Publications

Shaheen, I., Malik, R. A., Sankaran, M., & Shah, M. A. (2025). Setting up a baseline for long-term ecological monitoring of Kashmir Himalayan grasslands. Grassland Science. 71(4), 204–218. https://doi.org/10.1111/grs.70012

Anujan, K., Shabnam, A., Ali, I., Gummadi, A. K., Sankaran, M., Krishnadas, M. and Naeem, S. (2025). Biodiversity effects on seedling growth are modified by light environment across functional groups. Ecological Applications. 35(5), e70087. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70087

Chakravarthy, D., Raghavendra, H. V., Ratnam, J. & Sankaran, M. (2025). Soil respiration is correlated with rainfall and soil moisture at multiple temporal scales in a seasonal wet tropical forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 41, e20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467425100126

Tiruvaimozhi, Y.T., Teegalapalli, K., Reddy, A., Murali, A., Datta, A., Krishnan, A., Ratnam, J., Sankaran, M., Ongole, S., Kasinathan, S., Raman, T.R.S. & Ramaswami, G. (2025). Effects of sampling methodology on phenology indices: Insights from sites across India and modelling. Journal of Biosciences. 50, 63. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12038-025-00537-z

Mande, M., Joshi, A. A., Paramjyothi, H., Ratnam, J. & Sankaran, M. (2025). Patterns of grass (Poaceae) species distribution and richness across India. Global Ecology and Conservation. 62, e03741. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2025.e03741

Rajashekar, P., Krishnan, A., Varma, V., Ratnam, J., Sankaran, M. & Lehmann, C.E.R. (2025). Decadal scale fire dynamics in savannas and forests of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India. International Journal of Wildland Fire. 34, WF24174. https://doi.org/10.1071/WF24174

Rao, R. Y., Sankaran, M., Jathanna, D. & Andheria, A. (2025). Assessing ungulate response to conservation-oriented village relocations and their associated management practices in a tiger reserve in central India. Biodiversity and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-025-03101-1

Najeeb, N., Jose, K., Sreejith, K.A., Pulla, S., Suresh, H.S., Ratnam, J., Raghavendra, H.V., Chakravarthy, D., & Chaturvedi, R.K. (2025). Presence of large trees and tree diversity enhances carbon storage in the Western Ghats. Biological Conservation, 308. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111250

Shaheen, I., Malik, R.A., Sankaran, M., & Shah, M.A. (2025). Differential impacts of grazing on grassland plant diversity, biomass, soil C, and soil N across an elevation gradient. Ecological Applications. 35(3), e70031. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.70031

Murali, A., Kasinathan, S., Bhat, K., Ratnam, J., Sankaran, M., Mudappa, D., Raman, T.R.S., & Osuri, A.M. (2025). Structure and dynamics of secondary and mature rainforests: insights from South Asian long-term monitoring plots. Plant Ecology & Diversity. 1-13.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17550874.2025.2494204

Benitez, L.M., Parr, C.L., Sankaran, M., & Ryan, C.M. (2025). Fragmentation in patchy ecosystems: a call for a functional approach. Trends in ecology & evolution. 40(1), 27-36. 10.1016/j.tree.2024.09.004

Joshi, A. A., Ratnam, J., Paramjyothi, H., & Sankaran, M. (2024). Climate and vegetation collectively drive soil respiration in montane forest-grassland landscapes of the southern Western Ghats, India. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 40, e16.  https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467424000142

Mishra, S., Bansal, M., Prasad, V., Singh, V.P., Murthy, S., Parmar, S., Utescher, T. & Khangar, R. (2024). Did the Deccan Volcanism impact the Indian flora during the Maastrichtian? Earth-Science Reviews. 258, 104950. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2024.104950.

Jhaveri, R., Cannanbilla, L., Bhat, K.A., Sankaran, M., & Krishnadas, M. (2024). Anatomical traits explain drought response of seedlings from wet tropical forests. Ecology and Evolution. 14 (9), e70155. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.70155

Pratzer, M. et al (including Ratnam, J. & Sankaran, M.) (2024). An actor-centered, scalable land system typology for addressing biodiversity loss in the world’s tropical dry woodlands. Global Environmental Change. 86, 102849.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2024.102849

Maes, S.L. et al (including Sankaran, M.) (2024). Explore before you restore: Incorporating complex systems thinking in ecosystem restoration. Journal of Applied Ecology. 61(5), 922-939. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14614

Pörtner, H.O. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2023). Overcoming the coupled climate and biodiversity crises and their societal impacts. Science. 380(6642), eabl4881. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abl4881

Bakker, J.D. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2023). Compositional variation in grassland plant communities. Ecosphere. 14(6), e4542. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4542

Srivathsa, A. et al. (including Nair, T. & Sankaran, M.) (2023). Prioritizing India’s landscapes for biodiversity, ecosystem services and human well-being. Nature Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01063-2.

Daleo, P. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2023). Environmental heterogeneity modulates the effect of plant diversity on the spatial variability of grassland biomass. Nature Communications. 14, 1809 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37395-y

Anujan, K., Ratnam, J., & Sankaran, M. (2022). Chronic browsing by an introduced mammalian herbivore in a tropical island alters species composition and functional traits of forest understory plant communities. Biotropica. 54(5), 1248-1258. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.13149

Karkarey, R., Arthur, R., Nash, K.L., Pratchett, M.S., Sankaran, M., & Graham, N.A. (2022). Spatial decoupling of α and β diversity suggest different management needs for coral reef fish along an extensive mid-oceanic ridge. Global Ecology and Conservation. e02110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02110

Smith, M.D. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2022). Richness, not evenness, varies across water availability gradients in grassy biomes on five continents. Oecologia. 199(3), 649-659. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-022-05208-6

Coetsee, C., Wigley, B.J., Sankaran, M., Ratnam, J., & Augustine, D.J. (2022).  Contrasting Effects of Grazing vs Browsing Herbivores Determine Changes in Soil Fertility in an East African Savanna. Ecosystems. 26, 161-173. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-022-00748-7

Rastogi, S., Chanchani, P., Sankaran, M., & Warrier, R. (2022) Grasslands half‐full: investigating drivers of spatial heterogeneity in ungulate occurrence in Indian Terai. Journal of Zoology. 316(2), 139-153. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12939

Ebeling, A. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2022). Nutrient enrichment increases invertebrate herbivory and pathogen damage in grasslands. Journal of Ecology. 110 (2), 327-339. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13801

Raghurama, M. & Sankaran, M. (2022). Invasive alien plants increase nitrogen availability and cycling rates in a montane tropical grassland.  Plant Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-021-01188-4

Deshpande, K., Kelkar, N., Krishnaswamy, J. & Sankaran, M. (2021). Stretching the Habitat Envelope: Insectivorous Bat Guilds Can Use Rubber Plantations, but Need Understorey Vegetation and Forest Buffers. Frontiers in Conservation Science. 2, 751694. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2021.751694

Arnillas, C.A. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2021). Opposing community assembly patterns for dominant and nondominant plant species in herbaceous ecosystems globally. Ecology and Evolution. 11 (24), 17744-17761. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.8266

Bardgett, R.D. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2021). Combatting global grassland degradation. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment. 2 (10), 720-735. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-021-00207-2

Coverdale, T.C., O'Connell, R.D., Hutchinson, M.C., Savagian, A, Kartzinel, T.R., Palmer, T.M., Goheen, J.R., Augustine, D.J., Sankaran, M., Tarnita, C.E. & Pringle, R.M. (2021). Large herbivores suppress liana infestation in an African savanna. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (41), e2101676118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2101676118

Raghurama, M. & Sankaran, M. (2021). Restoring tropical forest-grassland mosaics invaded by woody exotics.  Restoration Ecology. 29 (8), e13491. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13491

Tognetti et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2021). Negative effects of nitrogen override positive effects of phosphorus on grassland legumes worldwide.  Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 118 (28), e2023718118. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2023718118

Pörtner, H.O., Scholes, R.J., et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2021). IPBES-IPCC co-sponsored workshop report on biodiversity and climate change; IPBES and IPCC. 10.5281/zenodo.4782538.

Krishnadas, M., Sankaran, M., Page, N., Joshi, J., Machado, S., Nataraj, N., Chengappa, S.K., Kumar, V., Kumar, A. & Krishnamani, R. (2021). Seasonal drought regulates species distributions and assembly of tree communities in a tropical wet forest. Global Ecology & Biogeography. 30 (9), 1847-1862.  https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13350

Ongole, S., Teegalapalli, K., Byrapoghu, V., Ratnam, J. & Sankaran, M. (2021).  Functional traits predict tree-level phenological strategies in a mesic Indian savanna. Biotropica. 53 (5), 1432-1441. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12993

Riedel, N., Fuller, D.Q., Marwan, N. et al. (including Ratnam, J. & Sankaran, M.) (2021). Monsoon forced evolution of savanna and the spread of agro-pastoralism in peninsular India. Scientific Reports. 11, 9032. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-88550-8

Varma, V. & Sankaran, M. (2021). Nutrient deposition enhances post‐fire survival in non‐N‐fixing savanna tree seedlings. Journal of Vegetation Science. 32 (2), e13020. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvs.13020.

Kohli, M., Mijiddorj, T.N., Suryawanshi, K.R., Mishra, C., Boldgiv, B., & Sankaran, M. (2021). Grazing and climate change have site‐dependent interactive effects on vegetation in Asian montane rangelands. Journal of Applied Ecology. 58 (3), 539-549. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13781

Bawa, K.S. et al (including Sankaran, M.) (2021). Securing biodiversity, securing our future: A national Mission on biodiversity and human well-being for India. Biological Conservation. 253, 108867. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2020.108867

Bawa, K.S. et al (including Sankaran, M.) (2020). Opinion: Envisioning a biodiversity science for sustaining human well-being. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117(42), 25951-25955. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2018436117

Hautier, Y. et al (including Sankaran, M.) (2020). General destabilizing effects of eutrophication on grassland productivity at multiple spatial scales. Nature Communications. 11, 5375. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-20997-9

Borer, E.T. et al (including Sankaran, M.) (2020). Nutrients cause grassland biomass to outpace herbivory. Nature Communications. 11, 6036. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-20985-z

Wigley, B.J., Augustine, D.J., Coetsee, C., Ratnam, J., & Sankaran, M. (2020). Grasses continue to trump trees at soil carbon sequestration following herbivore exclusion in a semiarid African savanna. Ecology. 101 (5), e03008.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.3008

Willemen, L., et al (including Sankaran, M.) (2020). How to halt the global decline of lands. Nature Sustainability. 3 (3), 164-166. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02207-7

Osuri, A.M., Machado, S., Ratnam, J., Sankaran, M., et (2020). Tree diversity and carbon storage cobenefits in tropical human‐dominated landscapes. Conservation Letters, 13(2), e12699. https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12699

Sriramamurthy, R.T., Bhalla, R.S., & Sankaran, M. (2020). Fire differentially affects mortality and seedling regeneration of three woody invaders in forest–grassland mosaics of the southern Western Ghats, India. Biological Invasions. 22 (5), 1623-1634. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-020-02207-7

Joshi, A.A., Ratnam, J. & Sankaran, M. (2020).  Frost maintains forests and grasslands as alternate states in a montane tropical forest-grassland mosaic; but alien tree invasion and warming can disrupt this balance. Journal of Ecology. 108 (1), 122 - 132. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13239 (this paper was awarded the John L. Harper prize for 2020).

Coverdale, T.C., McGeary, I.J., O'Connell, R.D., Palmer, T.M., Goheen, J.R., Sankaran, M., et al. (2019). Strong but opposing effects of associational resistance and susceptibility on defense phenotype in an African savanna plant. Oikos. 128 (12), 1772-1782. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.06644

Augustine, D.J., Wigley, B. J., Ratnam, J., Kibet, S., Nyangito, M., & Sankaran, M. (2019). Large herbivores maintain a two‐phase herbaceous vegetation mosaic in a semi‐arid savanna. Ecology and Evolution. 9 (22), 12779-12788. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5750

Risch, A.C., et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2019). Soil net nitrogen mineralisation across global grasslands. Nature Communications. 10 (1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12948-2

Sankaran, M. (2019).  Drought and the ecological future of tropical savanna vegetation. Journal of Ecology. 107 (4), 1531–1549.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13195

Tiruvaimozhi, Y.V. & Sankaran, M. (2019). Soil respiration in a tropical montane grassland ecosystem is largely heterotroph-driven and increases under simulated warming. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. 276, 107619. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.107619

Wigley, B.J., Coetsee, C., Kruger, L.M., Ratnam, J., & Sankaran, M. (2019). Ants, fire, and bark traits affect how African savanna trees recover following damage. Biotropica. 51 (5), 682-691. https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12683 (awarded the Julie S. Denslow prize for Outstanding Paper in Biotropica in 2020).

Krishnan, L, Barua, D. & Sankaran, M. (2019). Dry-forest tree species with large seeds and low specific stem density show greater survival under drought. Journal of Tropical Ecology. 35 (1), 26-33. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467418000421

Ratnam, J., Chengappa, S.K., Machado, S., Nataraj, N., Osuri, A.M., & Sankaran, M. (2019). Functional traits of trees from dry deciduous ‘forests’ of southern India suggest seasonal drought and fire are important drivers. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 7, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00008

Wigley, B.J., Coetsee, C., Augustine, D.J., Ratnam, J., Hattas, D. & Sankaran, M. (2019). A thorny issue: woody plant defense and growth in an African savanna. Journal of Ecology. 107, 1839-1851. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13140

Koerner, S.E. et al (including Sankaran, M.) (2018). Change in dominance determines herbivore effects on plant diversity.  Nature Ecology & Evolution. 2 (12), 1925-1932. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-018-0696-y

Varma, V., Catherin A.M., & Sankaran, M. (2018). Effects of increased N and P availability on biomass allocation and root carbohydrate reserves differ between N-fixing and non-N-fixing savanna tree seedlings. Ecology & Evolution. 8 (16), 8467 - 8476. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4289

Ongole, S., Sankaran, M., & Karanth, K. K. (2018). Responses of aerial insectivorous bats to local and landscape-level features of coffee agroforestry systems in Western Ghats, India. PloS One. 13 (8), e0201648. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201648

Joshi, A.A., Ratnam, J. & Sankaran M. (2018). ‘Foresting’ the grassland: Historical management legacies in forest-grassland mosaics in Southern India, and lessons for the conservation of tropical grassy biomes. Biological Conservation. 224: 142-152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2018.05.029

Goheen, J.R., Augustine, D.J., Veblen, K.E., Kimuyu, D.M., Palmer, T.M., Porensky, L.M., Pringle, R.M., Ratnam, J., Riginos, C., Sankaran, M., Ford, A.T. et al (2018). Conservation lessons from large‐mammal manipulations in East African savannas: the KLEE, UHURU, and GLADE experiments. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 1429 (1), 31-49. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13848

Wordley, C.F., Sankaran, M., Mudappa, D., & Altringham, J.D. (2018). Heard but not seen: Comparing bat assemblages and study methods in a mosaic landscape in the Western Ghats of India. Ecology & Evolution. 8 (8), 3883-3894. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.3942

Anderson, T.M. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2018). Herbivory and eutrophication mediate grassland plant nutrient responses across a global climatic gradient. Ecology. 99 (4), 822-831. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2175

Pillai, A.A.S., Anoop, A., Prasad, V., Manoj, M. C., Varghese, S., Sankaran, M. & Ratnam, J. (2018). Multi-proxy evidence for an arid shift in the climate and vegetation of the Banni grasslands of western India during the mid- to late-Holocene. The Holocene. 28 (7), 1057-1070. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683618761540

Tiruvaimozhi, Y.V., Varma, V. & Sankaran, M. (2018) Nitrogen fixation ability explains leaf chemistry and arbuscular mycorrhizal responses to fertilization. Plant Ecology. 219 (4), 391-401. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-018-0803-9

Prasad, A., Ratnam, J., & Sankaran, M. (2018). Rainfall and removal method influence eradication success for Lantana camara. Biological Invasions. 20 (12), 3399-3407. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10530-018-1785-1

Hautier, Y. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2018). Local loss and spatial homogenization of plant diversity reduce ecosystem multifunctionality. Nature ecology & evolution. 2, 50-56. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0395-0

Pillai, A.A., Anoop, A., Sankaran, M., Sanyal, P., Jha, D.K., & Ratnam, J. (2017). Mid-late Holocene vegetation response to climatic drivers and biotic disturbances in the Banni grasslands of western India. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 485, 869-878.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.07.036

Iyengar, S.B., Bagchi, S., Barua, D., Mishra, C., & Sankaran, M. (2017). A dominant dwarf shrub increases diversity of herbaceous plant communities in a Trans-Himalayan rangeland. Plant Ecology. 218, 843-854. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-017-0734-x

Wordley, C.F., Sankaran, M., Mudappa, D., & Altringham, J.D. (2017). Bats in the Ghats: Agricultural intensification reduces functional diversity and increases trait filtering in a biodiversity hotspot in India. Biological Conservation. 210 (A), 48-55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2017.03.026

Dohn, J., Augustine, D.J., Ratnam, J., Hanan, N.P. & Sankaran, M. (2017). Spatial vegetation patterns and neighborhood competition among woody plants in an East African savanna. Ecology. 98, 478–488. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.1659

Wordley, C.F.R., Foui, E.K., Mudappa, D., Sankaran, M. & Altringham, J.D. (2016). Range extension of the endangered Salim Ali’s Fruit Bat Latidens salimalii (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) in the Anamalai Hills, Tamil Nadu, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa. 8 (12), 9486–9490.
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2796.8.12.9486-9490

Varma, V., Iyengar, S.B. & Sankaran, M. (2016). Effects of nutrient addition and soil drainage on germination of N-fixing and non-N-fixing tropical dry forest tree species. Plant Ecology. 217, 1043-1054.  https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-016-0630-9

Ratnam, J., Tomlinson, K., Rasquinha, D. & Sankaran, M. (2016). Savannas of Asia: evidence for antiquity, current day biogeography and an uncertain future. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 371. 20150305. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2015.0305

Osuri A.M., Ratnam, J., Varma, V., Alvarez-Loayza, P., Hurtado Astaiza, J., Bradford, M., Fletcher, C., Breuer-Ndoundou, H.M., Jansen, P.A., Kenfack, D., Marshall, A.R., Ramesh, B.R., Rovero, F., & Sankaran, M. (2016). Contrasting effects of defaunation on aboveground carbon storage across the global tropics. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms11351

Osuri, A.M. & Sankaran, M. (2016). Seed size predicts shifts in tree community composition and aboveground carbon storage in response to rainforest fragmentation in India’s Western Ghats. Journal of Applied Ecology. 53, 837-845. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12626

Rasquinha, D.N. & Sankaran, M. (2016). Biome shifts in the Indian subcontinent under scenarios of future climate change. Current Science. 111 (1), 147–156. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24910021

Wordley, C.F., Sankaran, M., Mudappa, D., & Altringham, J.D. (2015). Landscape scale habitat suitability modelling of bats in the Western Ghats of India: Bats like something in their tea. Biological Conservation. 191, 529-536. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.08.005

Seabloom, E.W. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2015). Plant species' origin predicts dominance and response to nutrient enrichment and herbivores in global grasslands. Nature Communications. 6, 7710. https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms8710

Varma, V., Ratnam, J., Viswanathan, V., Osuri, A.M., Biesmeijer, J. C., Madhusudan, M. D., Sankaran, M., Krishnadas, M., Barua, D., Budruk, M., Isvaran, K., Jayapal, R., Joshi, J., Karanth, K. K., Krishnaswamy, J., Kumar, R., Mukherjee, S., Nagendra, H., Niphadkar, M., Owen, N., Page, N., Prasad, S., Quader, S., Nandini, R., Robin, V. V., Sait, SM, Shah, M. A., Somanathan, H., Srinivasan, U. & Sundaram, B. (2015). Perceptions of priority issues in the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems in India. Biological Conservation. 187, 201-211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.04.031

Krishnaswamy, J., Vaidyanathan, S., Rajagopalan, B., Bonell, M., Sankaran, M., Bhalla, R.S. & Badiger, S. (2015). Non‑stationary and non‑linear influence of ENSO and Indian Ocean Dipole on the variability of Indian monsoon rainfall and extreme rain events. Climate Dynamics. 45, 175-184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-014-2288-0

Osuri, A.M., Madhusudan, M.D., Kumar, V.S., Chengappa, S.K., Kushalappa, C.G. & Sankaran, M. (2014). Spatio-temporal variation in forest cover and biomass across sacred groves in a human-modified landscape of India's Western Ghats. Biological Conservation. 178, 193-199.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.08.008

Osuri, A.M., Kumar, V.S. & Sankaran, M. (2014).  Altered stand structure and tree allometry reduce carbon storage in evergreen forest fragments in India's Western Ghats. Forest Ecology & Management. 329, 375–383. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.01.039

Wordley, C.F., Foui, E.K., Mudappa, D., Sankaran, M., & Altringham, J.D. (2014). Acoustic Identification of Bats in the Southern Western Ghats, India. Acta Chiropterologica. 16 (1), 213-222. https://doi.org/10.3161/150811014X683408

Kohli, M., Suryavanshi, K.S., Sankaran, M. & Mishra, C. (2014).  A penny saved is a penny earned: lean season foraging strategy of an alpine ungulate. Animal Behaviour. 92, 93-100. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.03.031

Hautier, Y. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2014). Eutrophication weakens stabilizing effects of diversity in natural grasslands. Nature. 508, 521–525.
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature13014

Lehmann, C., Anderson, T.M., Sankaran, M., Higgins, S.I., Archibald, S., Hoffmann, W.A., Hanan, N.P., Williams, R.J., Fensham, R., Felfili, J., Hutley, L., Ratnam, J., San Jose, J., Montes, R., Franklin, D., Russell-Smith, J., Ryan, C.M., Durigan, G., Hiernaux, P., Haidar, R., Bowman, D.M.J.S. & Bond, W.J. (2014). Savanna vegetation-fire-climate relationships differ between continents. Science. 343, 548-552. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1247355

Seabloom, E.W. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2013). Predicting invasion in grassland ecosystems: is exotic dominance the real embarrassment of richness? Global Change Biology. 19, 3677-3687. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.12370

Varma, V. & Osuri, A.M. (2013). Black Spot: a platform for automated and rapid estimation of leaf area from scanned images. Plant Ecology. 214 (12), 1529-1534. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24553733

Sankaran, M., Augustine D.J. & Ratnam, J. (2013). Native ungulates of diverse body sizes collectively regulate long-term woody plant demography and structure of a semi-arid savanna. Journal of Ecology. 101 (6), 1389–1399. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.12147

Moustakas, A., Kunin, W.E., Cameron, T.C. & Sankaran, M. (2013). Facilitation or competition? Tree effects on grass biomass across a precipitation gradient. PLoS ONE. 8 (2), e57025. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0057025

Velho, N., Ratnam, J., Srinivasan, U. & Sankaran, M. (2012). Shifts in community structure of tropical trees and avian frugivores in forests recovering from past logging. Biological Conservation. 153, 32-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.04.028

Ratnam, J., Bond, W.J., Fensham, R.J., Hoffmann, W.A., Archibald, S., Lehmann, C.E.R., Andersen, M.T., Higgins, S.I. & Sankaran, M. (2011). When is a forest a savanna and why does it matter? Global Ecology & Biogeography. 20, 653-660. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1466-8238.2010.00634.x

Moustakas, A., Wiegand, K., Meyer, K.M., Ward, D. & Sankaran, M. (2010). Learning new tricks from old trees: revisiting the savanna question. Frontiers of Biogeography, 2, 49–55. https://doi.org/10.21425/F5FBG12335

Higgins, S.I., Scheiter, S. & Sankaran, M. (2010). The stability of African savannas: insights from the indirect estimation of the parameters of a dynamic model. Ecology. 91, 1682-1692. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-1368.1

Sankaran, M. (2009). Diversity patterns in savanna grassland communities: implications for conservation strategies in a biodiversity hotspot. Biodiversity & Conservation. 18, 1099-1115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9519-9

Srivastava, D.S., Cardinale B.J., Downing A.L., Duffy J.E., Jouseau C, Sankaran, M. & Wright J.P. (2009). Diversity has stronger top-down than bottom-up effects on decomposition. Ecology. 90, 1073–1083. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-0439.1

Cardinale, B.J., Srivastava, D.S., Duffy, J.E., Wright, J.P., Downing, A.L., Sankaran, M., Jouseau, C., Cadotte, M.W., Carroll, I.T., Weis, J.J., Hector, A. & Loreau, M. (2009). Effects of biodiversity on the functioning of ecosystems: A summary of 164 experimental manipulations of species richness. Ecology. 90 (3), 854. https://doi.org/10.1890/08-1584.1

Pilon, N. et al (including Ratnam, J. & Sankaran, M.) (2025). Open letter: There are more than just trees and forests to be conserved and restored. Plants, People, Planet. 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp3.10635

Veldman, J. W., et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2019). Comment on “The global tree restoration potential”. Science. 366(6463), eaay7976. 

Ratnam, J., Sheth, C., & Sankaran, M. (2019). African and Asian Savannas: Comparisons of Vegetation Composition and Drivers of Vegetation Structure and Function. In Savanna Woody Plants and Large Herbivores. Scogings, P. F. & Sankaran, M. (eds), Wiley, pp 25-49. 

Augustine, D. J., Scogings, P. F., & Sankaran, M. (2019). Mesobrowser Abundance and Effects on Woody Plants in Savannas. In Savanna Woody Plants and Large Herbivores. Scogings, P. F. & Sankaran, M. (eds), Wiley, pp 551-583. 

Scogings, P. F., & Sankaran, M. (2019). Woody Plants and Large Herbivores in Savannas: Ancient Past–Uncertain Future. In Savanna Woody Plants and Large Herbivores. Scogings, P. F. & Sankaran, M. (eds), Wiley, pp 683-712.

Scholes, R. J. et al. (including Sankaran, M.) (2018). IPBES (2018): Summary for policymakers of the assessment report on land degradation and restoration of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.

Barger, N., Gardner, T., Sankaran, M. et al. (2018). Direct and indirect drivers of land degradation and restoration. Chapter 3: The IPBES assessment report on land degradation and restoration, IPBES.

Griffith, D. M., Lehmann, C. E., Strömberg, C. A., Parr, C. L., Pennington, R. T., Sankaran, M., Ratnam, J. et al. (2017). Comment on “The extent of forest in dryland biomes”. Science. 358 (6365), eaao1309. 

Sankaran, M. (2016).  Grazing and fire effects on community and ecosystem processes in tall-grass mesic savannas in southern India.  In The ecology of large herbivores in South & South East Asia. Ahrestani, F. S. & Sankaran, M. (eds), Springer pp 187 - 205.

Ahrestani, F. S. & Sankaran, M. (2016).  The large herbivores of south and southeast Asia: a prominent but neglected guild.  In The ecology of large herbivores in South & South East Asia. Ahrestani, F. S. & Sankaran, M. (eds), Springer pp 1 - 13.

Sankaran, M. & Ahrestani, F. S.  (2016).  Large herbivores of south and southeast Asia: synthesis and future directions.  In The ecology of large herbivores in South & South East Asia. Ahrestani, F. S. & Sankaran, M. (eds), Springer pp 237 - 249.

Marthews, T. R., Nelaballi, S., Ratnam, J. & Sankaran, M. (2015). Ecosystem monitoring and forest census studies in South Asia. Current Science. 108, 1779-1782.

Sankaran, M. & Ratnam, J. (2013).  African and Asian Savannas.  In Encyclopedia of Biodiversity 2nd Edition. Levin, S. (ed.),  Elsevier Press. pp 58–74.

Sankaran, M. & McNaughton, S. J. (2012).  Terrestrial plant-herbivore interactions: Integrating across multiple determinants and trophic levels. In Vegetation Ecology 2nd Edition. van der Maarel, E. (ed.),  Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp 233-259. 

Sankaran, M. & McNaughton, S. J. (2012).  Terrestrial plant-herbivore interactions: Integrating across multiple determinants and trophic levels. In Vegetation Ecology 2nd Edition. van der Maarel, E (ed.), Blackwell Science, Oxford, pp 233-259. 

Duffy, J. E., Srivastava, D. S., McLaren, J., Sankaran, M., Solan, M., Griffin, J., Emmerson, M. & Jones, K. E. 2009.  Forecasting decline in ecosystem services under realistic scenarios of extinction.  In Biodiversity, Ecosystem Functioning, and Human Wellbeing: An Ecological and Economic Perspective. Naeem, S., Bunker, D. E., Hector, A., Loreau, M. & Perrings, C. (eds), Oxford University Press. pp 60-77.

Sankaran, M. & Anderson, T. M. (2009). Management and restoration in African Savannas: Interactions and feedbacks. In New Models for Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration. Hobbs, R. & Suding, K. (eds), Island Press. Pp 136 – 155.

Varma, V., Moustakas, A. and Sankaran, M. (2009).  Effects of fire and density on patch survival and growth in savannas. In Vegetation Processes and Human Impact in a Changing World. 52nd IAVS International Symposium Abstracts, Chania, Crete. Wiley-Blackwell.

Ahrestani, F. S. & Sankaran, M. (eds) (2016). The ecology of large herbivores in South & South East Asia, Ecological Studies. Springer.

Scogings, P.F. & Sankaran, M. (eds) (2019).  Savanna woody plants and large herbivores. Wiley.