Rangeland Ecology & Management
Get reliable science
Toggle Search
Result Type
Collection
Keywords
Document Type
Displaying 1 - 50 of 332 results
- Library Collection RecordTransformation of indigenous vegetation for production purposes impacts negatively on biodiversity but does this necessarily equate with a decrease in phytomass accumulation, which may influence…Publication Date 2008
- grasslands
- plant production
- carbon sequestration
- land use
- management
- conservation
- agriculture
- pasture management
- biodiversity
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordBackground: Biodiversity offsets are conservation projects used mainly by business to counterbalance the environmental impacts of their operations, with the aim of achieving a net neutral or even…Publication Date 2007
- conservation
- biodiversity
- Economic Aspects
- environmental impact
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordABSTRACT South Africa's first national assessment of spatial priorities for biodiversity conservation, released in 2005, aimed to identify conservation priority areas for mainstreaming into all…Publication Date 2007
- National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment
- conservation planning
- mainstreaming
- Implementation
- biodiversity
- conservation
- mapping
- ecosystem ecology
- ecosystems
- monitoring
- 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 Record[1] Land use/cover change has been recognized as a key component in global change. Various land cover data sets, including historically reconstructed, recently observed, and future projected, have…Publication Date 2007
- land use
- climate change
- management
- classification
- data analysis
- remote sensing
- modelling
- rainfall
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordIt has been well established that drought frequently emerges in several tropical regions following the onset of El Niño. An important characteristic of such droughts is their spatial extent, which…Publication Date 2006
- drought
- climate change
- El Nino
- rainfall
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordIn Kenya, lands surrounding wildlife protected areas (PAs), referred to as dispersal areas, have undergone widespread land use changes, but these have been little studied. This study investigated…Publication Date 2008
- conservation
- agriculture
- national parks
- land use
- grazing
- biodiversity
- disturbance
- rainfall
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSystematic conservation planning is widely considered the most effective approach for designing protected area and other ecological networks. However, many conservation practitioners still ignore…Publication Date 2006
- conservation
- management
- biodiversity
- Economic Aspects
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordNo abstract availablePublication Date 2008
- conservation
- management
- ecosystem dynamics
- grasslands
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordNo abstract availablePublication Date 2008
- fire ecology
- management
- conservation
- national parks
- 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 response of photosynthetic activity to interannual rainfall variations in Africa South of the Sahara is examined using 20 years (1981-2000) of Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) AVHRR…Publication Date 2007
- NDVI
- vegetation
- rainfall
- Land cover
- soil properties
- Interannual variability
- Africa
- remote sensing
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordEarly warning systems (EWS) tend to focus on the identification of slow onset disasters such famine and epidemic disease. Since hazardous environmental conditions often precede disastrous outcomes by…Publication Date 2006
- Early warning
- Africa
- food security
- NDVI
- precipitation
- rainfall
- Malaria
- Rift valley fever
- Pastoral livelihoods
- modelling
- drought
- management
- system ecology
- 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 RecordThe tree-grass interactions of African savannas are mainly determined by varying rainfall patterns and soil fertility. Large savanna trees are known to modify soil nutrient conditions, but whether…Publication Date 2007
- canopy
- Fibre content
- Grass structure
- grazing
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
- savanna
- rainfall
- soil fertility
- plant production
- nutrition
- soil organic carbon
- biomass
- forage quality
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe coexistence of woody and grassy plants in savannas has often been attributed to a rooting-niche separation (two-layer hypothesis). Water was assumed to be the limiting resource for both growth…Publication Date 2006
- fire
- grazing
- Honeycomb rippling model
- Inter-tree competition
- Spatio-temporal rainfall variation
- Tree-grass coexistence
- savanna
- indigenous encroaching species
- grasslands
- soil moisture
- rainfall
- vegetation dynamics
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe Millennium Development Goals' target to halve the proportion of people who suffer from hunger is extremely important in southern Africa, where food security has become increasingly…Publication Date 2006
- food security
- Millennium development goals
- soil fertility
- Soil-water conservation
- conservation
- Soil Condition
- Economic Aspects
- management
- irrigation
- socio-economic aspects
- rangeland condition
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe paper brings to the fore a plethora of proven successes in agriculture and land management in Sub-Saharan Africa over the past 4 decades. Cases can be grouped into those based on agricultural…Publication Date 2008
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- agriculture
- land management
- soil and water conservation
- success
- management
- conservation
- soils
- water use efficiency
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSummary In this paper, we present a method to estimate the additional costs made by nature reserve managers to mitigate the effects of atmospheric deposition. Theoretically, these extra costs may be…Publication Date 2007
- Nature target types
- Management costs
- Deposition scenarios
- grasslands
- Reed and rough land
- Heathland
- forests
- Moorland pools
- conservation
- vegetation dynamics
- Economic Aspects
- greenhouse gases
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSummary Poverty and environmental degradation seem to be endemic in many of the former homeland territories of South Africa. The political legacy of Apartheid might have ceased, but the economic and…Publication Date 2006
- conservation
- degradation
- Ecosystem goods and services
- Poverty
- restoration
- valuation
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSummary Robust calibration of hydrological models, driven by gridded precipitation data derived from either Regional Climate Models or statistical downscaling of General Circulation Models, is…Publication Date 2008
- groundwater
- recharge
- precipitation
- distribution
- Africa
- rainfall
- hydrology
- climate change
- soil moisture
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordWe are attempting to set up a new protocol for palaeoecological reconstruction in relation to the fossil hominin site Laetoli, Tanzania. This is based on the premise that habitat variability in the…Publication Date 2008
- Habitat variability
- rainfall
- climate
- topography
- soil
- Hominins
- ecology
- paleoecology
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordNamibian rangelands are encroached with Acacia mellifera, partially resulting from a poor understanding of vegetation dynamics. A conceptual state-and-transition model of vegetation dynamics in the…Publication Date 2008
- fire
- hazards
- management
- opportunities
- state-and-transition
- savanna
- indigenous encroaching species
- bush thickening
- rainfall
- seed banks
- vegetation dynamics
- plant autecology
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThis paper provides a reappraisal of contemporary perspectives on climate change in southern Africa's Okavango Delta sub-region by drawing on time-line evidence from historical/archival records…Publication Date 2008
- Bush-encroachment
- desiccation
- deterioration
- Human interventions
- wetland
- climate change
- remote sensing
- hydrology
- rainfall
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordDespite the ubiquity of sub-tropical savannas throughout the earth, limitations of savanna productivity are understudied relative to other terrestrial systems. The limitations of savanna productivity…Publication Date 2008
- grass
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
- savanna
- rainfall
- soil nutrients
- plant production
- plant autecology
- 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 RecordA transdisciplinary synthesis, grouped into four main themes, of the key papers in this Special Issue on Namaqualand is provided. Perspectives on current environmental, economic and social issues in…Publication Date 2007
- climate
- conservation
- land reform
- Livelihoods
- Transdisciplinarity
- socio-economic aspects
- ecology
- biodiversity
- legislation
- Communal areas
- subsistence agriculture
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe Kalahari sand sheet, with a 2.5-million ha area, is probably the largest continuous surface of sand in the world. The Kalahari Transect (KT) is one of a set of IGBP 'megatransects '…Publication Date 2007
- biogeochemistry
- Hydraulic properties
- Kalahari transect
- Sand deposits
- stable isotopes
- ecosystem dynamics
- vegetation dynamics
- soil organic carbon
- Soil Condition
- soil nutrients
- rainfall
- grasslands
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordRapid growth of the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) population in the Great Fish River Reserve (GFRR), South Africa, has potential to negatively impact the semi-arid thicket vegetation that occurs in…Publication Date 2007
- diet
- herbivory
- intake
- Plant defence
- savanna
- forage quality
- management
- conservation
- 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 phenology of three dominant and economically important tree species; Acacia erioloba, Acacia luederitzii and Acacia mellifera, all widespread in the Kalahari in Botswana, was studied at Tsabong (…Publication Date 2007
- Kalahari
- phenology
- Acacia luederitzii
- Acacia erioloba
- Acacia mellifera
- litter
- plant autecology
- climate change
- rainfall
- fodder production
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordA national-level land degradation risk monitoring system identified an important grazing area in central northern Namibia as an area at risk of environmental change. A time series analysis of primary…Publication Date 2007
- semi-arid
- local knowledge
- rainfall variability
- water supply
- grazing
- land management
- degradation
- data analysis
- grasslands
- livestock
- rainfall
- participatory rural appraisal
- decision support systems
- management
- traditional knowledge
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordWe investigated the effects of rainfall and the number of animals on changes in vegetation and on the output of milk and meat from the communal areas of Namaqualand. Previously published short- and…Publication Date 2007
- climate change
- degradation
- desert
- Karoo
- livestock production
- Disequilibrium
- sustainability
- animal nutrition
- rainfall
- pastoralism
- subsistence agriculture
- animal production
- management
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordAdvanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), Normalized Difference Vegetation Index data (NDVI, 1 km2, 1985-2003) and modeled net primary production (NPP, 8 km2, 1981-2000) data were used to…Publication Date 2007
- monitoring
- AVHRR
- NDVI
- rain-use efficiency
- NPP
- Communal lands
- South Africa
- degradation
- land use
- remote sensing
- NDVI values
- mapping
- rainfall
- 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 RecordThe rich biodiversity of southern Africa has to date been relatively unimpacted by the activities of modern society, but to what degree will this situation persist into the 21st century? We use a…Publication Date 2008
- biodiversity
- southern Africa
- climate change
- land use change
- Land cover change
- Habitat loss
- conservation
- Millennium ecosystem assessment
- image
- CBD target
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordTransfrontier conservation has taken Southern Africa by storm, where the modus operandi remains simple and intuitive: by dissolving boundaries, local benefits grow as conservation and development…Publication Date 2008
- Transfrontier conservation
- Neoliberalism
- Community-based natural resources management
- Livelihoods
- South Africa
- transfrontier parks
- conservation
- socio-economic aspects
- eco-tourism
- decision support systems
- economics
- policies
- land use
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe idealization of natural landscapes and peoples during colonialism, coupled with the popularity of sustainable development in the postcolonial era, has contributed to the expansion of conservation…Publication Date 2007
- South Africa
- Mahushe Shongwe Game Reserve
- conservation
- Community conservation
- Livelihood
- development
- national parks
- socio-economic aspects
- economics
- conservation agriculture
- rural areas
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordSouth Africa is unique in that its globally significant biodiversity, which is under significant threat, coexists with an apartheid history of dispossession that produced a starkly unequal land…Publication Date 2006
- conservation
- Biodiversity economy
- Land rights
- Farm dwellers
- South Africa
- Baviaanskloof
- socio-economic aspects
- legislation
- Poverty
- rural areas
- policies
- ecotourism
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordIn the Miombo Woodlands Region of south-central Africa, the interaction between fires and elephants is one of the main drivers of vegetation, along with climate, soils and topography. Fire-elephant…Publication Date 2008
- fire
- Elephants
- multivariate statistics
- Miombo woodlands
- conservation
- savanna
- mammals
- Nature reserves
- vegetation dynamics
- ecology
- ecosystem ecology
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordMany mechanisms have been suggested to explain the coexistence of woody species and grasses in savannas, yet, evidence from field studies and simulation models has been mixed. Shrub encroachment is…Publication Date 2007
- Patch-dynamics
- Cyclical succession
- shrub encroachment
- Spatially explicit root growth
- Computer simulation model
- Validation
- Latin Hypercube sensitivity analysis
- Acacia mellifera
- savanna
- indigenous encroaching species
- vegetation dynamics
- ecosystem ecology
- modelling
- rainfall
- fire
- soil moisture
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordIn semiarid savannas of Southern Africa current land use practices and climate change may lead to substantial changes of vegetation structure in the near future, however uncertainty remains about the…Publication Date 2006
- Acacia erioloba
- Bush encroachment
- global change
- Grewia flava
- overgrazing
- seed dispersal
- shrub encroachment
- Southern Kalahari
- Spatial-explicit simulation model
- savanna
- land use
- grazing
- climate change
- vegetation dynamics
- cattle
- ecosystem ecology
- ecosystem dynamics
- rainfall
- fire ecology
- modelling
- conservation
- management
- carrying capacity
- biodiversity
- indigenous encroaching species
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordUnlike any other biome, savannas consist of both trees and grasses in a persistent and equitable manner. This unique mixture of two different life forms attracted scientific scrutiny for decades.…Publication Date 2006
- Terminalia sericea
- Shallow root system
- savannas
- rainfall
- Etosha National Park
- grazing
- indigenous encroaching species
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThis paper forms part of a long-term study of land degradation in the Klein Seekoei valley in the Sneeuberg uplands about 30 km southwest of the town of Middelburg, South Africa (Fig. 1). Landscape…Publication Date 2006
- erosion
- Karoo
- rainfall intensity
- Stock numbers
- land degradation
- Gullies
- rainfall
- degradation
- rangeland condition
- rangelands
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordContinuous human population expansion pressure on conservation ecosystems restricts wildlife areas, and necessitates active management. In areas of changing land-use and increasing human-animal…Publication Date 2008
- Loxodonta africana
- Ranging behaviour
- Reaction time
- Cautious behaviour
- Response indicator
- GIS
- national parks
- management
- land use
- conservation
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordConserving African wildlife in human-occupied landscapes requires management intervention that is guided by a mechanistic understanding of how anthropogenic factors influence large-scale ecological…Publication Date 2007
- wildlife
- rainfall
- predation
- competition
- apparent competition
- Non-protected area
- management
- conservation
- grasslands
- eco - tourism
- cattle
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordIt has been argued that the wide-scale provision of artificial surface water in semi-arid savannas may result in homogenisation of foraging regimes, compromising biodiversity and ecosystem resilience…Publication Date 2007
- Artificial waterholes
- surface water
- Water-dependency
- Grazing heterogeneity
- piosphere
- Kruger National Park
- savanna
- national parks
- conservation
- management
- ecosystem ecology
- landscape ecology
- GIS
- policies
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordAnts are increasingly being recognized as useful tools for land managers to monitor ecosystem conditions. However, despite an abundance of studies on ant responses to both environmental disturbance…Publication Date 2006
- climate change
- conservation
- indicator
- invasive
- restoration ecology
- Surrogate
- insects
- Ants
- monitoring
- management
- Alien invasive species
- ecosystem dynamics
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThe differences in knowledge of biological resource use between societal and demographic groups are often poorly understood; yet they are an important element of sustainability. Differences in gender…Publication Date 2008
- conservation
- Indigenous knowledge
- Livelihoods
- Non-timber forest products
- Red Data Lists
- savannas
- South Africa
- woody plants
- medicinal plants
- subsistence agriculture
- non-grazing resources
- Africa
- Library Collection RecordThis series of two papers describes a mechanistic model that simulates within years the productivity of vegetation and livestock on the communal semi-arid rangeland of the Succulent Karoo of South…Publication Date 2007
- semi-arid rangelands
- Mechanistic model
- plant growth
- diet selection
- food intake
- animal productivity
- rangeland condition
- rangelands
- plant production
- animal production
- communal farming
- livestock
- management
- soil moisture
- rainfall
- runoff
- modelling
- Africa