The savanna treeAcacia polyacanthafacilitates the establishment of riparian forests in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

Forests are being converted to grasslands and croplands across Africa and natural regeneration of forests is typically poor. In Serengeti National Park, Tanzania, the savanna tree speciesAcacia polyacanthaestablished in riparian grasslands and forest trees subsequently established within these stands. We examined the conditions for establishment of: (1)A. polyacanthaand (2) riparian (non-Acacia) forests. Fire was excluded from three grassland areas for 5 y allowingA. polyacanthato establish during 1999 when dry-season rainfall was high. The seedlings of forest tree species did not establish in grasslands, but were found in largeA. polyacanthastands (> 0.3 ha) with reduced grass cover (< 10%), higher cover of herbs (> 80%) and thorny shrubs (> 90%). Seeding survival was high in large stands (0.87 y−1), but declined in artificial canopy gaps due to the ingrowth of grasses (0.21 y−1) and subsequent fires (0.07 y−1). Shrub removal also reduced seedling survival (0.46 y−1) due to browsing by antelope. We propose that: (1)A. polyacanthaestablishes in pulses perhaps as infrequently as twice per century, and (2) riparian forests in Serengeti have established via facilitation under larger stands where shade excludes grass, and therefore fires and thorny shrubs exclude browsers.