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TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL VARIABILITY OF GRASS PRODUCTIVITY IN THE CENTRAL NAMIB DESERT
The production of grass was investigated on the gravel plains of the Central Namib Desert, Namibia, during 10 rainfall seasons sampled between 1989-2003. The aim was to evaluate the rainfall-productivity relationship, to elucidate the relationship…
Changes in Natural Resource Use among Owambo Agro- Pastoralists of North-Central Namibia Resulting From The Enclosure of Local Frontiers
Agro-pastoralists living in arid lands of Africa tend to have highly mobile lifestyles and to use natural resources widely and sparsely. Thus, they require frontiers with low population densities and sufficient natural resources. However, this study…
Late Pleistocene Sedimentary Environment of the "Homeb Silts" Deposits, along the Middle Kuiseb River in the Namib Desert, Namibia
In the Namib, the tectonic and geographic setting of the area means that there are no large lake basins, and relict aeolian deposits appear to be quite rare. This has posed severe problems for reconstructing palaeoclimates in this region. In…
VEGETATION SUCCESSION AND PLANT USE IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES ALONG THE KUISEB RIVER IN THE NAMIB DESERT
The aim of this study was to clarify the relationship between environmental change and vegetational succession in the Kuiseb River area of the Namib Desert. The results reveal the following: 1. About 5000–7000 years ago, wetter conditions prevailed…
Influence of Geomorphology on the Physiognomy of Colophospermum mopane and its Effect on Browsing in Central Namibia
Colophospermum mopane is a characteristic tree species indigenous to Southern Africa, where it forms 'mopane vegetation.' Mopane plays an important role in livestock farming, and the physiognomy of mopane influences the availability of feed. This…
Interactions between Termite Mounds, Trees, and the Zemba People in the Mopane Savanna in Northwestern Namibia
Termite mounds comprise a significant part of the landscape in northwestern Namibia. The vegetation type in this area is mopane vegetation, a vegetation type unique to southern Africa. In the area where I conducted research, almost all termite mounds…
Seasonal Trends of Rainfall and Surface Temperature over Southern Africa
This study investigated seasonal trends of surface temperature and rainfall from 1979 to 2007 in southern Africa. In recent years, annual rainfall has decreased over the African continent from the equator to 20ºS, as well as in Madagascar. On the…
San Cross-border cultural heritage and identity in Botswana, Namibia and South Africa
The aim of this paper is to examine the indigenous San cultural identity that transcends ecological zones across the borders of Botswana, Namibia and South Africa respectively. The paper explores the representation of borders and boundaries within…
ORIGIN OF THE FOG IN NAMIB DESERT IN DRY SEASON
The origin of the fog in the Namib Desert was generally considered the westerly advection fog over the Benguela cold current. When the author went to the Namib Desert in dry seasons in 2003 and 2004, the fog in the early morning, however, moved…
VEGETATION CHANGES AND USE OF PALMS AS A BUILDING MATERIAL BY OVAMBO AGRO-PASTORALISTS IN NORTH-CENTRAL NAMIBIA
This paper focuses on the mutual transition between vegetation and timber use by the Ovambo people in north-central Namibia and their use of palms for timber in recent years. The vegetation around the research area was characterized as Mopane…
Soil Clay Minerals in Namibia and their Significance for the Terrestrial and Marine Past Global Change Research
We delineated seven soil clay mineral provinces in Namibia. Many individual clay mineral assemblages occur in fluvial, pan, cave and other environments. Previous researchers have used clay mineral compositions as evidence for palaeoenvironmental…
FACTORS CONTROLLING GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION IN SAVANNA VEGETATION IN NAMIBIA
Here, I describe the geographical distribution of the savanna types in Namibia and identify the factors controlling the occurrence of each savanna type in relation to the amount of annual precipitation and the various physiographical regions,…
Vegetation structure of the biomes in southwestern Africa And their precipitation patterns
Southwestern Africa contains diverse biomes. The amount of the annual precipitation of this area has been traditionally thought to be the most important controlling factor to the differentiation of the biomes. However, this territory experiences the…
Changes in Developmental Trends of Caregiver-Child Interactions among the San: Evidence from the !Xun of Northern Namibia
The San have been the subject of extensive research with respect to their foraging lifestyle that is assumed to date back to antiquity. I conducted field research among the !Xun San, who have had close associations with the neighboring…
ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES IN RELATION TO TREE DEATH ALONG THE KUISEB RIVER IN THE NAMIB DESERT
The Namib Desert is located along the western coast of Namibia and is affected by the cold Benguela Current. Although forest is distributed along the Kuiseb River in the Namib Desert, many trees are almost dead in some areas. The aim of this research…
Ethnohistory and Archaeology of the Ju/'hoansi Bushmen
The 'Great Kalahari Debate' which revolved around the degree of isolation of the Ju/'hoansi Bushmen failed to adequately interrogate the Bushmen on what they knew of their own history. A combination of interviews with respected Ju/'hoansi elders and…
CHANGES IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE !NARA PLANT THAT AFFECT THE LIFE OF THE TOPNAAR PEOPLE IN THE LOWER KUISEB RIVER, NAMIB DESERT
The !Nara plant is endemic to the central Namib Desert. The Topnaar people, who live along the Kuiseb River, use this plant in their daily lives, as it serves as a vital source of income, nutrition, and traditional culture. !Nara is virtually the…
Recent Grain-Size Coarsening of Floodplain Deposits and Forest Decline along the Kuiseb River, Namib Desert, Namibia
We investigated the flood plain deposits of the middle reach of the Kuiseb River in order to reveal the recent fluvial environment changes and forest decline. For the conservation of watershed environments, it is important to examine the relationship…
Environmental Change and Vegetation Succession along an Ephemeral River: The Kuiseb in the Namib Desert
Forests line the course of the Kuiseb River, an ephemeral river in the Namib Desert, and several areas of these forests are characterized by high concentrations of tree death (Mizuno, 2005; Mizuno & Yamagata, 2005). We sought to clarify the…
Hunting with Dogs among the San in the Central Kalahari
Among the Central Kalahari San, hunting with dogs was once only of secondary importance to that with traps or bows and arrows. In recent years, hunting with bows and arrows has declined, whereas that with dogs has become more common. Dogs play an…