Madagascar is the home of the lemurs. Here were able to unfold the half of the monkeys undisturbed, since from the mainland had separated this island from the time of the dinosaurs. No less remarkable is the variety of chameleons and frogs ‘ legs. The number of species is constantly increasing, as new species are discovered. For the most part, Madagascar’s unique Fauna romps in the woods. It’s no wonder that the attention of the conservationists focused on the already badly decimated forest. The grass steppes are considered as a monotonous Wasteland, as the sad end result when areas of forest were ruined.
Where to recently lush the forest grew, today in fact, often is no longer a tree. However, Malagasy grasslands are not caused only by reckless deforestation. In the Central highlands have existed before humans showed up. To this conclusion, scientists Cédrique L. Solofondranohatra of the Université d’Antananarivo and Maria S. Vorontsova from the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew arrived in London. Together with researchers from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, you have taken from grass-covered areas across the Malagasy highlands under the magnifying glass. Two biotope-types emerged, each with its own kinds of asset: As on the African mainland, the grass steppes are mostly from fires or by grazing dominated.
Where is every one to three years of dry grasses burst into flames, dominate the high-growing species. In a more or less dense nests they hide at the base of old leaves of the latest shoots that sprout after a fire rapidly. Where Grass is permanently grazed, on the other hand types, which form the upper or in the subterranean foothills density of the lawn. Base of the recent shoots are safe from the voracious mouths. The up sprouting leaves, however, can easily tear off or bite. So it falls to herbivores is not difficult to keep the Grass short. You can use the lawn-like areas intensively, but sustainably. This is because, with the Remains of your digestion distribute fertilizer.
grasslands as habitats
Special grass species, dominate pasture land, gave it to Madagascar before the shepherds came with their flocks to get there. How Solofondranohatra and his colleagues in the “Proceedings of the Royal Society B” to report, proved to be one-third of these grasses, as the end of mixing. Only on the island of Madagascar home, you’ve developed locally. Namely, the molecular gene reveals tables tree, several millions of years ago. The driving force of Evolution-extinct representative of the native Fauna, were probably in the meantime.
among the largest herbivores on Madagascar, up to three meters high and is estimated at once-up to eight-hundred pound elephant birds, also known as Madagascar ostriches. At the same time, the fourth largest island in the world lemurs housed turtles with the stature of humans, monkeys and hippos, and giant. That about ten thousand years ago, people in Madagascar-foot adopted a witness Cut marks on the bones of elephant birds. Other than the Moas on new Zealand, which became extinct a few centuries after the arrival of the people, survived elephant, birds and other large animals on Madagascar demonstrably even millennia – even as the landscape by the hand of man has been drastically redesigned, such as charcoal particles testify to in a good two thousand-year-old sediments.While shepherds drove their cattle to the pasture, the grass land until about 1200 years, even by native herbivores. To observe how in many places on the African mainland, can hippos graze so thoroughly, that kurzrasige surfaces. Probably their smaller Relatives on Madagascar just as efficiently on-the-go, but similar to that in West Africa, the native pygmy Hippo rather than in the country. If the Terrain for the animals must keep their skin constantly wet, not wet enough, it could have a giant pasture for turtles. Where they are numerous, they keep the Grass also nice and short.
Probably vast grass steppes over millions of years characteristic of Madagascar’s Central highlands. Therefore, the researchers argue in favour of such habitats no longer simply be taken to replant. Not at all with eucalyptus or other trees of foreign origin, which have turned out to be already invasive. That planted tree species to penetrate unasked into adjacent Ecosystems, but may be the only unpleasant side-effect of reforestation projects. Large-scale plantations of trees that need a lot of water, could deprive the agricultural land is also so much moisture that there is less rice grows. Since the production of food is not sufficient for the growing population in Madagascar, anyway, would be declining yields fatal.