The Great Escarpment of southern Africa: a new frontier for biodiversity exploration
Access Status
Authors
Date
2011Type
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Source Title
ISSN
School
Collection
Abstract
The biodiversity of the 5,000 km-long Great Escarpment of southern Africa is currently poorly known, despite hosting half of the subcontinent’s centres of plant endemism and to have a rich endemic vertebrate fauna, particularly in the north-west and east. A country-based overview of endemism, data deficiencies and conservation challenges is provided, with Angola being the country in most need of Escarpment research and conservation. Given that the Escarpment provides most of the subcontinent’s fresh water, protection and restoration of Escarpment habitat providing such ecological services is urgently required. Key research needs are exhaustive biodiversity surveys, systematic studies to test refugia and migration hypotheses, and the effects of modern climate change. Such research results can then be consolidated into effective conservation planning and co-ordinated international efforts to protect the rich biodiversity of the Escarpment and the ecological services it provides.
Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Kanowski, J.; Catterrall, C.; Wardell-Johnson, Grant (2005)In Australia, as in many countries, there has been a shift in timber production from native forests to plantations. While plantations are primarily considered an efficient means of producing timber, there is increasing ...
-
Catterrall, C.; Kanowski, J.; Lamb, D.; Killin, D.; Erskine, P.; Wardell-Johnson, Grant (2005)During the past two centuries there have been three major paradigm shifts in the management of Australian rainforests and the use of their timbers: from felling native forests towards growing plantations; from viewing ...
-
Brearley, Darren (2003)Continued expansion of the gold and nickel mining industry in Western Australia during recent years has led to disturbance of larger areas and the generation of increasing volumes of waste rock. Mine operators are obligated ...