The role of deterministic succession during forest succession within a South African savanna

Bush encroachment can lead to a switch from open savannas to dense woodlands or forests. This has implications for both the composition of ecological communities and the provision of ecosystem services such as nutrient cycling and grazing capacity. The patterns and underlying drivers responsible for bush encroachment are not fully understood. Here, we investigate the underlying determinants of bush clump formation (a form of encroachment) in a South African savanna and explore whether bush clump succession is driven by deterministic (i.e. predictable changes in species composition) or stochastic (i.e. random) processes. Specifically, we test (1) whether the similarity in species composition of saplings and trees differs among small and large clumps, (2) which environmental factors are driving succession, and (3) if forest specialisation of tree and sapling species within bush clumps increases with the successional gradient. Similarity in species composition between saplings in small clu...