Global ecosystem typology

Alternative site for the Global ecosystem typology with additional information for ecosystem profiles and indicative maps.

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T3.1 Seasonally dry tropical shrublands

Biome: T3. Shrublands and shrubby woodlands biome

Contributors:
(texts)

Occurring on nutrient-deficient soils of tropical regions, these fire-prone shrublands and low forests are associated with dry tropical winters, often occurring in a matrix with savannas (T4.2) or tropical dry forests (T1.2). Dominated by small-leaved sclerophyll shrubs and grasses, plants have traits to capture and conserve nutrients, such as cluster roots and carnivorous forms. Birds, reptiles and seed-eating small mammals dominate the vertebrate fauna, with few vertebrate herbivores. Periodic fires are cues for life-history processes of plants and animals, and help maintain species composition and nutrient cycling.

Key Features

Mostly evergreen, sclerophyll shrublands on nutrient-poor soils, C4 grasses can be important.

Overview of distribution

Global seasonally-dry tropics : South America, Australia, oceanic high islands.

Profile versions

Main references

Selected references for this functional group:

  • Morellato LPC, Silveira.FAO (2018) Plant life in campo rupestre: New lessons from an ancient biodiversity hotspot Flora 238: 1-10

  • Russell-Smith J, Ryan PG, Klessa D, Waight G, Harwood R (1998) Fire regimes, fire-sensitive vegetation, and fire management of the sandstone Arnhem Plateau, monsoonal northern Australia Journal of Applied Ecology 35, 829-846

  • Fernandes GW (2016) Ecology and conservation of mountaintop grasslands in Brazil Springer: Berlin

Diagrammatic assembly model

Diagrammatic assembly model of T3.1 Seasonally dry tropical shrublands. See general notes on diagrams. Open image full size.

Maps

Maps are indicative of global distribution patterns are not intended to represent fine-scale patterns. The maps show areas of the world containing major (coloured red) or minor occurrences (coloured yellow) of each ecosystem functional group. See general notes on maps.

There are 2 alternative versions of the indicative map for this functional group, please compare description and sources below.

T3.1.IM.orig_v2.0

Datasets

  • Resolve-Ecoregions-2017

Map references

  • Dinerstein E, Olson D, Joshi A, Vynne C, Burgess ND, Wikramanayake E, Hahn N, Palminteri S, Hedao P, Noss R, Hansen M, Locke H, Ellis EE, Jones B, Barber CV, Hayes R, Kormos C, Martin V, Crist E, Sechrest W, Price L, Baillie JEM, Weeden D, Suckling K, Davis C, Sizer N, Moore R, Thau D, Birch T, Potapov P, Turubanova S, Tyukavina A, de Souza N, Pintea L, Brito JC, Llewellyn Barnekow Lillesø JP, van Breugel P, Graudal L, Voge M, Al-Shammari KF, Saleem M (2017) An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience 67: 534–545. DOI:10.1093/biosci/bix014. Data-set available on-line

T3.1.web.orig_v2.0

Terrestrial ecoregions containing major or minor occurrences of this ecosystem functional group were identified by consulting available ecoregion descriptions (Dinerstein et al. 2017), global and regional reviews, national and regional ecosystem maps, locations of relevant examples, and proofed by expert reviewers. Consequently they are coarse-scale indicative representations of distribution, except where they occupy small ecoregions. Ecoregions were mapped at 30 arc second spatial resolution. Open image full size.

Datasets

  • Resolve-Ecoregions-2017

Map references

  • Dinerstein E, Olson D, Joshi A, Vynne C, Burgess ND, Wikramanayake E, Hahn N, Palminteri S, Hedao P, Noss R, Hansen M, Locke H, Ellis EE, Jones B, Barber CV, Hayes R, Kormos C, Martin V, Crist E, Sechrest W, Price L, Baillie JEM, Weeden D, Suckling K, Davis C, Sizer N, Moore R, Thau D, Birch T, Potapov P, Turubanova S, Tyukavina A, de Souza N, Pintea L, Brito JC, Llewellyn Barnekow Lillesø JP, van Breugel P, Graudal L, Voge M, Al-Shammari KF, Saleem M (2017) An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm, BioScience 67: 534–545. DOI:10.1093/biosci/bix014. Data-set available on-line

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