Elephants and low rainfall alter woody vegetation in Etosha National Park, Namibia
Elephants and low rainfall alter woody vegetation in Etosha National Park, Namibia
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DOI：
10.1016/j.jaridenv.2005.06.015
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发表时间：
2006-02-01
影响因子：
2.7
通讯作者：
van Aarde, RJ
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
de Beer, Y;Kilian, W;van Aarde, RJ
大象、水源的分布和低于平均水平的降雨量可能威胁到纳米比亚埃托沙国家公园的木本植物的生存。我们对这种相互作用的评估是基于卫星对六个象群的跟踪，这些象群是在17年的定点照片记录之后进行的。这表明，在离水源更远的地方，木本植物的存活率提高了，大象的空间利用减少了。因此，我们得出结论，大象可能是降低木本植物存活率的一个重要因素。我们研究期间典型的低降雨量也可能是有限的生存。植被的持续退化，加上大象的加剧，可能会损害当地的保护努力。我们的研究强调了在作为管理行动补充水源之前研究动物、植物和水之间相互作用的重要性。(C)2005爱思唯尔有限公司。保留所有权利。
Elephants, the distribution of water sources and below-average rainfall may threaten the survival of woody plants in Etosha National Park, Namibia. We base our assessment of such interactions on the satellite tracking of six elephant herds following a 17-year record of fixed-point photographs. These showed that woody plant survival increased and spatial use by elephants decreased at greater distances from water sources. We conclude, therefore, that elephants may be an important factor in reducing woody plant survival. The low rainfall typical of our study period may also have limited survival. A continued decline in vegetation, aggravated by elephants, could compromise local conservation efforts. Our study emphasizes the importance of studying interactions between animals, plants and water before supplementing water sources as a management action. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.