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Taken from GSI Seminar coordinator Daneen Cowlin<\/strong>g\u2019s Blog\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The delicate balance between C3 trees and C4 grasses that has characterised the global Savannahs for millennia is now being compromised, threatening the existence of this biome. In this seminar, Dr Simpson assesses the potential \u2018culprits\u2019 behind the case of the vanishing Savannas,<\/p>\n Dr Simpson is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Sheffield, in the department of Animal and Plant Science within the Osbourne Lab. Dr Simpson is broadly occupied in how processes create and maintain phenotypic diversity and how traits influence such processes. She is currently involved in a project investigating abiotic and biotic factors in woody encroachment in Savannas. She collaborates on field work with Rhodes University in South Africa, and is expanding on her PhD which investigated fire influence on grass functional traits.<\/p>\n To layout her investigation of\u00a0what\u00a0<\/em>is causing a reduced Savanna, Dr Simpson first explained the context of the \u2018victim\u2019 in the case \u2013 the characteristics and geographic distribution of Savannah ecosystems. Then the \u2018crime\u2019 \u2013 the encroachment of trees and diminishing Savannah grasslands.\u00a0<\/em>Although the increased tree cover could have benefits in the form of increased fuel wood and Carbon sequestration, negative implications in the form of reduced foraging, groundwater, visibility and ecotourism also occur. But most detrimental, the shift threatens the many species reliant on these open landscapes.<\/p>\n Dr Simpson took the audience through a storyboard of potential \u2018suspects\u2019:<\/p>\n
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