@article{LohmannFalkGeissleretal.2014,
  author    = {Lohmann, Dirk and Falk, Thomas and Geissler, Katja and Blaum, Niels and Jeltsch, Florian},
  title     = {Determinants of semi-arid rangeland management in a land reform setting in Namibia},
  series = {Journal of arid environments},
  volume    = {100},
  journal   = {Journal of arid environments},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {0140-1963},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.jaridenv.2013.10.005},
  pages     = {23 -- 30},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {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.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LuftNeumannFreudeetal.2014,
  author    = {Luft, Laura and Neumann, Carsten and Freude, Matthias and Blaum, Niels and Jeltsch, Florian},
  title     = {Hyperspectral modeling of ecological indicators - A new approach for monitoring former military training areas},
  series = {Ecological indicators : integrating monitoring, assessment and management},
  volume    = {46},
  journal   = {Ecological indicators : integrating monitoring, assessment and management},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {Amsterdam},
  issn      = {1470-160X},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.06.025},
  pages     = {264 -- 285},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {Military areas are valuable habitats and refuges for rare and endangered plants and animals. We developed a new approach applying innovative methods of hyperspectral remote sensing to bridge the existing gap between remote sensing technology and the demands of the nature conservation community. Remote sensing has already proven to be a valuable monitoring instrument. However, the approaches lack the consideration of the demands of applied nature conservation which includes the legal demands of the EU Habitat Directive. Following the idea of the Vital Signs Monitoring in the USA, we identified a subset of the highest priority monitoring indicators for our study area. We analyzed continuous spectral response curves and tested the measurability of N=19 indicators on the basis of complexity levels aggregated from extensive vegetation assemblages. The spectral differentiability for the floristic as well as faunistic indicators revealed values up to 100\% accuracy. We point out difficulties when it comes to distinguishing faunistic habitat requirements of several species adapted to dry open landscapes, which in this case results in OVERALL ACCURACY of 67, 87-95, and 35\% in the error matrix. In summary, we provide an applicable and feasible method to facilitating monitoring military areas by hyperspectral remote sensing in the following. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{LohmannTietjenBlaumetal.2014,
  author    = {Lohmann, Dirk and Tietjen, Britta and Blaum, Niels and Joubert, David Francois and Jeltsch, Florian},
  title     = {Prescribed fire as a tool for managing shrub encroachment in semi-arid savanna rangelands},
  series = {Journal of arid environments},
  volume    = {107},
  journal   = {Journal of arid environments},
  publisher = {Elsevier},
  address   = {London},
  issn      = {0140-1963},
  doi       = {10.1016/j.jaridenv.2014.04.003},
  pages     = {49 -- 56},
  year      = {2014},
  abstract  = {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.},
  language  = {en}
}