Title:

Impacts of bush encroachment on groundwater recharge - Evidence from 9 years of soil hydrological monitoring in a Namibian thornbush Savanna

Publication Year:
2018
Abstract:

The change in vegetation cover of African savannas with an increasing abundancy of woody species is a widely observed phenomenon, which is addressed as 'bush encroachment'. The causes are discussed controversially (Van Auken 2000, de Klerk 2004, Briggs et al 2005, Ward 2005, Archer 2010, Eldridge et al 2011, O’Connor et al. 2014) and neither measures to avoid the bush thickening nor general accepted economic and sustainable strategies to reduce bush coverage are found until now. The encroachment of bushes has substantial economic impacts on the rangeland farmers, as the capacity of the grazing grounds for livestock is reducing. The number of livestock in bush-encroached rangelands has thus become much smaller compared to early times of rangeland management, for example commercial farms in Namibia from the late 1950s to about 30% (de Klerk 2004).

Place:
Göttingen, Windhoek
Publisher:
Klaus Hess Publishers
Item Type:
Report
Language:
en

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