The adoption and adaptation of enclosures in the arid and semi-arid rangelands of sub-Saharan Africa is driven and sustained by a combination of factors. However, reviews indicate that these factors cannot be generalized, as they tend to be case specific. A study was therefore conducted to explore the history and reasons for enclosure establishment in Chepareria, a formerly degraded communal ra...

[1] In 2000–2002, three rangeland and six irrigated sites were instrumented to assess the storage and transit time of chemicals in thick (15 to 50 m) unsaturated zones (UZ) in the High Plains. These processes are likely to influence relations between land use and groundwater quality, yet they have not been documented systematically in the High Plains. Land use and climate were important control...

Cryptosporidium parvum is a fecal borne protozoan parasite that can be carried by and cause gastrointestinal illness in humans, cattle, and wildlife. The illness, cryptosporidiosis, can be fatal to persons with compromised immune systems. At question is the potential for C. parvum in cattle fecal deposits on rangeland watersheds to contaminate surface water. First, C. parvum oocysts must be rel...

Rangelands essentially comprise geographical regions dominated by grass with or without scattered woody plants. Rangelands are often considered to function primarily as feed for livestock. In this view, conservation and biodiversity issues are secondary. The alternate view involves recognising rangelands as a biome without a specific function, but where there is an implied responsibility for in...

Invasive plants reduce the capacity of ecosystems to provide goods and services required by society, alter ecological processes, and can displace desirable species. They can reduce wildlife habitat quality, riparian area integrity, rangeland economic value, and enterprise net returns. The invasion process is regulated by characteristics of the invading plant and the community being invaded. The...

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We conducted a 5-year study on the impact of nutrients, depending on stream and season. grazing on stream-channel bare ground and erosion, and a © CSA 3-year study of cattle-trail erosion on intermittent stream channels draining grazed oak (Quercus)-woodland 450. Correlations of stocking with the cryptogamic soil watersheds. These studies were conducted on the San crust of a semi-arid rangeland...

Rangelands cover 70% of the world's land surface, and provide critical ecosystem services primary production, soil carbon storage, nutrient cycling. These are governed by very fine-scale spatial patterning carbon, nutrients, plant species at centimeter-to-meter scales, a phenomenon known as “islands fertility”. Such dynamics challenging to detect with most satellite manned airborne platforms. R...