Dynamics of the Serengeti-Mara Woodlands: An Historical Perspective
Author(s)
Dublin, Holly
Abstract
The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem, located on the border of Tanzania and Kenya, has over the last century experienced major changes similar to those of much of Africa’s savanna woodland areas. These changes have revealed that such an ecosystem is not a “climax” community with long-term stability, but rather a dynamic savanna woodland. A variety of factors has prompted such changes, including disease among the livestock and the size of the elephant herds that had helped the region’s vegetation in a grass-dominated phase. In recent times, a shift from woodland back to grassland resulted from the combined effects of fire and elephants. The changes demonstrate that the ecosystem is characterized by change and that it is remarkably resistant to outside interferences. This conclusion has important implications for the management of other ecosystems in savanna Africa.
