ABSTRACT
There are various denitions for savanna and woodland in the ecological literature. Characteristic elements of each community are broadly dened and often overlap according to the authorities (Curtis 1959; Nuzzo 1986; Nelson 2010). Some confusion is inevitable when categorizing what is in reality a continuum of states from prairie to forest in which there can be much variation. Additional variation arises within each of these community types producing unique associations where composition and structure are further modied by site factors such as soil texture, depth, drainage, and parent materials, which control water and nutrient availability. Nonetheless, given sufcient distance between two points along the continuum, distinct communities are recognizable.
