Fragmentation in Semi-Arid and Arid Landscapes

by Galvin, Kathleen A.; Reid, Robin S.; Behnke, Roy H.; Hobbs, N. Thompson

• ISBN13: 9781402049057
• ISBN10: 1402049056
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-30
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

Human action and natural processes have modified the ecosystems of the earth in many ways, but one of the most pervasive effects of these processes on the environment is dissection of natural systems into spatially isolated parts, a process of fragmentation. Fragmentation has restricted the movements of people, livestock, and wildlife across landscapes, thereby limiting their access to resources that vary over space and time. This restriction impairs the ability of people and animals to compensate for temporal heterogeneity in vegetation and water by exploiting its spatial heterogeneity, and in so doing has interrupted ecological processes that sustain natural and human economies. Our thesis contrasts sharply with the mainstream view that exclusivity of use promotes human welfare and sustains natural processes. We propose that the sum of the productivities of land fragments may be less than the productivity of the unfragmented landscape. The concept of fragmentation is explored in this book as it applies to arid, pastoral systems throughout the world. Global significance of the world's vast rangelands is large. Arid and semiarid rangelands make up almost 25% of the earth's landscapes and support more than 20 million people whose livelihoods depend on these lands. It is the home of the planet's last remaining megafauna and many other important species. The case is developed that fragmentation arises from different natural, social and economic conditions worldwide but creates similar outcomes for human and natural systems. With information from nine sites around the world the authors examine how fragmentation occurs, the patterns that result, and the consequences of fragmentation for ecosystems and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods.

Table of Contents

Dedication
Foreword
List of Contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction and Framework
Global Significance of Extensive Grazing Lands and Pastoral Societies: An Introduction	p. 1
Fragmentation of Arid and Semi-Arid Ecosystems: Implications for People and Animals	p. 25
Causes and Consequences of Herbivore Movement in Landscape Ecosystems	p. 45
Case Studies
Australia
Changing Patterns of Land Use and Tenure in the Dalrymple Shire, Australia	p. 93
North America
From Fragmentation to Reaggregation of Rangelands in the Northern Great Plains, USA	p. 113
Land Use, Fragmentation, and Impacts on Wildlife in Jackson Valley, Wyoming, USA	p. 135
Asia
Ideology, Land Tenure and Livestock Mobility in Kazakhstan	p. 151
Policy Changes in Mongolia: Implications for Land Use and Landscapes	p. 179
Africa
Fragmentation of a Peri-Urban Savanna, Athi-Kaputiei Plains, Kenya	p. 195
Processes of Fragmentation in the Amboseli Ecosystem, Southern Kajiado District, Kenya	p. 225
Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania: Fragmentation of a Unique Region of the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem	p. 255
North-West Province, South Africa: Communal and Commercial Livestock Systems in Transition	p. 281
Issues of Fragmentation and Complexity: A Synthetic Perspective
The Drivers of Fragmentation in Arid and Semi-Arid Landscapes	p. 305
Comparing Landscape and Infrastructural Heterogeneity within and between Ecosystems	p. 341
Responses of Pastoralists to Land Fragmentation: Social Capital, Connectivity and Resilience	p. 369
Index	p. 391
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