We show that the size of areas burned in three southern African parks is dominated by the amount of rainfall in the immediately preceding summer. Considering mean rainfall from two years previous changes r2 values by <20%. We interpret this to suggest that carry-over of grass from one fire year to another is relatively unimportant. The implications of this are: i) the relation between fire frequency and intensity may not be a negative one, and ii) burning trials with a fixed fire frequency will not easily be able to discern frequency and intensity effects. We predict decreasing woody plant density with increasing fire frequency.
Journal articles from the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA) African Journal of Range and Forage Science as well as related articles and reports from throughout the southern African region.