Functional attributes of savannah soils: contrasting effects of tree canopies and herbivores on bulk density, nutrients and moisture dynamics

1. Savannahs are highly heterogeneous tree-grass mixtures, and the structural variation imposed by a discontinuous canopy cover results in spatial variation in soil properties such as plant-available nutrients, temperature and soil moisture. Many savannahs are also dominated by large vertebrate herbivores, which impose a different suite of effects on soil properties related to consumption, excretion and physical disturbance. 2. In nutrient-poor, water-limited systems, variation in soil resource availability may play a fundamental role in structuring plant communities, but the relative and interactive effects of key drivers of heterogeneity have received little attention in savannah ecosystems. 3. We investigated the independent and interactive effects of herbivores and tree canopy cover on multiple soil properties up to a depth of 10 cm, including bulk density, soil C pools, total and plant-available nutrients, moisture dynamics and temperature at 2 contrasting sites in Kruger National ...