Root trait variation in African savannas

Aims While patterns of variation in woody plant aboveground traits related to disturbance and resource availability in savanna ecosystems are fairly well understood, dimensions of variation in belowground traits remain poorly understood. We investigate how sapling coarse root (>2 mm diameter) traits and belowground storage organs vary with respect to differing disturbance regimes (i.e. fire or herbivore dominated) and soil fertility in Southern African savannas.