Historical and contemporary land use and the desertification of the karoo

Hoffman, Margaret; Cousins, Ben; Meyer, Thomas; Petersen, Ashia; Hendricks, Howard

doi:10.1017/cbo9780511541988.022

Cited by 53 publications

(45 citation statements)

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“…33 The communal areas account for more than 25% of the region and support 45% of its population. 34 The climate of the region is determined primarily by the southern subtropical high pressure system and the circumpolar westerly airstream. 35 Geographic features, such as the mountains of the escarpment and the cold Benguela current, influence local scale climate.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Recent trends in the climate of Namaqualand, a megadiverse arid region of South Africa

Davis

Hoffman

Roberts³

2016

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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Namaqualand is especially vulnerable to future climate change impacts. Using a high-resolution (0.5°x0.5°) gridded data set (CRU TS 3.1) and individual weather station data, we demonstrated that temperatures as well as frequency of hot extremes have increased across this region. Specifically, minimum temperatures have increased by 1.4 °C and maximum temperatures by 1.1 °C over the last century. Of the five weather stations analysed, two showed evidence of a significant increase in the duration of warm spells of up to 5 days per decade and a reduction in the number of cool days (TX10P) by up to 3 days per decade. In terms of rainfall, we found no clear evidence for a significant change in annual totals or the frequency or intensity of rainfall events. Seasonal trends in rainfall did, however, demonstrate some spatial variability across the region. Spatial trends in evapotranspiration obtained from the 8-day MOD16 ET product were characterised by a steepening inland-coastal gradient where areas along the coastline showed a significant increase in evapotranspiration of up to 30 mm per decade, most notably in spring and summer. The increase in temperature linked with the increases in evapotranspiration pose significant challenges for water availability in the region, but further research into changes in coastal fog is required in order for a more reliable assessment to be made. Overall, the results presented in this study provide evidence-based information for the management of climate change impacts as well as the development of appropriate adaptation responses at a local scale.

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Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

Recent trends in the climate of Namaqualand, a megadiverse arid region of South Africa

Davis

Hoffman

Roberts³

2016

S. Afr. J. Sci.

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“…Few studies have been made to understand the differences in the level of degradation of these rangelands (Shackleton 1993;Snyman 1998;Hoffman et al 1999;Dube & Pickup 2001;Wessels et al 2004;Wessels et al 2007;Munyati & Mboweni 2013). This is mainly due to lack of well-established methodology for the assessment and quantification of the qualities of these rangelands.…”

Section: Spectral Vegetation Indices Utilize Unique Spectral Signaturmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating derived vegetation indices and cover fraction to estimate rangeland aboveground biomass in semi-arid environments

Fajji¹,

Palamuleni²,

Mlambo³

2017

SA J of Geomatics

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“…Eine Annäherung an das Problem der Degradation besteht darin, Indikatoren zu identifizieren, die die Intaktheit oder eine Verschlechterung des Weidezustands anzeigen. Trotz der schon seit den 1930er Jahren im südlichen Afrika etablierten weideökologischen Forschung (Hoffman et al 1999) gibt es für die ariden Teile des Subkontinents, insbesondere den namibischen Teil der Nama Karoo, wenig gesicherte wissenschaftliche Erkenntnisse über den Zusammenhang von veränderter Weidenutzung und Dynamik der Vegetation (Palmer & Hoffman 1997 (Friedel 1991;Bestelmeyer 2006;Sasaki et al 2008;Briske et al 2010). (Haarmeyer et al 2010).…”

Section: Nutzungsmuster Haben Jedoch In Weiten Teilen Dieses Von Hoheunclassified

“…Sie sollten im Sinne einer möglichst ganzheitlichen Betrachtungsweise neben den natürlichen Gegebenheiten und biophysikalischen Prozessen auch die sozioökonomischen Rahmenbedingungen berücksichtigen (Hoffman et al 1999;Gillson & Hoffman 2007 (Reynolds et al 2007;Sommer et al 2011). …”

Section: Zusammenfassung Und Abschließende Diskussionunclassified

Impact of pastoral land use on central Namibian savanna vegetation - Methods for indictor development and perspectives for their application

Wesuls¹

2011

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Historical and contemporary land use and the desertification of the karoo

Cited by 53 publications

References 0 publications

Recent trends in the climate of Namaqualand, a megadiverse arid region of South Africa

Recent trends in the climate of Namaqualand, a megadiverse arid region of South Africa

Evaluating derived vegetation indices and cover fraction to estimate rangeland aboveground biomass in semi-arid environments

Impact of pastoral land use on central Namibian savanna vegetation - Methods for indictor development and perspectives for their application

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