Description of the savanna ecosystem project, Nylsvley, South Africa

Abstract

The savanna ecosystem project being undertaken at Nylsvley in the northern Transvaal is an attempt to improve our ability to predict events within the savanna grazing lands of southern Africa, in particular to predict the consequences of management practices. These savannas stretch in a broad belt across southern Africa and have been greatly affected by increasing exploitation during the past hundred years. Increases in useful productivity have been accompanied by such problems as bush encroachment, loss of species diversity, soil erosion and the spread of desert vegetation. Considerable advances in knowledge will be required if these problems are to be overcome and if rational management strategies are to be developed.