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Originally published in 2006. Parched landscapes, biodiversity loss, encroaching deserts and deforestation are some of the environmental crises taking place in tropical savanna and dry forests throughout the world. To date, much research into these regions has treated humans as 'outside' or as an 'impact' only. However, over and over again, examples show that in fact, humans are not external factors, but integral components of these systems. Unless we understand the human-environment relationship in these regions, we will never truly identify the causes or be able to provide solutions.
Savannas and Dry Forests focuses on the roles of the past, present and future human perceptions and actions on savannas and dry forests. It examines how the views of local farmers, NGO workers, government officials and international scientists differ on the links between the social and ecological components of savannas. It deals with these multiple perspectives by using systems thinking and conceptual modelling to provide a clearer and more explicit understanding and to promote better communication between the various actors concerned.
- Introduction, Jayalaxshmi Mistry and Andrea Berardi
- Framing field expansion strategies in the savanna biome - land use and land cover dynamics in and around Tiogo Forest Reserve, Burkina Faso, D. Andrew Wardell and Anette Reenberg
- Trends, cycles and entry points in the dry forest landscapes of southern Honduras and coastal Oaxaca, Adrian Barrance, Jamie Gordon and Kate Schreckenberg
- Ecosystem dynamics and institutional inertia: a discussion of landscape conservation in northern Tanzania, Jim Igoe
- Assessing 'overgrazing' in savannas, Richard Smith
- Fire management for biological conservation in the Brazilian cerrado, Vania R. Pivello
- Managing a burned mosaic: a landscape-scale human ecological model of savanna fires in Mali, Paul Laris
- Synergies in biodiversity conservation and adaptation to climate change: the case of hilltop forests in Kitui, Kenya, Siri Eriksen, F. Norman Gachathi, Benard Muok, Benson Ochieng and Bernard Owuor
- Interactions between Sudano-Sahelian savannas and parklands in space and time: the effects on biomass and biodiversity with regards to stakeholder strategies, Denis Gautier, Didier Bazile and Nicolas Picard
- Potential for mitigation of deforestation and negative off-farm impacts with conservation agriculture employing zero tillage farming in the Brazilian cerrado, John N. Landers, Pedro L. de Freitas and Robert M. Boddey
- A multidisciplinary and participatory research approach in savannas and dry forests, Andrea Berardi
Index
Jay Mistry is a Lecturer in the Department of Geography at the Royal Holloway, University of London, UK. Andrea Berardi is a Lecturer for the Open University, UK.
"Savannas and dry forests are immensely important biomes, which provide a very suitable environment in which to examine human-nature relationships – the core of Geography. An international team of contributors provides expert analyses of these relationships in the context of both the Americas and Africa. The book is a clever blend of case studies and general issues."
– Andrew Goudie, St Cross College, University of Oxford, UK
"The book may in particular serve as a great resource for students as it includes many accessible and cutting-edge chapters on various dryland issues."
– Human Ecology
