SAVANNA LAB

The whole world is a savanna; forests and grasslands are just special cases.

Maps

Woody and Herbaceous Vegetation Change across the Savanna of West Africa, 1982-2013

Woody and herbaceous vegetation cover change over the time period 1982-2013 for the West African Sudano-Sahel savanna region at a resolution of 0.05 degrees.

DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1738

High Resolution Shrub Cover Raster Maps of the Jornada Basin LTER

Shrub cover map for the Jornada Experimental Range and Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Research Center with a spatial resolution of 1 meter.

DOI: 10.6073/pasta/2bbee949ad08c7feb1d5cec6570b65b8

Global Hydrologic Soil Groups (HYSOGs250m) for Curve Number-Based Runoff Modeling

Global gridded hydrologic soil groups (HSGs) with a spatial resolution of 1/480 decimal degrees.

DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1566

Woody and herbaceous leaf area index in Sub-Saharan Africa with a spatial reolution of 1 kilometer

Woody and herbaceous leaf area index for sub-Saharan Africa for years 2003-2015.

DOI: 10.5061/dryad.v5s0j

Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Rainfall in Africa from 1998-2012

Gridded (0.25 x 0.25-degree) estimates of 14-year mean monthly rainfall total amount (mm), frequency (count), intensity (mm/hr), and duration (hrs) of rainfall over the African continent, including Madagascar, from 1998-2012.

DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1263

Google Earth Engine Applications

High-Resolution Cropland Map for the West African Sahel

Related publication: Samasse, K., Hanan, N. P., Anchang, J., and Diallo, Y. (2020). Remote Sensing, 12, 1436. doi: 10.3390/rs12091436.

Google Earth Engine Demo

Woody Canopy Cover in Tropical Savannas

Related publication: Anchang, J., Prihodko, L., Ji, W., Kumar, S.S., Ross, C.W., Yu, Q. et al. (2020). Frontiers in Environmental Science, 8, 4. doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2020.00004.

Google Earth Engine Demo

Data

Woody Vegetation Cover in African Savannas

Woody vegetation properties (i.e. cover, crown size, and density) estimated from very high resolution satellite imagery in African savannas

Related publications:

  • Axelsson, C.R. & Hanan, N.P. (2018). Rates of woody encroachment in African savannas reflect water constraints and fire disturbance. Journal of Biogeography, 45, 1209-1218. doi: 10.1111/jbi.13221.
  • Axelsson, C.R. & Hanan, N.P. (2017). Patterns in woody vegetation structure across African savannas. Biogeosciences, 14, 3239-3252. doi: 10.5194/bg-14-3239-2017.

    • Data from: Effects of Tree Harvest on the Stable-State Dynamics of Savanna and Forest

    DOI: 10.5061/dryad.vg121

    Responses from 100 household interviews, 20 each from three villages in Mali and 10 each from two villages that were very nearby. Included are responses to questions about the percent of fuelwood purchased versus collected by the household, and, of the percentage collected, the proportion that is cut from live trees versus obtained dead on the ground

    Related publication:

  • Tredennick, A.T. & Hanan, N.P. (2015). Effects of tree harvest on the stable-state dynamics of savanna and forest. American Naturalist, 185, E153-E165. doi: 10.1086/680475.

    • Characteristics of African Savanna Biomes for Determining Woody Cover

    DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/850

    Soil and vegetation characteristics, herbivore estimates, and precipitation measurement data for the 854 sites in African savannas

    Related publications:

  • Sankaran, M., Hanan, N.P., Scholes, R.J., Ratnam, J., Augustine, D.J., Cade, B.S. et al. (2005). Determinants of woody cover in African savannas. Nature, 438, 846-849. doi: 10.1038/nature04070.

    • SAFARI 2000 Surface Albedo and Radiation Fluxes at Mongu and Skukuza, 2000-2002

    DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/786

    Top-of-the-canopy broadband albedo and radiation fluxes calculated from measurements at the Mongu and Skukuza flux tower sites in southern Africa from March 2000 through December 2002

    Related publication:

  • Privette, J.L., Myneni, R.B., Knyazikhin, Y., Mukufute, M., Roberts, G., Tian, Y. et al. (2002). Early spatial and temporal validation of MODIS LAI product in Africa. Remote Sensing of Environment, 83, 232-243. doi: 10.1016/S0034-4257(02)00075-5.

    • SAFARI 2000 Meteorological Tower Measurements, Kruger National Park, 2000-2002

    DOI: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/761

    Meteorological measurements (30-minute averages) from an eddy covariance system mounted on a tower near the Skukuza Camp in Kruger National Park, South Africa from 2000 to 2002

    Related publications:

  • Hanan, N.P., Biggs, H., Potgeiter, A.,Mavundla, M. & Scholes, R.J. (2000). Function and fire in African savanna ecosystems: New and long-term research in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Proceedings of Ecological Society of America 85th Annual Meeting, LTER All Scientists Meeting, Snowbird, Utah, U.S.A.
  • Hanan, N.P., Scholes, R.J. & Privette, J.L. (2001). Carbon, water and energy fluxes in an African savanna ecosystem. Proceedings of AGU Fall Meeting, San Fransisco, CA, U.S.A.