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savanna origins

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Chapter 9 - Paleo-savannas: Expanding Grasslands
from Part II - The Savanna Garden: Grassy Vegetation and Plant Dynamics
Norman Owen-Smith, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
Book:

Only in Africa

Published online:

09 September 2021

Print publication:

07 October 2021, pp 128-137
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Summary

This chapter describes how savanna grasslands spread initially during the late Miocene when C4 grasses appeared and expanded further during subsequent periods when global temperatures decreased. C3 grasses were replaced later in South Africa than in eastern Africa. Local vegetation structure and composition fluctuated in response to orbitally controlled cycles in global temperatures and hence aridity. Vegetation transformations from forest to heathland or grassland were surprisingly rapid. Grassland–forest mosaics were more prominently shown in fossil pollen than they are today.