Rocky outcrops form islands of high and unique tree biodiversity within an ocean of grass in Serengeti National Park

Abstract African savannahs are characterised by a high plant diversity, partly resulting from a high turnover in community compositions across space. However, it is poorly understood what is driving this spatial turnover in plant communities. Here, we investigate to which extent the presence of rocky outcrops (also called kopjes) explains the community composition of trees in an African savannah, and how we can understand the responses of tree species to rocky outcrops by their functional traits. Along a precipitation gradient, we visited 24 sites in Serengeti National Park (Tanzania). At each site, we characterised tree communities, as well as their functional traits, in both a kopje and an adjacent open savannah plot (matrix plot). We found that kopjes harboured elevated tree abundances and species richness. Their dominant trees were more often evergreen, had a higher specific leaf area, a lower leaf nitrogen content and a lower spine density, than dominant trees in the savannah matrix. Differences in tree communities between kopjes and savannah matrix plots were generally the largest at sites with low precipitation. Our results indicate that kopjes are strong drivers of tree biodiversity, possibly due to locally increased soil moisture and low fire frequencies. The uniqueness of kopje tree communities may have important implications for higher trophic levels and ecosystem functioning.