**7. References**

248 International Perspectives on Global Environmental Change

by the development of imprints of selectivity of livestock on browse resources was

Fig. 11. Common bare ground condition in the lunette dune-pan environment.

The social survey provided evidence of a wealth of indigenous knowledge that had been accumulated through informal observations and experiences by the local community. The community perceived wind as the main agent transporting soil particles from the pan and the environs onto the lunette dunes. The perceptions also indicated that the lunette dunes and the plants that grew thereon served as barriers that trapped the aeolian soil particles and lead to continuous process of dune development. The perceptions had considerable

The community perceived the lunette dune-pan environment as an important water source pertinent to their pastoral farming activities. However, it was evident that potential developments in the area of pastoral farming were bedevilled by lack of grazing resources which was a major concern for the community. It was indicated that lack of grazing resources in the area was mainly caused by environmental changes that were characterized by an increase in the livestock population and a decline in the annual rainfall. Therefore, livestock grazing was perceived to be insignificant in the lunette dune-pan environment, hence the lunette dunes were considered insignificant in relation to fodder provision in Sekoma. However, field observations indicated that in spite of the changes in the environment, the lunette dune complex continued to contribute substantially in fodder

Changes in land use patterns as well as its intensity had affected the lunette dune-pan complex and continue to cause significant spatial and temporal environmental changes in

provision over the years mainly through browsing resources that they sustained.

**6. Conclusion** 

**5.3 Local community perceptions on environmental changes** 

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**13** 

Wolfgang Römer

*Germany* 

**Late Quaternary Environmental Changes** 

The African continent has been subjected to several changes in its environmental conditions in the past. These changes have affected vegetation patterns, soil development and earth- surface processes. Repeated change has caused the development of a complex pattern of inherited features in the present-day landscape that regulate its susceptibility towards modern change in environmental conditions. Since the late Pleistocene and early Holocene, human interference in ecodynamics has increased dramatically. Humans have been altering the environment since they first controlled fire and invented agriculture. However, the exponential growth of population in the last 100 years has brought with it an accelerated rate of landscape degradation. The superimposition of anthropogenous sources of interference and climatic factors has often changed the type and intensity of earth-surface processes. This results in an imbalance and often triggers an array of self-reinforcing processes. These processes operate on

In many areas of Africa, intensified use of land has induced serious soil erosion. Particularly in the semi-arid tropical and subtropical zones of Africa, soil-erosion processes are supported by the variable nature of rainfalls, the strong seasonal contrasts in the availability of moisture and the poor vegetation cover and soils and sediments, which are characterised by a high level of erodibility. Chapter 3 provides an attempt to summarise some of the processes and impacts which are associated with soil erosion in Africa. Extreme events played and play an important role in the African morphodynamic system and may pose a threat to humans. The spatial and temporal distribution of extreme events and factors which determine the magnitude, frequency and the impact of such events are discussed in chapter 4. The increasing demand for arable land has resulted in the enlargement of those areas affected by biomass burning. Chapter 5 provides an overview of the impact of savanna fires

The objective of this paper is to present a synthesis of the recent research on the influence of human interference on earth-surface processes and the differing reaction paths in the

In the course of the Cenozoic period, the African continent experienced several phases characterised by very different environmental conditions. On a time scale of 106 to 108 years,

different spatial scales and in different time frames and are discussed in chapter 2.

on the vegetation and the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

**1. Introduction** 

African landscapes.

**2. Environmental changes in Africa 2.1 Long-term environmental change** 

**and Human Interference in Africa** 

*Department of Geography, RWTH (University) Aachen,* 

Wenzel, A., Rajot, J.L.,& Herbrig, C. 2000. Influence of shrubs on soil characteristics and their function in the Sahalian agro-ecosystems in semi-arid Niger. *Journal of arid environments 44, 383-398.*
