Rangeland Ecology & Management
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- Library Collection RecordThe use of fire in the management of grassland is a common rangeland practice in South Africa. This portends ecological implication for the sustainability of the savannah rangelands as a system. A…Publication Date 2008
- fire ecology
- management
- savanna
- grasslands
- rangelands
- Soil Condition
- plant production
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordWe introduce the five rangeland types found in the arid and semiarid regions of South Africa, namely Arid Savanna, Arid Grassland, Nama-karoo, Succulent Karoo, and Thicket, and describe the important…Publication Date 2006
- rangelands
- savanna
- livestock
- grazing
- management
- commercial agriculture
- subsistence agriculture
- Sustainable development
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSusan Kent had been working on a project excavating an open-air archaeological site in the eastern Free State, South Africa, at the time of her death. She had commissioned geological studies, which…Publication Date 2006
- paleoenvironments
- Middle Stone Age
- pollen
- phytoliths
- optically stimulated luminescence dating
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSummary * 1Grasses using the C4 photosynthetic pathway dominate today's savanna ecosystems and account for ~20% of terrestrial carbon fixation. However, this dominant status was reached only…Publication Date 2008
- atmospheric CO2
- C4 plants
- climate change
- fire
- grasslands
- grazing
- Poaceae
- rainfall
- savanna
- seasonality
- carbon dioxide
- palaeoclimate
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection Record1. Gradients of animal impact known as piospheres tend to develop around artificial watering points, particularly in arid zones. Such grazing gradients represent a potential opportunity for…Publication Date 2006
- animal impact
- piosphere
- watering points
- livestock
- species richness
- ecosystem ecology
- rangelands
- grazing
- management
- disturbance
- stocking rates
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThis paper documents a continuous ~ 44,000-yr pollen record derived from the Mfabeni Peatland on the Maputaland Coastal Plain. A detailed fossil pollen analysis indicates the existence of extensive…Publication Date 2008
- climate change
- Forest history
- Maputaland
- Africa
- pollen
- human impacts
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe morphometrics of mandible and teeth of mixed-breed goats on rangeland were analyzed to investigate the association between the oral apparatus and diet type. Canonical relationship between sets of…Publication Date 2007
- diet
- grazing
- Mandible
- Jaw
- Incisor
- Molar teeth
- goats
- rangelands
- diet selection
- forage quality
- foraging ecology
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordDegradation in arid and semi-arid regions can be ascribed primarily to environmental conditions such as extreme changes in temperature and erratic rainfall patterns. Seed germination and seedling…Publication Date 2006
- Drought Stress
- polyethylene glycol (PEG)
- restoration
- rangelands
- seeds
- germination
- grasslands
- rainfall
- climate
- drought
- plant autecology
- restoration ecology
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe palynology of two overlapping Holocene cores from Lake Sibaya in KwaZulu-Natal elucidates the relationship between climate, vegetation and human impact in the region. By means of twenty-one AMS…Publication Date 2008
- palynology
- Vegetation history
- Holocene
- South Africa
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSavanna ecosystems of southern Africa are strongly influenced by water availability and fire intensity, and this study aimed to show whether these two specific environmental variables are reflected…Publication Date 2008
- calibration
- Kruger National Park
- fire history
- quantitative analysis
- Relevant Source Area of Charcoal
- fire ecology
- palaeobotany
- rainfall
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordNew detailed biome reconstructions are proposed in East Africa from modern pollen data derived from 150 sites located in northern Kenya (40 sites), north-western Uganda (51 sites) and southern…Publication Date 2006
- palaeobotany
- biomisation
- East Africa
- modern pollen
- plant functional type
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordVegetation changes are documented from a well-dated pollen record from Lake Emakat, Empakaai Crater, northern Tanzania. This pollen record includes the time interval covering the Pleistocene/Holocene…Publication Date 2006
- East Africa
- pollen analysis
- Pleistocene/Holocene transition
- Vegetation Change
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe degree to which different lakes within a landscape respond coherently (in unison) to external drivers such as climate change and soil development is uncertain. Presentation of multi-proxy,…Publication Date 2007
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordPollen analysis shed light on vegetation community structure over the last 23,000 year in the western Cape. The pollen from dated hyrax faecal accumulations (hyraceum) relates to the evolution of…Publication Date 2007
- palaeobotany
- palaeoclimate
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordIn this paper, we develop an original statistical method to infer palaeoenvironmental conditions from fossil taxonomical assemblages based on the present-day observed environmental characteristics of…Publication Date 2006
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe distribution of pollen in marine sediments is used to record vegetation change on the continent. Generally, a good latitudinal correspondence exists between the distribution patterns of pollen in…Publication Date 2006
- palaeobotany
- pollen distribution
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordAlluvial and braided fluvial deposits of the 3.2 Ga Moodies Group in the Barberton greenstone belt, South Africa, are analyzed petrographically and geochemically to identify their source rocks (…Publication Date 2006
- Archean sedimentary rocks
- Paleoweathering
- Paleoclimate
- provenance
- Barberton Greenstone Belt
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordLong environmental proxy records are very scarce in semi-dry continental areas and often those available present conflicting interpretations. However, more in-depth investigation of apparent…Publication Date 2008
- pollen
- Lake sediments
- Stable isotope
- Speleothem
- climate change
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordEvidence suggests that C4 grasses, adapted to conditions of low CO2, high temperatures, and water-stressed environments, expanded relatively quickly, and in several geographically distinct regions,…Publication Date 2007
- Oligocene
- Climate modelling
- C4 grasses
- Miocene
- C3 grasses
- palaeobotany
- modelling
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe lack of anoxic environments in arid lands makes well-preserved fossil pollen difficult to find. The scarcity of continental palaeobotanical data in tropical arid zones restricts the understanding…Publication Date 2007
- Namib Desert
- Holocene
- palynology
- Savanna dynamics
- Nama-Karoo
- Vegetation history
- Hyrax middens
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThis paper reports new multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental data on the late Glacial-Holocene transition (c. 14.8-9.3 ka) in equatorial East Africa, in the form of microfossil assemblages (chironomids,…Publication Date 2007
- climate change
- Crater lake
- Chironomids
- Diatoms
- East Africa
- Empakaai
- Multi-proxy reconstruction
- Ostracods
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordMajor morphological and behavioral innovations in early human evolution have traditionally been viewed as responses to conditions associated with increasing aridity and the development of extensive…Publication Date 2007
- Laetoli
- paleoecology
- isotopes
- Hominin evolution
- Paleodiet
- herbivore
- Pliocene
- Tanzania
- Africa
- palaeobotany
- palaeoecology
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordWe report five Oligocene-early Miocene pollen assemblages from the Loperot-1 exploration well drilled in the semi-desert Lokichar Basin (latitude 02 ° 21' 46.15'' N, longitude 35 °…Publication Date 2006
- palaeobotany
- Kenya Rift
- Turkana depression
- Lokichar Basin
- Oligo-Miocene
- palynology
- Palaeovegetation
- palaeoclimate
- Palaeogeography
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordIn this study we employ the TRIFFID (Top-down Representation of Interactive Flora and Foliage Including Dynamics) Dynamic Global Vegetation Model (DGVM) and the Hadley Centre Atmospheric General…Publication Date 2006
- Mid-Pliocene
- vegetation
- General Circulation Model
- Top-down Representation of Interactive Flora and Foliage Including Dynamics
- Hominid
- Bipedalism
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSavannah (C4) grasses are first recorded at low latitudes in the mid-Miocene prior to their expansion towards mid-latitudes by approximately the Miocene-Pliocene boundary. In an attempt to determine…Publication Date 2006
- isotopes
- carbon
- Microwear
- Rodent
- South Africa
- Pliocene
- savanna
- palaeobotany
- palaeoclimate
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSemi-arid climatic conditions were responsible for the evolution of the vast savanna that stretches across central Africa and for the evolution of placers in this area that carry gemstones, rare…Publication Date 2008
- Placer deposit
- savanna
- Gemstones
- Titanium
- Rare earth element minerals
- Zircon landform types
- Malawi
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordEstablishing the habitat preferences of early hominin taxa is a necessary, though difficult, requirement for understanding the interaction between environmental change and hominin evolution. The…Publication Date 2008
- paleoecology
- Animal paleocommunity
- Correspondence analysis
- Swartkrans
- Sterkfontein
- Kromdraai
- Coopers
- Faunal analysis
- palaeobotany
- palaeoecology
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordReconstructing Plio-Pleistocene African paleoenvironments is important for models of early hominin evolution, but is often hampered by low-resolution or discontinuous climatic data. Here, we present…Publication Date 2007
- savanna
- Monsoon
- Walker Circulation
- Precession
- Hominin
- palaeobotany
- palaeoclimate
- palaeoenvironmental data
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordGladysvale Cave is one of the few Plio-Pleistocene hominin-bearing cave sites in South Africa that contains a well-stratified cave fill with clastic sediments interspersed with flowstones. The…Publication Date 2007
- Cave sediments
- Chronostratigraphy
- Flowstone bounded units
- Uranium-thorium dating
- South African caves
- palaeobotany
- palaeoclimate
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordPlio-Pleistocene East African grassland expansion and faunal macroevolution, including that of our own lineage, are attributed to global climate change. To further understand environmental factors of…Publication Date 2007
- Paleogeography
- savannas
- East Africa
- carbon isotopes
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe emergence of C4 grass biomes is believed to have first taken place in the upper Miocene, when a series of events modified global climate with long-lasting impacts on continental biotas. Changes…Publication Date 2007
- Miocene
- Pliocene
- Paleosols
- Tooth enamel
- Ratite eggshell
- grasslands
- palaeobotany
- palaeoclimate
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordGlobal climate change, linked to astronomical forcing factors, has been implicated in faunal evolutionary change in equatorial Africa, including the origin and diversification of hominin lineages.…Publication Date 2007
- Hominin evolution
- Pliocene
- East Africa
- Baringo
- Tugen Hills
- Precession
- Orbitally forced climate change
- Diatoms
- palaeobotany
- climate change
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe environmental contexts of the karstic hominin sites in South Africa have been established largely by means of faunal associations; taken together these data suggest a trend from relatively closed…Publication Date 2007
- Environmental change
- grasslands
- [delta]13C
- Fossil enamel
- Plio-Pleistocene
- South Africa
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSeveral stable carbon isotopic studies have shown that South African australopiths consumed significant quantities of C4 resources (tropical grasses, sedges, or animals that eat those foods), but…Publication Date 2006
- Carbon isotope
- Chimpanzee
- Baboon
- Hominin
- C4
- palaeobotany
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSemi-arid areas are often considered to be environmentally and economically marginal, a situation which has been exacerbated by economic change, shifts in agricultural production and land use, and…Publication Date 2008
- Dry land degradation
- Economic decline
- Livestock trends
- population change
- Small towns
- rangelands
- Economic Aspects
- livestock
- agriculture
- socio-economic aspects
- politics
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThere is an urgent need for quantitative methods by which actual, as opposed to potential degradation can be mapped using spatially consistent criteria for large regions. This study tested the Local…Publication Date 2008
- AVHRR
- Communal lands
- desertification
- Local NPP scaling
- rangelands
- South Africa
- communal farming
- remote sensing
- degradation
- mapping
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordKey resource areas (KRAs), defined as dry season foraging zones for herbivores, were studied relative to the more extensive outlying rangeland areas (non-KRAs) in Kenya. Field surveys with…Publication Date 2008
- drought
- forage
- foraging
- herbivore
- Pastoralist
- rangeland
- Satellite
- topography
- rangelands
- foraging ecology
- mapping
- ecosystem ecology
- landscape ecology
- soils
- monitoring
- conservation
- decision support systems
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordLivestock overgrazing can threaten the ecological integrity of rangelands, and can also threaten the sustainability of pastoralist societies who depend on rangelands for their livelihood. Using…Publication Date 2008
- Microenvironment
- Nurse plants
- positive interactions
- rangeland degradation
- Shrub islands
- Vegetation restoration
- restoration ecology
- degradation
- rangelands
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordBiodiversity is a critical component of the natural environment and the protection of it often meant the displacement of local communities in developing countries. The Richtersveld National Park (…Publication Date 2007
- rangelands
- conservation
- Population crashes
- Herd recovery
- goats
- biodiversity
- socio-economic aspects
- national parks
- sheep
- pastoralism
- land use
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe reserves and homelands across South Africa share a common history of policy interventions resulting in sedentarization, villagization and formalization of communal land use. In Namaqualand, such…Publication Date 2007
- pastoralism
- Municipal commonage
- rangeland management
- Elite capture
- rangelands
- management
- communal farming
- subsistence agriculture
- policies
- land reform
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordScience is frequently touted as the solution to dryland management problems, yet most management decisions are, by necessity, based primarily on expert knowledge and experience. This paper describes…Publication Date 2006
- adaptive management
- ecological site descriptions
- natural resource management
- rangelands
- thresholds
- management
- decision support systems
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordDegradation in semi-arid Karoo rangelands has been ascribed to over-utilization by livestock and variations in rainfall regime. The understanding of vegetation dynamics in confined plant-herbivore…Publication Date 2006
- African wild herbivore
- Herbivore exclosure
- plant functional type
- Protected area
- vegetation monitoring
- rangelands
- rangeland condition
- vegetation dynamics
- livestock
- grazing
- land use
- national parks
- rainfall
- monitoring
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordFragmentation of the ecosystems of the earth into spatially isolated units has emerged as a primary component of global change. Often, fragmentation results from actions that are intended to enhance…Publication Date 2008
- fragmentation
- rangelands
- adaptation
- public policy
- Economic Aspects
- policies
- management
- land use
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe model of a variable climate driving natural resource behaviour, use and management of rangelands in Sub-Saharan Africa has been well explored within the non-equilibrium ecology discourse. This…Publication Date 2007
- non-equilibrium
- ecology
- irrigation
- River basin management
- Tanzania
- variability
- water resources
- sustainability
- natural resources
- adaptive capacity
- rangelands
- management
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordHillslopes in central and western parts of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa are often mantled by colluvial sediments of the Masotcheni Formation. These sediments have accreted in response to several…Publication Date 2008
- Climate control
- Landscape evolution
- optically stimulated luminescence dating
- Stable carbon isotope analysis
- Micromorphology
- Masotcheni Formation
- palaeobotany
- palaeoclimate
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordTraditional vegetative techniques to control gully development rely mainly on the effects of above ground biomass, whereas little attention has been given to the role of below ground biomass. Yet, in…Publication Date 2006
- roots
- grass
- Concentrated flow erosion
- Rill
- Gully
- Erodibility
- soil erosion
- rangelands
- hydrology
- modelling
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThis paper traces the history of grazing policy, its conceptual basis, practical implementations and outcomes, in three southern African countries. In spite of the divergent environmental conditions…Publication Date 2006
- pastoralism
- Communal land
- rangeland management
- rangeland ecology
- policies
- grazing
- communal farming
- rangelands
- management
- Sustainable development
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordIn arid and semi-arid savannas, species diversity is strongly influenced by structural diversity, which in these systems is characteristically formed by woody vegetation. Shrub encroachment,…Publication Date 2007
- Yellow mongoose
- rangelands
- Individual-based model
- shrub encroachment
- Spatial explicit
- structural diversity
- ecosystem ecology
- savanna
- biodiversity
- mammals
- indigenous encroaching species
- modelling
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe health of arid and semiarid lands needs to be monitored, particularly if they are used to produce food and fiber, and are prone to loss of vegetation cover and soil. Indicators of landscape…Publication Date 2007
- DEM
- land condition
- landscape function
- landscape metrics
- rangelands
- Vegetation patchiness
- remote sensing
- monitoring
- rangeland condition
- soil erosion
- landscape ecology
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordClassic rangeland theory advocates stocking rangelands at relatively low and constant levels. This theory has been labelled inappropriate for savanna rangelands, because savannas are strongly…Publication Date 2007
- Bush encroachment
- Disequilibrium theory
- Opportunistic strategies
- Grass-tree interactions
- fire
- livestock production
- savanna
- rangelands
- stocking rates
- management
- modelling
- sustainability
- animal production
- Africa