Bibliography: Land Degradation in South Africa project

trees on their land nearly everywhere. Historically, this component of on-farm

resources has attracted little interest but practical policy measures can be

identified, and differ substantially from those relevant to forestry.

Ref ID : 1409

323. Aron, J., Eberhard, A.A., and Gandar, M.V. Demand and supply of firewood in

the homelands of South Africa.Anonymous Cape Town:Second Carnegie Inquiry into

Poverty and Development in Southern Africa. 21:1-39, 1989.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : ENERGY; DEFORESTATION; POVERTY; COMMUNAL AREA

Notes : This paper aims to address the following issues: (1) to assess the

demand for fuelwood in the ten homelands and to project demand to the end of the

century; (2) to estimate sustainable fuelwood supply from natural woodland and

shrubland in these areas, and to assess the contribution of other supply

sources; and (3) to gauge the extent of the fuelwood deficit currently existing

in these areas, to project the overall deficit to the end of the century and to

estimate the corresponding plantation area of eucalyptus which this entails.

Ref ID : 1914

324. Association of Soil Conservation Engineering Technology The role of soil

conservation in the RDP.Anonymous Silverton:Association of Soil Conservation

Engineering Technology. , 1996.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SOIL CONSERVATION; CONSERVATION

Ref ID : 1610

325. Aucamp, A. and Danckwerts, J.E. Grazing management : a strategy for the

future - Introduction. Pretoria:Department of Agriculture and Water Supply. ,

1989.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : VELD CONDITION; VELD MANAGEMENT; GRAZING EFFECTS; LAND DEGRADATION;

PLANT-ANIMAL INTERACTIONS; LAND USE

Notes : This is a small pamphlet outlining: (1) the importance of the veld;

RSA's grazing crisis; causes of pasture deterioration (including over-grazing,

over-optimism of farmers, livestock numbers not adjusted to natural

environmental conditions, grazing management practices, inadequate knowledge of

pasture and fodder crops, farmers' view of the veld condition, decision-making

process of the farmer and pasture use); the road ahead; an appeal for united

actions for NGS to succeed; and (2) veld types and condition (including

classification of veld into vegetation types, and what is meant by veld

condition?).

Ref ID : 2235

326. Aucamp, A.J. Die plek en rol van bosbenutting en biologiese beheer van bos.

Proceedings of a workshop on bush encroachment and bush thickening held in

Pretoria. Pienaar, A.J.Anonymous Pretoria:Department of Agriculture and

Fisheries. :F1-F24, 1980.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : BUSH ENCROACHMENT

Ref ID : 1886

327. Aucamp, A.J. Die huidige en toekomstige posisie t.o.v. produksie- en

bewaringsnavorsing. Veld Trust Conference on the conservation status of

agricultural resources in the RSA. Du Preez, J.F.Anonymous Pretoria:Unisa. ,

1990.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : CONSERVATION

Notes : This article illustrates the importance of plant life to agriculture;

the disastrous state in which plant life presently finds itself; and the causes

and results attached to abuse of our natural resources.

Ref ID : 1332

328. Aucamp, A.J. and Danckwerts, J.E. Inleiding. Weiding 'n strategie vir die

toekoms.Anonymous Anonymous Pretoria:Departement van Landbou en

Watervoorsiening. :1-8, 1989. 0 621 11413 8.

Reprint : In File,

Ref ID : 1288

329. Aucamp, A.J. and Danckwerts, J.E. Introduction. Grazing management a

strategy for the future.Anonymous Anonymous Pretoria:Deparment of Agriculture

and Water Supply. :1-8, 1989. 0 621 11414 6.

Reprint : In File,

Ref ID : 1395

330. Aucamp, A.J., Danckwerts, J.E., Teague, W.R., and Venter, J.J. The role of

Acacia karroo in the false thornveld of the eastern Cape. Proceedings of the

Grassland Society of southern Africa 18(18):151-154, 1983.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : EASTERN CAPE; BUSH ENCROACHMENT; CARRYING CAPACITY; VELD CONDITION;

SAVANNA; VELD MANAGEMENT

Abstract : An investigation was undertaken to determine the relationship between

tree density and grass production, tree density and overall feed production and

between tree density and animal production. It was found that grass production

does not decrease linearly with increasing tree densities. Grass production is

not affected up to a density of 297 tree equivalents per ha. Maximum feed

production (grass plus bush) was achieved at 847 tree equivalent per ha. The

maximum red meat production that could be achieved by using a combination of

Boer goats and cattle was estimated by extrapolation to be at a tree density of

2 600 tree equivalents per ha, while the maximum gross margin would have been at

1 620 tree equivalents per ha.

Ref ID : 1250

331. Aucamp, A.J. and Tainton, N.M. Veld Management in the Valley Bushveld,

Pretoria:Department of Agriculture, 1984.pp. 1-34.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : VELD MANAGEMENT; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; CONSERVATION

Notes : The information presented in this booklet is relevant to the farming

community, researchers, agricultural advisers and students in agriculture. It

attempts to fulfill an urgent need for information in respect of certain plants

in the Valley Bushveld. It is hoped that this will lead to further

investigations, which will supplement the existing knowledge, with special

reference to the management of this vegetation type. Such information is seen to

be of critical importance for two principal reasons. Firstly the Valley

Bushveld is an important agricultural area, especially as far as the production

of mohair and red meat is concerned and secondly, because it is so vulnerable to

destruction by over exploitation. Some important principles of vegetation

management have been discussed in this publication. Their application in

practice will resulrt, it is hoped, in a greatly improved position in respect of

agricultural production as well as in the conservation of the natural resources

of the area.

Ref ID : 1613

332. Auerbach, R. The role of permaculture in sustainable rural development.

Report on a permaculture design course held at Kyalami in January 1992.Anonymous

103, 1992.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : RURAL DEVELOPMENT; ZIMBABWE; BOTSWANA; ENERGY; GLOBAL CHANGE; LAND

USE; SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Notes : Bill Mollison's ebullient nature makes many "serious agriculturists"

sceptical about the value of his ideas - the man so obviously enjoys stirring

and treading on sensitive corns! However, when one digs a little deeper, one

discovers that Mollison, apart from his Tasmanian country boy background, was

also for many years a senior researcher for the Australian CSIRO and later

lectured in Biogeography at the University of Tasmania (he holds a PhD in that

field). Undoubtedly the greatest testimony to his work is the rapid spread of

permaculture through the world; only eighteen years after he started developing

the idea with David Homgren, and barely twelve years after he started devoting

himself full-time to permaculture development, there are some four hundred

Permaculture Institutes around the world, and thousands of enthusiastic

practitioners, with as many in third-world situations, such as India, Zimbabwe

and Botswana, as there are in Australasia, Europe and the United States of

America. Permaculture is essentially a design system, which puts into the hands

of even the most unsophisticated gardener or smallholder a set of principles

which he or she can use to modify the environment in such a way that the quality

of life is improved, energy and land are used more efficiently and a sustainable

system is consciously evolved.

Ref ID : 408

333. Auerbach, R. People, farming and research: how can science contribute to

sustainable agricultural development in South Africa? South African Journal of

Science 91:2-3, 1995.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE; FARMING SYSTEMS; KWAZULU; LABOUR; POLICY;

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

Notes : Science seeks objectivity, but survives in a subjectiv environment and

is carried out by individuals. It therefore finds difficulty in dealing with

both biological systems and contemporary human problems. A Participatory Action

Research approach requires a radical shift in the structure of research

programmes. In agriculture, a systems approach using participatory methods can

lead to a more sustainable and productive usage of resources, which addresses

the real problems of rural people. Lessons from a Farming Systems Research

project in southern KwaZulu are used to illustrate some current challenges for

the scientific community. Strategies for easing maize production constraints

include the use of hybrid culltivars, optimising cash and labour inputs and

developing adequate ploughing capacity. Current policy research highlights some

strategic directions for more equitable agricultural development in the new

South Africa.

Ref ID : 2112

334. Auerbach, R. People and South African integrated catchment

management.Anonymous Water Research Commission. 684/1/97, 1997.

Reprint : Not in File,

Ref ID : 760

335. Auerbach, R.M.B. Towards sustainable development. Indicator South Africa

8(1):41-46, 1990.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE; RURAL DEVELOPMENT; POPULATION; SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

Notes : In dealing with the land issue, it is often argued that given our rapid

population growth, a strategic priority for any government will be to ensure

that the population is adequately fed. However, any government which relies for

its continuation in office on broad-based popular support will also have to

consider how to achieve a more equitable distribution of wealth. Current debate

about the need to repeal the Land Acts as part of the national reform process

tends to contrast these two objectives. In this overview the author argues that

in addition to the perspectives of food production and equitability, a third

vitally important strategic priority is recognised by many development analysts.

This is the perspective of sustainable development.

Ref ID : 720

336. Auerbach, R.M.B. Sustainable agriculture. Proceedings of a seminar hosted

jointly by Institute of Natural Resources and Earthlife Africa (Pmb),

Pietermaritzburg, 23 June. Occasional Paper 58.Anonymous Anonymous

Scottsville:Institute of Natural Resources. , 1990.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Ref ID : 729

337. Auerbach, R.M.B. The role of agriculture in sustainable development. Paper

delivered at the University of Natal Senate Committee on Social Responsibility's

Forum on the rural/urban interface, Durban, 31 October 1991. Occasional Paper

96.Anonymous Anonymous Scottsville:Institute of Natural Resources. , 1991.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE; AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; RURAL DEVELOPMENT;

KWAZULU

Notes : Agriculture is often thought of as a purely rural-based activity. But

it depends on urban markets; it is more and more dependent on industrial inputs

and it is more often part-time, providing part of income which supplements

remittances from urban/industrial earnings. Often, it is the women who

predominate in both agricultural and development initiatives. One of the areas

in which the Institute of Natural Resources works on integrated rural

development is the Nhlangwini ward of southern KwaZulu. Clearly, the

aspirations of rural people are not predominatly agricultural, and if small-

scale commercial agriculture is to develop in KwaZulu, people's perceptions of

agriculture as a potential career will have to change.

Ref ID : 768

338. Auerbach, R.M.B. Farming with nature: sustainable agriculture and

biodiversity. New Ground (11):24-26, 1993.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE; BIODIVERSITY; FARMING SYSTEMS; SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT; RURAL DEVELOPMENT; CONSERVATION

Notes : Industrial farming systems depend on eliminating diversity. The author,

a researcher at the Pietermaritzburg based Institute for Natural Resources,

argues in this paper that African farmers need to rediscover natural processes.

Sustainable development, biodiversity, sustainable agriculture and permaculture

are four concepts that have become buzzwords in recent years. They are

symptomatic of a growing together of concerned rural development workers and the

environmental and conservation movements but they are often used in a whole

range of documents to try to legitimise the illegitimate. This paper deals with

these issues in relation to economic development, and specialisation and

efficiency.

Ref ID : 1211

339. Ault, D.E. and Rutman, G.L. Land scarcity, property rights and resouce

allocation in the agriculture: Eastern and Southern Africa. The South African

Journal of Economics 61(1):32-44, 1993.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SOUTHERN AFRICA; LAND TENURE

Notes : The authors draw upon evidence, primarily from anthropological studies

from two periods in the economic history of portions of eastern and southern

Africa that were once part of the British Colonial Empire. The first period is

that in which land was relatively abundant as compared to the other factors of

production. In the second period, land became relatively scarce. They show

that African common law was flexible and, through the settlement of disputes

over land rights, evolved in response to changes in the economic environment so

as to provide incentives for an efficient reallocation of resources used in

agriculture. To illustrate the often negative role of government, they use

three cases in which the central government intervened to prevent the

evolutionary development of individual rights to land use through the resolution

of dispute in its courts. In each of these cases, the central government

imposed a government-administered land tenure system accompanied by an

agricultural organization that, while serving its political interests, did not

provide incentives for the individual cultivator to use resources efficiently.

Ref ID : 2381

340. Austin, A.N. Rainfall and slope of the Ciskeian ecotopes: important

determinants of cropping potential. Ciskei Journal for Rural Development 2:8-11,

1989.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : RAINFALL; CISKEI; STATISTICS; MAPS; CLIMATE; MODELS

Notes : The purpose of the study was to write a programme which combines

rainfall and slope data and estimates the area within the Ciskei which satisfies

user-defined rainfall and slope limits. All rainfall records in the former

Ciskei were gathered and checked by fitting a gamma distribution to the rainfall

data of all stations with the records of 20 years or more and a summary of

statistics was tabulated. The slope information was gathered by a grid method

using 1:50 000 topographical maps. The climate of the former Ciskei consists

largely of sub-humid regions. Rainfall is the most variable element in the

region. Temperature is less of a limitation whilst evapotranspiration does not

vary across the Ciskei to a greater extent. Ciskei topography ranges

considerably from place to place. A database called the Ciskei Rainfall Database

(CIRADA) was created with the large amount of rainfall data generated from the

study and stored on the mainframe at Fort Hare University. This article is

obtainable from the Document Centre, Agriculture (UFH). See ref. I.D. no: 2339.

Ref ID : 2382

341. Austin, M.N. Using Cirada: Ciskei rainfall database.Anonymous

ARDRI:University of Fort Hare. , 1989.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : CISKEI; RAINFALL; METHODOLOGIES; MAPS

Notes : The aim of the research was to assess the potential of the major Ciskei

ecotopes and to identify their main agronomic limitations. Since the

information which was available on rainfall for Ciskei region was firstly out of

date and secondly lacked detail on variation over time or on spatial

variability, an intensive investigation of the rainfall of Ciskei was initiated.

The results of the investigation of rainfall variability overtime are published

in Austin (1988) and the methodology is also discussed in Austin (1989a). The

results and methodology of the investigation of the spatial variability of

rainfall are published in Austin (1989b and 1989c). These took the form of maps

of the rainfall parameters for Ciskei and surrounding areas. Since there was a

demand for more accurate information than could be derived from the maps or

tables the database, which was used to construct them, has been made

available.This report is obtainable from ARDRI at the University of Fort Hare.

See ref. I.D. No: 2339.

Ref ID : 182

342. Avery, D.M. The Holocene environment of central South Africa:

micromammalian evidence. Palaeoecology of Africa 19:335-345, 1988.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : ARCHAEOLOGY; SAVANNA; NAMA KAROO; GRASSLAND; VEGETATION CHANGE;

PALAEOENVIRONMENTS; MICROMAMMALS

Notes : In file.

Abstract : Micromammalian samples from various sites in central South Africa

provide evidence of conditions in the Arid Savanna, Karoo and Grassland biomes

during the Holocene. The long sequence from Wonderwerk in the Arid Savanna

provides a gross pattern of change throughout the Holocene. Most of the samples,

however, refer to approximately the last 3500 years and the indication is that

low-amplitude environmental change can also be detected during this period.

Moreover, it is demonstrated that the potential exists for determining the

relative importance of climate and farming in altering the vegetation of the

region.

Ref ID : 1615

343. Avery, D.M. Late Quaternary environmental change in southern Africa based

on micromammalian evidence: A synopsis. Palaeoecology of Africa and the

surrounding islands: established by E.M. van Zinderen Bakker Sr. Heine,

K.Anonymous AA Balkema. 21:131-142, 1989. Micromammalian remains from 32

archaeological sites in southern Africa provide evidence for environmental

change during varying portions of approximately the last 115 000 years in five

of the seven biomes recognized by Rutherford & Westfall (1986) in this region.

Various methods for obtaining information on vegetational and climatic change

are outlined. The data indicate that there are contemporaneous inter-regional

differences as well as concordances. These can be viewed in terms of

characteristics currently distinguishing biomes, and lend some support to the

climatic model (Tyson 1986) which predicts correspondence of wet spells in the

winter rainfall region with dry spells in the summer rainfall region.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : SOUTHERN AFRICA; MODELS; RAINFALL; MICROMAMMALS; ARCHAEOLOGY; CLIMATE

CHANGE

Ref ID : 184

344. Avery, D.M. Micromammals, owls and vegetation change in the Eastern Cape

Midlands, South Africa, during the last millennium. Journal of Arid Environments

20:357-369, 1991.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : PALAEOENVIRONMENTS; ARCHAEOLOGY; VEGETATION CHANGE; NAMA KAROO;

GRASSLAND; MICROMAMMALS; KAROO DESERTIFICATION

Abstract : Remains of rodents and insectivores from Abbot's Cave in the

Middelburg District, Cape Province, provide evidence of vegetation change during

the 10th to early 20th century A.D. Before the 17th century vegetation was

sparse and the climate apparently arid with seasonally extreme temperatures.

Most equable conditions with good scrub and grass cover occurred during the 18th

century at the time of European penetration of the area. The 19th century data

show fluctuation in vegetation structure rather than long-term trends, with the

implication that there was neither progressive desiccation nor a major farming

impact during this time. In view of the presence throughout of both scrub and

grass, it is suggested instead that there existed a dynamic interface between

the Nama-Karoo biomes in this district rather than that the Nama-Karoo was

progressively encroaching on the grassland.

Ref ID : 185

345. Avery, D.M. Micromammals and the environment of early pastoralists at Spoeg

River, Western Cape Province, South Africa. South African Archaeological

Bulletin 47:116-121, 1992.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : PALAEOENVIRONMENTS; MICROMAMMALS; SUCCULENT KAROO; VEGETATION CHANGE;

GRAZING EFFECTS; CLIMATE CHANGE; NORTHERN CAPE

Abstract : The micromammalian sample from Spoeg River provides evidence of

relatively mild climatic conditions at the time the site was first occupied by

people approximately 1900 BP. The introduction of sheep into the area would have

been facilitated by the moderate amount of grass indicated in the surrounding

vegetation. Thereafter, climatic change, possibly exacerbated by overgrazing

and/or veldburning, led to progressive reduction in vegetation cover, perhaps

most significantly in the grass component in the general landscape. The climatic

interpretation agrees with data from other sources.

Ref ID : 186

346. Avery, D.M. Man and/or climate? Environmental degradation and

micromammalian community structure in South Africa during the last millennium.

South African Journal of Science 88:483-489, 1992.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : PALAEOENVIRONMENTS; ARCHAEOLOGY; LAND DEGRADATION; VEGETATION CHANGE;

MICROMAMMALS; CLIMATE CHANGE

Abstract : The growing urgency of the need to arrest land degradation makes it

essential to establish the relative importance of climatic and anthropogenic

factors in the process. This requires a longer perspective than that provided by

the wide range of official records which refer mainly to this century. Here a

preliminary assessment of the potential of employing micromammalian community

structure to monitor environmental conditions indicates that its potential is

good but likely to be more difficult to realize in those arid and semi-arid

regions most at risk. Evidence of distress in micromammalian communities during