Data from: Different effects of fire age and fire recurrence on grass and woody plant chemistry in Kafue National Park, Zambia

In savannas, fire and herbivores are important drivers of natural
ecosystem processes. Fire is also used intensively for management
purposes. However, reported fire effects differ between studies. Reasons
for these differences are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated
the effects of fire on leaf chemistry of grasses and woody plants in the
savanna of the Busanga Flood Plain, Zambia, in relation to the time
elapsed between plant sampling and the last fire (fire age) and the
frequency of fires during the last 16 years (fire recurrence). We analyzed
leaves for their nitrogen, carbon and fiber concentrations, and estimated
their metabolizable energy content, reflecting feed quality for browsers
and grazers. Grasses and woody plants differed in all chemical components
and showed different responses to fire. Grass quality was higher at sites
burnt in the year of sample collection than at sites burnt only in
previous years, but did not change under different fire recurrences.
Leaves of woody plants did not differ in relation to fire age but their
quality increased with increasing fire recurrence. In woody plants, the
carbon content responded to the interaction between fire age and fire
recurrence, indicating changes in carbon allocation in response to fire.
Thus, burning increased feed quality for grazers and browsers but on
different temporal scales. The scale effects may contribute to the
differences in resource allocation described by different studies. They
merit more attention in management decisions as well as in future studies
on fire effects in savanna systems.