Climatic and non-climatic vegetation cover changes in the rangelands of Africa

About 21% of the African population directly depends on rangeland resources. As this number is predicted to grow, it important understand response rangelands global environmental change and formulate, in turn, better hypotheses their capacity support livelihoods. Here we used three decades satellite data a dynamic vegetation model study recent climate describe changes structure accompanying greening browning trends. Long-term was dominant driver dynamics ca. 2,495,000 km2 (22.7% total extent). Examples these are Mauritania, Senegal, Chad, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa, where greened up due an overall increase trees, shrubs, short herbaceous vegetation. We further identified more extended different type (ca. 2,915,000 km2) appeared be largely unrelated long-term variations. In rangelands, observed opposite trends between woody cover (trees shrubs) (mostly representative layer). Greening (West Sudan) associated with (+4.4%) concomitant decline (−3.4%), while (Angola, Mozambique) resulted from decrease (−2.6%) (+4.3%) (total per cent average during 1982–2015). Our results offer nuanced perspective frame systems. While may mitigate via higher carbon uptake, encroachment less palatable species reduces resources available pastoral communities. On other hand, reduction attenuates sequestration rates, but hint relative forage