ENERGY DYNAMICS IN A SAVANNA ECOSYSTEM IN INDIA

Abstract

The savanna stand where the present study was carried out was composed of herbaceous vegetation along with sparse distribution of only one shrub, Zizyphus jujuba. The calorific values of the aboveground parts of the herbaceous vegetation were rich during the rainy season, while those of the underground parts were during the winter season. In the shrubs, the calorific values of the leaves were maximum in June, while those of the twig were maximum in February. The stem, branch and underground parts showed an increase in energy values from June 1976 to February 1977. The annual net energy fixation was 5890.56 Kcal/m^2 with an energy conserving efficiency of 0.90 per cent. The aboveground parts retained 81.76 per cent of the total fixed energy, and the rest was retained by the underground parts. The litter component received only 27.4 per cent of the total energy fixed in the aboveground component. At each transfer, contribution of the herbaceous vegetation was much higher than that of the shrub. The system lost 39.63 per cent of the total net energy fixed by the community through litter and underground disappearances ; the remaining energy was sustained in the system.