Dr. Samantha Arnold

Samantha Arnold is an ecologist whose research centers on savanna ecosystem dynamics, with particular emphasis on plant–soil interactions, nutrient cycling, and disturbance ecology in African landscapes. Her work has focused on systems such as Kruger National Park and Serengeti National Park, contributing to understanding of how biotic and abiotic factors shape vegetation structure and function.

Her publications explore how fire regimes and tree canopy cover influence soil carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus pools, highlighting the dominant role of canopy effects over direct fire impacts in nutrient regulation. This research advances knowledge of long-term ecosystem processes and the mechanisms linking vegetation patterns to soil biogeochemistry.

Arnold has also examined grazing “hotspots” in savannas, demonstrating that intraspecific variation in plant nutritive quality can outweigh soil differences in shaping forage value. Based on the limited available publications at present, her scholarship reflects strengths in field-based experimentation, cross-site comparison, and integrative analysis of plant–grazer–soil interactions.