The biomass of invertebrates at Narra Valley in the Namib Desert was estimated; rodents removed about 10% of the total invertebrate biomass each month. This level of predation surely has a major impact on local invertebrate communities. On certain interdune plains in the Eastern Namib rodents consumed all the green plant material that was locally available; plant growth was adversely affected. At other sites green plant availability and its utilization by rodents indicated that rodent herbivory has little impact on primary production. When rodents graze selectively on individual species or on preferred plant parts, such as growing points, growth and reproduction of these plants will be affected. The removal of sufficient seeds to have a negative impact on certain dune plant species occurred for short periods only, though the effects are unknown. Keywords: rodents, plant utilization, desert.