Bibliography: Land Degradation in South Africa project

agricultural under-development, due to residential relocation into villages,

inadequate land use planning, a reduction in arable land holdings, increased

landlessness, erosion and overgrazing. This paper can be obtained from the

Border Rural Committee, East London. See ref. I.D. no: 2339.

Ref ID : 2421

1387. McAllister, P.A. Development planning and land use practices in rural

Transkei.Anonymous , 1991.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : TRANSKEI; AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; BETTERMENT PLANNING; GRASSLAND;

RURAL DEVELOPMENT; DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT; ECONOMIC ASPECTS

Notes : The purpose of the study was to assess selected aspects of the Transkei

agricultural development. Contact with rural communities and quantitative data

collection. The study found that initially, betterment planning, although

misconceived, did involve fairly careful planning, but soon deteriorated into a

superficial exercise. The planners of recent betterment schemes in Transkei

seldom spent more than two or three days in the area to be planned. Yet, they

were responsible for excising lands deemed to be no longer suitable for

agriculture. The general effect of betterment was to reduce the total amount of

arable land available. Furthermore, in areas where large gardens had been

established (often to compensate for the declining fertility of fields)

homesteads lost these gardens because they had to move to new smaller sites in

the villages. And existing households in these areas had to reduce their garden

size to conform to the new site boundaries. This was a serious setback to

agricultural activity even to those who were allocated new arable lands because

turning such land from virgin grasslands into productive plots took time and

money, and it has been recorded that betterment schemes, for reasons such as

this, discouraged investment in agriculture. This report can be obtained from

the Border Rural Committee, East London. See also ref. I.D. no: 2339.

Ref ID : 2432

1388. McAllister, P.A. Rural production, land use and development planning in

Transkei: a critique of the Transkei Agricultural Development Studies. Journal

of Contemporary African Studies , 1992.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : LAND USE; TRANSKEI; AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; RURAL DEVELOPMENT;

POVERTY; POPULATION; AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION; GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES;

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT; FARMING SYSTEMS

Notes : The purpose is to understand the impact of past rural development

initiatives on agricultural production, current land use patterns and

agricultural practices in the Transkei through time, and also to look into the

impact of rural development initiatives. The author depended heavily on a

literature review. The study found out that the rural development initiatives

in Transkei have in the past brought more poverty than plenty, and more control

than liberation. There has been a tendency for outside assistance to undermine

indigenous and dynamic coping practices and thereby diminish, rather than

enhance, mobility of the displaced to establish a more independent and self-

sufficient life. There has been a lack of knowledge, from the planners and

decision-makers, about how rural people live and survive, about how they use

their land and their livestock, and about how they relate to each other and to

the natural environment. The author emphasized that planners can not wish beef

and dairy farming on a population living in circumstances that make such

enterprises unfeasible, nor can planners wish away subsistence agriculture and

turn all such producers into either commercial farmers or non-agricultural

villages. This article can be found in the main library at the Universit of

Fort Hare. See also ref. I.D. no: 2339.

Ref ID : 989

1389. McCabe, K. Veld management in the karoo. The Naturalist 31(1):8-15, 1987.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : VELD MANAGEMENT; NAMA KAROO

Notes : This paper is an attempt to communicate to scientists and researchers

(especially those working on the Karoo biome project) the ways in which the

Karoo is put to use by the farmer explaining how and why he utulizes his farm in

the manner in which he does. Management is an essential environmental process,

it is continuous and cannot be stopped and started. By altering the management,

the influences exerted on the veld are altered and this ultimately changes the

vegetation. A change in vegetation will in every case affect all other

components of the environment; e.g. the soil moisture and temperature, and the

animal life which is directly or indirectly dependant on specific components of

the veld.

Ref ID : 2051

1390. McCann, K., Hastings, A., and Huxel, G.R. Weak trophic interactions and

the balance of nature. Nature 395:794-798, 1998.

Reprint : Not in File,

Ref ID : 797

1391. McCarthy, J., Quinlan, T., and Pillay, S. Planning and sustainability:

Challenge for project managers in informal settlement upgrade. 1996.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT; SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE; SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT; POLICY

Notes : The purpose of this project is to promote common understanding amongst

project managers about how 'the environment' can be incorporated into informal

settlement upgrade projects. The research project attempts to clarify what

sustainable development means in the case of settlement upgrade projects by: (1)

providing a baseline description of how environment and sustainable development

are being interpreted at a practical level, in upgrade projects; (2) assessing

current problems and successes in relation to contemporary principles of

integrated environmental management; (3) proposing a set of practical principles

and procedural guidelines for future use in upgrade projects in the province;

and (4) providing a basis for design of policy on integrated environmental

management in the province. The document is not a research report in the

standard sense, nor does it attempt to be a specific development strategy

proposal. It is written in order to provide a focus at the workshop which is

itself part of the research, in terms of being a means to obtain further

information on the issues in question. It should be read as an initial

indication of how the informal settlement upgrade process is being shaped by its

participants, notably project managers. In turn, the documents intends to give

insight into how ideals, such as sustainable development and improvement of

environmental quality, are being interpreted in practice, and hence to

illustrate dynamics of the upgrade process that need to be considered if a

coherent environmental strategy is to be created.

Ref ID : 2163

1392. McCormick, S. and Cooper, J.A.G. Fluvial sediment yield to the Natal

coast: a review. Southern African Journal of Aquatic Sciences 18(1/2):74-88,

1992.

Reprint : Not in File,

Ref ID : 415

1393. McCracken, D.P. The colonial sugar lands of Kwazulu/Natal. Veld & Flora

82(3):84-86, 1996.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : CULTIVATION; KWAZULU NATAL; POPULATION; FOREST; GRASSLAND

Notes : The author asserts that it is a fallacy to assume that sugar farming,

like an environmental juggernaut, in one generation obliterated the indigenous

flora of the north coast. A dramatic increase in population; expanding African

and settler agriculture (which only in the 20th century came to be dominated by

sugar), modern technology allowing for extensive land clearance and a phenomenal

development of transport capacity, all contributed to an inevitable and

dramatic reduction in the extent of the coastal flora. But it could be argued

that these coastal lands survived longer in their natural state than did much of

the Natal midlands, where farming and forest exploitation was well entrenched by

the late 1950's, when most of the coast was still 'a region of wild and

trackless bushland; of unbridged rivers, and unscraped hills; of forests

thronged by wild beasts; and of grasslands dotted over with kraals....'.

Ref ID : 2164

1394. McCullum, J. Freshwater resources. State of the environment in South

Africa. Chenje, M. and Johnson, P. Lesotho:Southern African Research and

Documentation Centre. :181-206, 1994.

Reprint : Not in File,

Ref ID : 2253

1395. McDowell, C. and Moll, E. The influence of agriculture on the decline of

West Coast Renosterveld, south-western Cape, South Africa. Journal of

Environmental Management 35:173-192, 1992.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : RENOSTERVELD

Ref ID : 1876

1396. McKenzie, B. Resilience and stability of the grasslands of Transkei.

Proceedings of the Grasslands Society of Southern Africa 17:21-24, 1982.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : GRASSLAND; TRANSKEI; STOCKING RATE

Abstract : In spite of very high stocking rates the grasslands of Transkei still

have in many areas a high basal cover and many climax grass species. The

concepts of resilience and stability are used in an attempt to explain dynamics

of the grasslands.

Ref ID : 1336

1397. McKenzie, B. Anthropogenic influenced vegetation change in Transkei. 1984.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : VEGETATION CHANGE; TRANSKEI

Notes : This paper examines vegetation change in an area of Transkei where

traditional farming methods are still used. It is suggested that the pattern of

vegetation change observed over the last 45 years is indicative of anthropogenic

influence on vegetation since the arrival of iron age farmers some 1 000 years

ago.

Ref ID : 550

1398. McKenzie, B. Historical, political and sociological factors affecting land

use in the Transkei today: an ecological interpretation. Carnegie Conference

Paper No 307. In: Second Carnegie inquiry into poverty and development in

Southern Africa, held at the University of Cape Town, 13-19 April 1984, directed

by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit,Anonymous 1984,

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : LAND USE; ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY; TRANSKEI; SOCIOECONOMIC ASPECTS;

POLITICAL ASPECTS; POVERTY

Ref ID : 1730

1399. McKenzie, B. Composition, pattern and diversity of some Transkein

grasslands. Journal of the Grassland Society of southern Africa 4(4):135-138,

1987.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : GRASSLAND; BIODIVERSITY; TRANSKEI; VELD CONDITION; VEGETATION

DYNAMICS; VEGETATION CHANGE; COMMUNAL AREA

Abstract : Species composition, pattern and diversity of selected grassland

communities were determined by using point samples, transects and quadrats. The

continuously grazed grasslands of Dohne Sourveld generally had the richer

species composition, the highest diversity and the most variable intra-community

pattern. Forb species were mainly responsible for the higher diversity in these

grasslands compared with more severely disturbed sites (e.g. old fields). The

intra-community pattern was, however, determined by the relative proportions and

distribution of the grass species.

Ref ID : 903

1400. McKenzie, B. Medium-term changes of vegetation pattern in Transkei. South

African Forestry Journal (150):1-6, 1989.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY; VEGETATION CHANGE; TRANSKEI; MAPS; LAND USE;

GRASSLAND

Notes : Vegetation change was examined over a 45 year period in parts of the

Transkei. Maps produced from aerial photographs indicated that the main

changes, which were an increase or decrease in woodland, were influenced by the

establishment or abandonment of cultivated fields. It is suggested that this

pattern of land use is indicative of land use over the past few centuries and

that Iron Age people may not have been responsible for the destruction of vast

woodland communities to create grasslands.

Ref ID : 688

1401. Mckenzie, C. The economics of soil degradation in southern Africa. World

Environment Day Symposium on Soil, Randburg, 5 June 1991.Anonymous Anonymous

Society of Professional Engineers (SPE). :1-12, 1991. 06-05-1991.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : ECONOMIC ASPECTS; SOIL EROSION; LAND DEGRADATION; SOUTHERN AFRICA;

LAND USE; POLICY

Notes : The paper looks at various economic forces influencing soil degradation

in both the commercial and subsistence farming areas of SA. Past and present

patterns of land use are surveyed briefly in order to illustrate distortions

that economics and political policies have had on land use, and their effect on

the soil. Various corrective policies are discussed and their chances of

implementation, in a future SA, are anticipated.

Ref ID : 781

1402. Mckenzie, C. Degradation of arable land resources: policy options and

considerations within the context of rural restructuring in South Africa. Policy

Paper No.11.Anonymous Anonymous LAPC. , 1994.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : CULTIVATION; LAND DEGRADATION; POLICY; ECONOMIC ASPECTS; AGRICULTURAL

PRODUCTION; EROSION; WIND EROSION; POLLUTION; LAND USE

Notes : The rural sector in SA is on the verge of great change brought about by

the achievement of a democratic SA. Major structural reforms in the rural area

will be necessary to achieve the overriding political and social objectives of

equity/efficiency and sustainability. This period represents a unique

opportunity to reconsider natural resource policy which has been deficient with

respect to land management and to introduce innovative incentives and

anticipatory programmes. Conversely, there is grave danger of increased land

degradation and a subsequent reliance on costly remedial action, if certain do

not accompany a rural restructuring in SA. This document looks at: land

resources and agricultural production; the land resource and agricultural

sustainability, including measuring resource depletion; annual economic costs of

land degradation; potential costs of degradation and policy options (including

water erosion on arable land, wind erosion on arable land, soil compaction on

arable land, soil compaction, acidity on arable dry land, salinisation and water

logging, reductions in soil fertility through cultivation, soil pollution,

nutrient excesses and loss of agricultural land to non-agricultural uses);

degradation of non-arable lands; off site costs; and sustainable land use

strategy (including guiding principles and a strategic framework).

Ref ID : 1244

1403. McKenzie, J., Weiner, D., and Vink, L. Land use, agricutural productivity

and farming systems in Southern Africa.Anonymous DBSA unpublished report. :1-45,

1988.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : LAND USE; SOUTHERN AFRICA; FARMING SYSTEMS; POLICY

Notes : The purpose of this assingment is to generate information on the

relative productivity and land use intensity of different farming systems within

the various agro-economic zones of Southern Africa. The compilation of this

information intends to: (1) provide information on the distribution and access

to land; (2) provide a sounder base of data for the estimation of comparative

advantage in production across agro-climatic zones and between farming systems

for planning purposes; (3) provide sounder estimations of yields obtainable

under various systems and agro-climatic conditions for project appraisal

purposes; and (4) provide a sounder base of data for the evaluation of

development policies for the various regions and states.

Ref ID : 321

1404. McKenzie, L.A. Silt in South African Rivers. Professional Paper No

16.Anonymous Anonymous Union of South Africa:Irrigation Department. , 1997.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SOIL EROSION; SEDIMENTATION

Ref ID : 199

1405. Mcl Daniel, J.B. Has the South African environment been respected? SA

Geographer 15(1/2):3-11, 1988.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY; LAND DEGRADATION; DESERTIFICATION ASSESSMENT

Notes : In this paper, two statements are put forward for closer examination in

an attempt to reflect the complexity and diversity found amongst the people of

SA: (1) The deterioration of the environment in white-occupied rural areas is a

reflection not so much of human ignorance as ineffective government action; and

(2) The deterioration of the environment in the black-occupied rural areas is a

reflection of the division of the land, boundary changes and the dislocation of

communities.

Ref ID : 466

1406. McPhee, P.J., Smithen, A.A., Venter, C.J., Hartmann, M.O., and Crosby,

C.T. The South African rainfall simulator programme for assessing soil loss and

runoff. Proc Ist National SA Hydrology Symposium.Anonymous Anonymous

Pretoria:Department of Environmental Affairs. Technical Report 119:352-363,

1984. The Swanson rotating-boom simulator is being used to apply two 63mm/h

storms of one hour duration to run-off plots in croplands. Programme objectives

include a first assessment of soil erodibility for the main agricultural soils.

The effect of various levels of crop and mulch cover on soil loss and run-off

has been shown to be dramatic. Run-off from bare soils is twice as great as

run-off from mulched plots. Results for mulch tillage practices in wheat

(Winter Rainfall Region), maize (Western Transvaal and Natal) and pineapples

(East London area) are presented.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : SOIL EROSION; RUNOFF; MODELS; RAINFALL

Ref ID : 1110

1407. Meadows, M. The nature, extent and significance of land degradation in the

mediterranean-climate region of South Africa. Petermanns Geographische

Mitteilungen 1998.(In Press)

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : WESTERN CAPE; FYNBOS; RENOSTERVELD; LAND DEGRADATION; DESERTIFICATION

ASSESSMENT

Ref ID : 67

1408. Meadows, M. and Asmal, O. Chronology, sedimentology and geochemistry of

sediments at Velorenvlei (Western Cape Province, South Africa) as evidence of

anthropogenically induced land degradation. Zeitschrift fur Geomorphologie

Supplementband 117:45-62, 1996.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SOIL EROSION; WESTERN CAPE; SEDIMENTATION; ENVIRONMENTAL HISTORY;

PALAEOENVIRONMENTS

Ref ID : 1108

1409. Meadows, M. and Baxter, A.J. Late quaternary palaeocology of the

southwestern Cape, South Africa: a regional synthesis. Quaternary International

1998.(In Press)

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : PALAEOENVIRONMENTS; WESTERN CAPE; EASTERN CAPE; FOREST

Notes : The vegetation history of the Winterberg escarpment of the eastern Cape

is described for the last 12 500 years by means of pollen analysis of organic

sediments cored from two large vleis. The late Pleistocene was characterised by

conditions cooler and drier than today with more xeric elements evident in the

pollen spectra. Montane forest expanded somewhat in the mid-Holocene from

8000BP as moisture and temperature conditions improved, but never dominated the

escarpment or plateaux in the area. The effects of human activity are noted in

the recent past. Contemporary pollen rain studies support the conclusions from

the fossil analysis.

Ref ID : 467

1410. Meadows, M. and Meades, A. Soil erosion in the Western Cape: did the

dongas linger longer? Paper presented at the First International Geography

Conference "Geography in a Changing Society: Critical Choices for Change in

Southern Africa", University of Durban-Westville, 10-14 July. 1995.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SOIL EROSION; WESTERN CAPE

Ref ID : 514

1411. Meadows, M., Washington, R., Baxter, A., and Wynberg, R. Global warming:

the importance of the past in understanding the future. South African

Geographical Journal 75(2):41-45, 1993.

Reprint : In File,

Keywords : CLIMATE CHANGE; PALAEOENVIRONMENTS; MODELS; CLIMATE; VEGETATION

CHANGE; FYNBOS

Abstract : The current global warming controversy has sparked vigorous research

activity, the ultimate aim of which is to undersand the effects of predicted

climatic changes on both natural and managed ecosystems. In the search for

reliable and appropriate models of ecosystem response, the evidence of climate

and vegetation change from the past has frequently been promoted as a valuable

guide to the future. In this paper the logic of using information from the

geological past is reviewed and it is concluded that the value of such evidence

lies not so much in the provision of palaeoanalogues for future ecosystems, but

in the insights that vegetation history can yield as to the processes

accompanying climatic change. This point is made with reference to the late

Quarternary vegetation history of the mountain fynbos communities in the

Cederberg, SW Cape. Apparently subtle shifts in plant community features during

the late Pleistocene-Holocene transition might, at first sight, support the

contention that fynbos is potentially unresponsive to climatic changes and that

its survival under globally warmed climatic scenarios is therefore assured.

Closer inspection of the fossil pollen evidence, however, reveals some

characteristics of the vegetation history which suggest that, given the

contemporary situation of fragmented, insular natural communities and altered

disturbance conditions, the future of mountain and, more especially, lowland

fynbos communities is indeed severely threatened by climatic change. Mitigatory

measures to ensure the continued survival of the species-rich and

biogeographically unique fynbos biome are presented.

Ref ID : 1109

1412. Meadows, M. and Watkeys, M.J. Historical biogeography and

palaeoenvironments of the Karoo. In: The ecology of the Karoo, edited by Dean,

W.R.J. and Milton, S.J.Cambridge:Cambridge University Press, 1998,

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : PALAEOENVIRONMENTS; NAMA KAROO; SUCCULENT KAROO

Ref ID : 800

1413. Meadows, M.E. The southwestern Cape of South Africa. In: Soil erosion and

land degradation in regions of mediterranean climate. Zeitschrift fur

Geomorphologie, edited by Meadows, M.E. and Sala, M. 1996,-93.

Reprint : Not in File,

Keywords : SOIL EROSION; LAND DEGRADATION; WESTERN CAPE; CONSERVATION; RAINFALL