The wild fauna in Africa is a renewable resource and its overexploitation has led to the depletion of animal populations. This thesis focusses on the ecological characterization of the ungulate community of the West African savanna, with special reference to the Biosphere Reserve 'Boucle du Baoulé' in Mali, and makes a contribution to the ecologica...
This thesis has as its main theme the coexistence of wildlife and livestock in East African savannas. First however, the group size of native herbivore species was related to their body mass, feeding style, habitat choice and density. Body mass explained most variation in group size because of its relation to food requirements and how different siz...
This study focuses on scale dependency, both temporal and spatial, of vegetation changes. At different spatial levels, starting from the level of the individual plant, via patch or stand, plant community, and, finally, at the level of ecosystems, the changes in the vegetation of an East African savanna in the Rift Valley are related to the time spa...
This thesis investigates the effects of fire on quality and quantity of forage for grazers in the savannas of East Africa where fire has been used as a tool in pasture management for centuries. Hereby the mechanisms that cause the effects, as well as the manner in which the effects are influenced by abiotic conditions, are also discussed. Generally...
Since colonial times the crop livestock integration concept has been a leading development model in francophone West Africa. So far, it has failed in certain aspects, such as cultivation of fodder crops, intensification of cereal production through animal traction, and sedentarisation of mobile livestock keepers. Three major flaws in the concept ha...
Keywords: Rangelands, Semi-arid areas, stable isotopes, Acacia, C 4- grasses, plant nutrients, soil nutrients, soil water, plant water relationsSavanna trees can either increase or decrease the productivity of understorey grasses. Trees reduce grass growth through competition for nutrients, water and light and can facilitate grass production throug...
Next to stochastic processes more deterministic processes play a role on tree-grass ratios. By spatial modeling the processes are examined; and a fire distribution model is tested to evaluate the modeling of savanna pattern forming properties
Key words: herbivory; functional response; grazing; food intake; food quality; selectivity; cattle; savanna The functional response, defined as the relationship of forage intake with forage availability, is the principal link between a forager and a forage resource, and as such connects the trophic levels of consumers and producers. This thesis dea...
Forest-Woodland-Savanna (FWS) mosaics are complex, highly varied and dynamic landscapes.Until recently, they were considered poor in terms of biodiversity. Consequently, only few scientific studies have been done on them and little attention has been paid to their conservation. The aim of this study was, therefore, to assess the spatial and tempora...
