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Synthesizing 40 years of ongoing ecological research, this book examines the structure, function, and dynamics of the Lamto humid savanna. From the history of the Lamto ecology station, to an overview of enivronmental conditions of the site, and examining the integrative view of energy and nutrient fluxes relative to the dynamics of the region's vegetation, this exacting work is as unique and treasured as Lamto itself.
List of contents
History of the Lamto ecology station.- Geology.- landform and soils.- Climate.- Environmental constraints on living organisms.- Vegetation.- Soil-plant-atmosphere exchanges.- Biomass cycle and primary production.- Tree/grass interactions (Mordelet.- Le Roux).- Modeling vegetation structure and functioning.- Modification of the savanna functioning by herbivores.- Origin.- distribution and composition of soil organic matter.- Soil carbon and organic matter dynamics.- Perturbations of soil carbon dynamics by soil fauna.-. Nitrogen inputs and outputs.- Nitrogen dynamics in the soil-plant system.- Role of soil fauna in nitrogen cycling.- Spatial pattern.- dynamics and reproductive biology of the grass community.- Structure.- long-term dynamics and demography of the tree community (Gignoux et al).- Modeling tree and grass dynamics: from demographic to spatially explicit models.- Importance of structure-functioning-dynamics relations.- Perspectives: from the Lamto experience to critical issues for savanna ecology research.
Summary
Known as "a dream place for scientists" the Lamto savannas, located on the edge of the Cote d'Ivoire rain forests, are some of the only savannas in the world where ongoing ecological research has endured for over forty years. Drawing from and synthesizing this abundance of research, the book examines the structure, function, and dynamics of the Lamto humid savanna. Beginning with the history of the Lamto ecology station, proceeding on to an overview of the major enivronmental conditions of the site, and specifically examining the integrative view of energy and nutrient fluxes relative to the dynamics of the region's vegetation, this exacting work is as unique and treasured as Lamto itself.
Additional text
From the reviews:
"This new volume is good news for savanna ecologists. It is a summary and integration of some four decades of ecological research in the savanna of Lamto in Ivory Coast, West Africa. … a most interesting book that is of great value to savanna ecologists. … This is a very valuable and interesting book which I certainly recommend to all savanna ecologists, and I congratulate the authors with their achievement." (Marinus J. A. Werger, Phytocoenologia, Vol. 38 (1-2), August, 2008)
Report
From the reviews:
"This new volume is good news for savanna ecologists. It is a summary and integration of some four decades of ecological research in the savanna of Lamto in Ivory Coast, West Africa. a most interesting book that is of great value to savanna ecologists. This is a very valuable and interesting book which I certainly recommend to all savanna ecologists, and I congratulate the authors with their achievement." (Marinus J. A. Werger, Phytocoenologia, Vol. 38 (1-2), August, 2008)
