TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lohmann, Dirk
A1  - Falk, Thomas
A1  - Geissler, Katja
A1  - Blaum, Niels
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
T1  - Determinants of semi-arid rangeland management in a land reform setting in Namibia
JF  - Journal of arid environments
N2  - To assess the ecological and economic implications of the redistributive land reform in semi-arid Namibia, we investigated to what extent land reform beneficiaries adjust herd size and herd composition according to environmental (rainfall, vegetation) and economic variables (herd size, financial assets, running costs). We performed model-based role-plays with Namibian land reform beneficiaries, simulating 10 years of rangeland management.
 Our study revealed that the farmers surveyed mainly manage their herds according to their economic situation (herd size and account balance) but do not take environmental variability (rainfall and vegetation) into account. Further, our results indicate that, due to financial pressure, farmers are not able to apply their desired management strategies, and that owners of small farms face a higher risk of economic failure. However, farmers apply rather conservative and constant stocking rates and will thus, given the current economic limitations, likely not contribute to semi-arid savanna degradation.
 We conclude that land reform beneficiaries need support to be able to apply straightforward and efficient management strategies. This could be achieved by facilitating cooperation between small farming businesses and by supporting initial investment in productive cattle herds at the time of redistribution of the land.
KW  - Dry land degradation
KW  - Semi-arid savanna
KW  - Land reform
KW  - Rangeland management
KW  - Simulation model
KW  - Role-play
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.10.005
SN  - 0140-1963
SN  - 1095-922X
VL  - 100
SP  - 23
EP  - 30
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - London
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Lohmann, Dirk
A1  - Tietjen, Britta
A1  - Blaum, Niels
A1  - Joubert, David Francois
A1  - Jeltsch, Florian
T1  - Prescribed fire as a tool for managing shrub encroachment in semi-arid savanna rangelands
JF  - Journal of arid environments
N2  - Savanna rangelands worldwide are threatened by shrub encroachment, i.e. the increase of woody plant species at the cost of perennial grasses, causing a strong decline in the productivity of domestic livestock production. Although recent studies indicate that fire might be of great importance for semi-arid and arid savanna dynamics, it is largely not applied in the management of semi-arid rangelands especially with regard to woody plant control. We used the eco-hydrological savanna model EcoHyD to simulate the effects of different fire management strategies on semi-arid savanna vegetation and to assess their longterm suitability for semi-arid rangeland management. Simulation results show that prescribed fires, timed to kill tree seedlings prevented shrub encroachment for a broad range of livestock densities while the possible maximum long-term cattle densities on the simulated semi-arid rangeland in Namibia increased by more than 30%. However, when grazing intensity was too high, fire management failed in preventing shrub encroachment.
 Our findings indicate that with regard to fire management a clear distinction between mesic and more arid savannas is necessary: While the frequency of fires is of relevance for mesic savannas, we recommend a fire management focussing on the timing of fire for semi-arid and arid savannas. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
KW  - Acacia mellifera
KW  - Bush encroachment
KW  - Dry land degradation
KW  - Rangeland management
KW  - Simulation model
KW  - Southern Africa
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.04.003
SN  - 0140-1963
SN  - 1095-922X
VL  - 107
SP  - 49
EP  - 56
PB  - Elsevier
CY  - London
ER  -