Browsing is a strong filter for savanna tree seedlings in their first growing season

Newly germinated seedlings are vulnerable to biomass removal but usually have at least 6 months grow before they exposed dry-season fires, a major disturbance in savannas. In contrast, plants browsers from the time germinate, making browsing potentially very powerful bottleneck for establishing seedlings. Here we assess resilience of 10 savanna tree species topkill during first growth. seeds four dominant African genera across rainfall gradient were planted common garden experiment Wits Rural Facility and clipped 1 cm when ~2, 3, 4 5 old. Survival, growth key plant traits monitored following 2.5 years. Seedlings environments with high herbivory pressure survived younger age than those low-herbivore environments, more palatable had higher herbivore tolerance. Most individuals that able recover lost within 12 months, clipping treatment affected root mass fraction branching patterns. Synthesis. The impact early as demographic can be predicted by integrating information on probability being browsed surviving browse event. Establishment limitation through is an under-recognized constraint distributions.