project will enhance our understanding of savanna community structure in natural and human-affected areas by developing a high-resolution tree cover map and then using modeling to examine processes that drive the patterns at landscape scales.
The project will enhance the dissertation research of investigator Bucini by facilitating meaningful collaboration with prominent scientists in South Africa and through sharing of data, tapping into complementary ecological and analytical skills, and co-writing collaborative publications. For Bucini, this will be a valuable experience in her scientific development, promoting her familiarity with and understanding of tropical savanna ecosystems, leading to high-quality interdisciplinary publications, and developing long-term scientific partnerships and collaborations. The project will also help build long-term scientific networks and enhance connectivity for future work between the Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory at Colorado State University and Kruger National Park Scientific Services.
