| [1] | Sarmiento G (1984) The Ecology of Neotropical Savannas. In: O Solbrig, editor. translator. Cambridge,, Massachusetts, and London, England: Harvard University Press. 234 p.
|
| [2] | Fisher MJ, Rao IM, Ayarza MA, Lascano CE, Sanz JI, et al. (1994) Carbon storage by introduced deep-rooted grasses in the South American savannas. Nature 371: 236–238.
|
| [3] | Maass MJ (1995) Conversion of tropical dry forest to pasture and agriculture. In: Bullock SH, Mooney HA, Medina E, editors. Seasonally dry tropical forest. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 399–422.
|
| [4] | Scurlock JMO, Johnson K, Olson RJ (2002) Estimating net primary productivity from grassland biomass dynamics measurements. Global Change Biology 8: 736–753.
|
| [5] | Baruch Z (2005) Vegetation–environment relationships and classification of the seasonal savannas in Venezuela. Flora - Morphology, Distribution, Functional Ecology of Plants 200: 49–64.
|
| [6] | Sarmiento G, Pinillos M (1999) A conceptual model relating ecological constraints to livestock production in tropical American seasonal savannas. In: Mander U, Jogman R, editors. Ecological and socio-economic consequences of land use changes. Southampton: University of Southampton, WITT Press. pp. 295–314.
|
| [7] | Knapp AK, Burns CE, Fynn RW, Kirkman KP, Morris CD, et al. (2006) Convergence and contingency in production-precipitation relationships in North American and South African C4 grasslands. Oecologia 149: 456–464.
|
| [8] | Baeza S, Lezama F, Pi？eiro G, Altesor A, Paruelo JM (2010) Spatial variability of above-ground net primary production in Uruguayan grasslands: a remote sensing approach. Applied Vegetation Science 13: 72–85.
|
| [9] | Lauenroth WK, Sala OE (1992) Long-Term Forage Production of North American Shortgrass Steppe. Ecological Applications 2: 397–403.
|
| [10] | O’Connor TG, Haines LM, Snyman HA (2001) Influence of precipitation and species composition on phytomass of a semi-arid African grassland. Journal of Ecology 89: 850–860.
|
| [11] | IPCC (2007) Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. In: I ContributionofWorkingGroups, editor. II and III to the Fourth Assessment. Geneva, Switzerland: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. 104 p.
|
| [12] | Camberlin P, Moron V, Okoola R, Philippon N, Gitau W (2009) Components of rainy seasons’ variability in Equatorial East Africa: onset, cessation, rainfall frequency and intensity. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 98: 237–249.
|
| [13] | Snyman HA (2009) Root studies on grass species in a semi-arid South Africa along a soil-water gradient. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 131: 247–254.
|
| [14] | Swemmer AM, Knapp AK, Snyman HA (2007) Intra-seasonal precipitation patterns and above-ground productivity in three perennial grasslands. Journal of Ecology 95: 780–788.
|
| [15] | Noy-Meir I (1973) Desert ecosystems: enviroment and producers. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 4: 25–51.
|
| [16] | Knapp AK, Fay PA, Blair JM, Collins SL, Smith MD, et al. (2002) Rainfall Variability, Carbon Cycling, and Plant Species Diversity in a Mesic Grassland. Science 298: 2202–2205.
|
| [17] | Marengo JA, Liebmann B, Kousky VE, Filizola NP, Wainer IC (2001) Onset and End of the Rainy Season in the Brazilian Amazon Basin. Journal of Climate 14: 833–852.
|
| [18] | Moron V, Robertson AW, Ward MN, Camberlin P (2007) Spatial Coherence of Tropical Rainfall at the Regional Scale. Journal of Climate 20: 5244–5263.
|
| [19] | Hector A, Schmid B, Beierkuhnlein C, Caldeira MC, Diemer M, et al. (1999) Plant Diversity and Productivity Experiments in European Grasslands. Science 286: 1123–1127.
|
| [20] | Chidumayo EN (2003) Effect of tillage, clipping and climate on grass phytomass in a Zambian savanna. Journal of Tropical Ecology 19: 407–415.
|
| [21] | Dias-Filho MB (2007) Degradacao de pastagens: Processos, causas e estratégias de recuperacao. Belém, Brasil: Embrapa. 190 p.
|
| [22] | Hooper DU, Chapin FS, Ewel JJ, Hector A, Inchausti P, et al. (2005) Effects of Biodiversity on Ecosystem Functioning: A Consensus of Current Knowledge. Ecological Monographs 75: 3–35.
|
| [23] | Grime JP (1998) Benefits of plant diversity to ecosystems: immediate, filter and founder effects. Journal of Ecology 86: 902–910.
|
| [24] | Garnier E, Cortez J, Billès G, Navas M-L, Roumet C, et al. (2004) Plant Functional Markers Capture Ecosystem Properties during Secondary Succession. Ecology 85: 2630–2637.
|
| [25] | Garnier E, Lavorel S, Ansquer P, Castro H, Cruz P, et al. (2007) Assessing the effects of land-use change on plant traits, communities and ecosystem functioning in grasslands: a standardized methodology and lessons from an application to 11 European sites. Ann Bot 99: 967–985.
|
| [26] | Simpson P, Langford C (1996) Whole-farm management of grazing systems based on native and introduced species. New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research 39: 601–609.
|
| [27] | Pieters A, Baruch Z (1997) Soil depth and fertility effects on biomass and nutrient allocation in Jaragua grass. Journal of Range Management 50: 268–273.
|
| [28] | Rivas L, Holman F (2005) Potential economic impact from the adoption of Brachiaria hybrids resistant to spittlebugs in livestock systems of Colombia, México and Central America. Livestock Research for Rural Development. Cali, Colombia: Cipav. Available: http://www.lrrd.org/lrrd17/5/holm17054.h？tm. Accessed 5 September 2008.
|
| [29] | Dias-Filho MB (2005) Degrada？ao de pastagnes: processos, causas e estatégias de recupera？ao. Belém, Brasil: Embrapa. 173 p.
|
| [30] | Fahey TJ, Knapp AK (2007) Primary production: Guiding principles and standards for measurement. In: Fahey TJ, Knapp AK, editors. Principles and standards for measuring primary production. New york: Oxford University Press Inc. pp. 3–11.
|
| [31] | Elton CS (1958) The ecology of invasions by animals and plants. Chicago; London: The University of Chicago Press. 181 p.
|
| [32] | Tilman D (1999) The Ecological Consequences of Changes in Biodiversity: A Search for General Principles101. Ecology 80: 1455–1474.
|
| [33] | Heisler-White J, Knapp A, Kelly E (2008) Increasing precipitation event size increases aboveground net primary productivity in a semi-arid grassland. Oecologia 158: 129–140.
|
| [34] | Ludwig JA, Wilcox BP, Breshears DD, Tongway DJ, Imeson AC (2005) Vegetation Patches and Runoff–Erosion as Interacting Ecohydrological Processes in Semiarid Landscapes. Ecology 86: 288–297.
|
| [35] | Savadogo P, Sawadogo L, Tiveau D (2007) Effects of grazing intensity and prescribed fire on soil physical and hydrological properties and pasture yield in the savanna woodlands of Burkina Faso. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 118: 80–92.
|
| [36] | Loik ME, Breshears DD, Lauenroth WK, Belnap J (2004) A multi-scale perspective of water pulses in dryland ecosystems: climatology and ecohydrology of the western USA. Oecologia 141: 269–281.
|
| [37] | Andrade HJ, Brook R, Ibrahim M (2008) Growth, production and carbon sequestration of silvopastoral systems with native timber species in the dry lowlands of Costa Rica. Plant and Soil 308: 11–22.
|
| [38] | Guenni O, Baruch Z, Marín D (2004) Responses to drought of five Brachiaria species. II. Water relations and leaf gas exchange. Plant and Soil 258: 249–260.
|
| [39] | Baruch Z, Gomez JA (1996) Dynamics of energy and nutrient concentration and construction cost in a native and two alien C4 grasses from two neotropical savannas. Plant and Soil 181: 175–184.
|
| [40] | Poorter H, Garnier E (2007) Ecological significance of inherent variation in relative growth rate. In: Pugnaire FI, Valladares F, editors. Functional plant ecology: CRC Press. pp. 67–100.
|
| [41] | Altesor A, Oesterheld M, Leoni E, Lezama F, Rodríguez C (2005) Effect of grazing on community structure and productivity of a Uruguayan grassland. Plant Ecology 179: 83–91.
|
| [42] | Cajas-Giron YS, Sinclair FL (2001) Characterization of multistrata silvopastoral systems on seasonally dry pastures in the Caribbean Region of Colombia. Agroforestry Systems 53: 215–225.
|
| [43] | Tilman D (1996) Biodiversity: population versus ecosystem stability. Ecology 77: 350–363.
|
| [44] | Caldeira MC, Hector A, Loreau M, Pereira JS (2005) Species richness, temporal variability and resistance of biomass production in a Mediterranean grassland. Oikos 110: 115–123.
|
| [45] | de Bello F, Buchmann N, Casals P, Lep？ J, Sebastià M-T (2009) Relating plant species and functional diversity to community δ13C in NE Spain pastures. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment 131: 303–307.
|
| [46] | Holdridge LR (2000) Ecologia basada en zonas de vida. San José, Costa Rica: IICA. 216 p.
|
| [47] | Bullock SH, Mooney HA, Medina E (1995) Seasonally dry tropical forest. New York: Cambridge University Press. 452 p.
|
| [48] | Ineter (2010) Boletínes Meteorológicos. Managua, Nicaragua: Ineter. Available: http://webserver2.ineter.gob.ni/Direccio？nes/metereologia/Normas/Normas%20Hist%F3？ricas/Muy%20Muy%20.htm. Accessed 11 May 2010.
|
| [49] | Sala OE, Austin AT (2000) Methods of estimating aboveground net primary productivity. In: Sala OE, Jackson RB, Mooney HA, Howarth RW, editors. Methods in Ecosystem Science. New York: Springer. pp. 31–43.
|
| [50] | Di Rienzo JA, Casanoves F, Balzarini MG, Gonzalez L, Tablada M, et al. (2011) InfoStat versión 2011. Córdoba, Argentina: Grupo InfoStat, FCA, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba.
|
| [51] | Lehman C, Tilman D (2000) Biodiversity, stability, and productivity in competitive communities. The American Naturalist 156: 534–552.
|
| [52] | Team RDC (2011) R: A language and enviroment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing. Vienna, Austria. Available: http://www.R-project.org/.
|
