Southern African Landscapes and Environmental Change

This volume provides a textbook and reference work on the physical and biotic landscapes of Southern Africa. It examines the links between these environments and the ways in which they have been, are and will likely be subject to change. It covers the geomorphology, soils, vegetation and land use across a range of landscapes, including mountains, coasts, savannah, drylands and wetlands, and identifies the impacts of current and potential climate change and other factors on these environments. The geographical focus is on the region defined by Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and Swaziland. Illustrated throughout in full colour, the book will serve as a reference volume for researchers and environmental professionals internationally, as well as a textbook for senior undergraduate and graduate-level students of geography, ecology and environmental studies in Southern Africa.

1. Introduction 2. The Geomorphic Evolution of Southern Africa during the Cenozoic 3. Southern African Soils and their Susceptibility to Degradation 4. Southern African Rivers and Fresh Water Resources within the context of the Anthropocene 5. Southern African Biomes 6. Land Use, Land Cover and Vegetation Change in Southern Africa 7. Fluvial System Response to Environmental Change 8. Southern African drylands and their unique challenges 9. Southern African Montane Environments 10. Savanna Ecosystems of Southern Africa 11. Landscape Dynamics within the Southern African Coastal Zone 12. Agriculture and a Changing Biophysical Environment 13. Monitoring and Assessing Land Degradation: New Approaches 14. Quaternary Environmental Change 15. Conclusion

Peter J. Holmes is a retired professor, and currently Research Fellow, in the Department of Geography, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa. His primary research interest is the geomorphology of semi-arid environments. John Boardman is an Emeritus Professor in the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, UK, where he previously ran the Masters Programme. He is also a Research Fellow at the University of the Free State, South Africa.