In African savannas, abandonment of traditional livestock corrals (bomas) creates long-term
mosaics of nutrient hotspots embedded in a lower-nutrient matrix. It is unclear how plant
communities develop over time on these sites in clay-rich “black cotton” soils or how
herbivores attracted to these sites affect vegetation development. I first examined whether
treeless “glades”, derived from abandoned bomas, function as nutrient and herbivore
hotspots. Soil, vegetation, and herbivore data were collected on glades of varying ages. The …