Ecology, Evolution, and Dynamics of Savanna-Forest Transitions
Vegetation-Fire Feedbacks
Positive feedbacks between vegetation and fire play a key role in the dynamics of savanna-forest boundaries. We are particularly interested in understanding how plant traits and climate mediate the intensity of this feedback.Comparative studies of savanna and forest woody plants
We have been using comparative approaches to understand the origin and ecology of savanna trees and shrubs. We are particularly interested in understanding how natural selection has shaped their morphology, physiology, and ecology in ways that define the unique properties of savanna ecosystems.
Miconia pohliana, a savanna tree species Miconia cuspidata, a forest tree species
Check out our publications about savanna-forest transitions
2012
Hoffmann, W.A., Jaconis,S.Y, Geiger, E.L., Gotsch, S.G., Franco, A.C. (2012) Fuels or microclimate? Understanding the drivers of fire feedbacks at savanna-forest boundaries. Austral Ecology, 37:634-643.
Hoffmann, W.A., Geiger, E.L., Gotsch, S., Rossatto, D.R., Silva, L.C.R., Lau, O.L., Haridasan, M., & Franco, A.C. (2012) Ecological thresholds at the savanna-forest boundary: How plant traits, resources and fire govern the distribution of tropical biomes. Ecology Letters, 15:759-768.
2011
Ratnam, J., Bond, W.J., Fensham,
R.J., Hoffmann, W.A., Archibald, S.,
Lehmann, C.E.R., Andersen,
M.T., Higgins,S.I.,
Sankaran, M. (2011) When is a "forest" a savanna, and why does it
matter? Global
Ecology and Biogeography, 20:653-660.
Lehmann, C.E.R..
Archibald, S.,Hoffmann, W.A. and Bond, W.J. (2011) Deciphering the
distribution
of the savanna biome. New Phytologist,
19: 197-209.
Geiger, E.L.,
Gotsch, S.G., do Vale, G.D., Haridasan, M., Franco, A.C., &
Hoffmann, W.A.
(2011) Distinct roles of savanna and forest tree species in
regeneration
following fire suppression in a Brazilian savanna. Journal
of Vegetation Science,
22:312-321.
2010
Silva, L.C.R.,
Haridasan, M., Sternberg, L.S.L., Franco, A.C., & Hoffmann,
W.A. Not all
forests are expanding over central Brazilian savannas. Plant and Soil,
333: 431-442.
Gotsch, S.G., Geiger, E.L., Franco, A.C., Goldstein, G., Meinzer, F.C., Hoffmann, W.A. (2010) Allocation to leaf area and sapwood area affects water relations of co-occurring savanna and forest trees. Oecologia, 163:291-301.
2009
Zhang, Y.-J., Meinzer, F.C., Hao,
G-Y., Scholz, F.G., Bucci, S.J., Giraldo, J.P.,
Cao, K-F., Franco, A.C., Hoffmann, W.A., and Goldstein, G. (2009) Size-dependent mortality in a
Neotropical savanna tree: the role of
height-related adjustments in hydraulic architecture and carbon
allocation Plant Cell and Environment,
32:1456-1466.
Rossatto, D.R.,
Hoffmann, W.A., Franco, A.C. (2009) Differences in growth patterns
between co-occurring
forest and savanna species affect the forest-savanna boundary. Functional
Ecology,
23: 689-698.
Rossatto, D.R.,
Hoffmann, W.A., Franco, A.C. (2009) Stomatal
characteristics
of congeneric savanna and forest species growing in a transitional
region of
central Brazil. Acta Botanica
Brasilica
23:499-508.
Hoffmann, W.A.,
Franco, A.C. (2009) The importance of evolutionary history in studies
of plant
physiological ecology: examples from cerrados and forests of central
Brazil.
Special issue of Brazilian Journal of
Plant Physiology, 20:247-256
Hoffmann, W.A.,
R. Adasme, M. Haridasan,
M.
Carvalho, E.
L. Geiger, M. A. B. Pereira, S. G. Gotsch, and A. C. Franco (2009).
Tree
topkill, not mortality, governs the dynamics of alternate stable states
at
savanna-forest boundaries under frequent fire in central Brazil. Ecology
90:1326-1337.
2008
Silva, L.C.R, L.
Sternberg, M. Haridasan, W. Hoffmann, F. Miralles-Wilhelm. A. C Franco
(2008) Expansion
of
gallery forests into central
Brazilian savannas. Global Change
Biology, 14, 2108-2118.
Hao, G.-Y. Hoffmann, W.A. Scholz,
F.G.
Bucci, S.J. Meinzer, F.C. Franco, A.C. Cao, K.-F. Goldstein, G. (2008) Stem and
leaf hydraulics
of congeneric tree
species from adjacent tropical savanna and forest ecosystems. Oecologia 155:405-415.
Hoffmann, W.A. and M. Haridasan (2008) The invasive grass, Melinis minutiflora, inhibits tree regeneration in a Neotropical Savanna. Austral Ecology 33:29-36.
2005
Hoffmann, W.A., Silva, E.R.,
Machado, G.C., Bucci, S.J., Scholz, F.G., Goldstein, G., Meinzer, F.C. 2005.
Seasonal leaf dynamics
across a tree
density gradient in a Brazilian savanna. Oecologia,
145: 307-316.
Hoffmann, W.A.,
Franco, A.C., Moreira, M.Z., Haridasan,
M. 2005. Specific leaf area explains
differences in leaf traits between congeneric savanna and forest trees.
Functional Ecology
19: 932-940.
Hoffmann, W.A.
2005.
Ecologia comparativa de especies lenhosas de cerrado e de mata
(Comparative
ecology of savanna and forest woody plants). Pp. 155- 166 in A. Scariot, J. M.
Felfili, and J. C. Sousa-Silva (eds.) Cerrado:
Ecologia, Biodiversidade e Conservacao, Ministerio do
Meio Ambiente, Brasilia, Brazil.
2004
Hoffmann, W.A., Orthen, B. and
Franco, A.C. 2004. Constraints to seedling success of savanna and
forest trees across the savanna-forest boundary.
Oecologia 140:252-260.
Hoffmann, W.A.,
Lucatelli, V. M. P. C., Silva, F. J.,
Azeuedo, I. N. C., Marinho, M. da S., Albuquerque, A. M. S., Lopes, A.
de O.,
Moreira, S. P. 2004. Impact
of the invasive grass Melinis minutiflora
at the savanna-forest ecotone in the Brazilian Cerrado. Diversity
and Distributions, 10: 99-103.
2003
Hoffmann, W.A., B. Orthen, and
P.K.V. Nascimento. 2003. Comparative fire ecology of tropical savanna
and forest
trees. Functional Ecology, 17:
720-726
Hoffmann, W.A., W. Schroeder
and R.B. Jackson. 2003. Regional feedbacks among climate, fire, and
tropical
deforestation. Journal of Geophysical
Research - Atmospheres, 108, DOI: 2003JD003494.
Hoffmann, W.A. and A.C. Franco.
2003. Comparative growth analysis of tropical savanna and forest trees
using
phylogenetically-independent contrasts. Journal
of Ecology, 91: 475-484.
2002
Hoffmann, W. A.,
W. Schroeder, and R. B. Jackson. 2002. Positive
feedbacks of fire, climate, and vegetation change and the conversion of
tropical savannas. Geophysical
Research Letters, 15: doi: 10.1029/2002GL015424
2000
Hoffmann, W. A. 2000. Post-establishment seedling success of savanna and forest species in the Brazilian Cerrado. Biotropica, 32(1):62-69
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