The Future

Abstract

After examining what we have brought together here and what is presented in other places in the published literature, it appears that understanding woody legume communities, including savannas and woodlands, is a difficult task. The results of a number of experiments that are yet to be done are needed to fully understand these woody legume communities and what will happen to them in a warmer, high CO₂ world. There seem to be many physical, chemical, and biotic factors involved. It will probably be more difficult to manage these communities because many of these savannas and woodlands were most likely grasslands at some time in the relatively recent past. Consequently, understanding the interactions of the C₄ grasses and the various woody legumes should be added to the mix of what is required to understand these communities. Thus, the task is complicated, but it is even more difficult when relatively short-term temporal modifications (successional changes) and small-scale spatial variability are added as factors that may further obscure the understanding of long-term effects such as global climate transformations.