Overview:
Abiotic factors are non-living things that affect the way an ecosystem is/runs. In the Savanna, there are several abiotic factors affecting the ecosystem, and they are listed below:
Abiotic Factors That Affect the Savanna Are:
- Rainfall change and variability are a major abiotic factor affecting the Savanna. It is very likely to lead to a reduction in ground cover and productivity in the Southern African Savanna in response to the observed drying trend of about 8 mm/yr since 1970.
- Large-scale changes in Savanna vegetation cover are also major abiotic factors affecting the Savanna. This may reflect the drying trend in the regional rainfall patterns. Modeled removal of Savannas from global vegetation cover has larger effects on global precipitation than any other biome and, in four out of five savannas studied globally, modeled Savanna-grassland conversion resulted in 10% lower rainfall, suggesting positive feedback between human impacts and changing climate.
- Canadian grasslands stored roughly five times as much carbon in a year with 30% higher rainfall, while a 15% rainfall reduction led to a carbon loss. Similarly, Mongolian steppe grassland switched from carbon sink to source in response to seasonal water stress.
- Trees and shrubs show higher CO2 responsiveness than do herbaceous forms. Savannas may thus be shifting towards greater tree dominance as atmospheric CO2 rises, with diminishing grass suppression of faster-growing tree saplings.
- Climate change impact studies for savanna and grassland fauna are few. The proportion of threatened mammal species may increase to between 10% and 40% between 2050 and 2080.