@article{fdi:010041550,
  title = {{T}o what extent can simple plant biological traits account for the response of the herbaceous layer to environmental changes in fallow-savanna vegetation ({W}est {B}urkina {F}aso, {W}est {A}frica)?},
  author = {{D}evineau, {J}ean-{L}ouis and {F}ournier, {A}nne},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he ability of simple plant traits used as surrogate of species to reflect environmental variability of grasses and herbs in a {W}est {A}frican savanna subject to fallow land rotation is assessed by referring to plants' functional attributes. {T}he aim is to determine the nature and the importance of the loss of information associated with the trait-vs.-species simplification. {T}he traits selected are easily observable and widely documented. {T}hey are related to plant responses to resource availability, environmental constraints/disturbances and to plant palatability and capacity to disperse. {T}he co-inertia analyses of both species-environment and traits-environment are compared. {A}lthough selected traits account for only a part of the variability recorded by species, they are relevant and most of them have an ecological significance. {S}yndromes of attributes that reflect the functional plant-environment relationships of the grass layer along a twofold gradient of soil fertility and woody cover could then be established. {P}eriodic clearing and soil fertility decline produced by the fallow system determine vegetation types dominated by herbaceous species ranging from competitive and ruderal-competitive on fertile and wooded sites to stress-tolerant ruderal on unfertile and non-wooded sites. {T}hus, selected traits do not reveal all functional aspects of the relationships of savanna plants to their environment, such as soil hydromorphy and depth of the clayey horizon. {T}hat is possibly due to the scarcity of traits that characterize the root system involved in the analysis. (c) 2005 {E}lsevier {G}mb{H}. {A}ll rights reserved.},
  keywords = {co inertia analysis ; functional group ; man made disturbances plant soil relationships ; {S}udan type savanna ; tree grass relationships},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{F}lora},
  volume = {200},
  numero = {4},
  pages = {361--375},
  ISSN = {0367-2530},
  year = {2005},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010041550},
}