During the 1970s and 1980s the Sahel, a semi-arid savan- nah between the Sahara Desert and the Guinea moist sa- vannah, experienced severe droughts. The droughts had devastating consequences for this ecologically vulnerable transition region. Since the mid 1980s, however, rainfall and vegetation has largely recovered. The driving forces of the climate variations and the droughts are not fully under - stood. The views range from those blaming human caused land degradation driven by overgrazing and deforestation as the underlying forces, to those emphasizing the global climate system driven by annual to decadal changes in sea surface temperatures. The future of the Sahel ecosystem and the livelihoods of the farmers and herders depend on both the climate, and the ecosystem services that can be sustained by the soil and vegetation. Knowledge about both soil and vegetation processes and future climate is needed in combating land degradation in the Sahel, and for proper planning of agricultural and eco- nomic development. This atlas aims to illustrate a rigorous scientific basis for understanding processes of landscape change in the Sahel.
Año de publicación
2012
Autores
Idioma
English
Palabras clave
ecology, landscape, soil, vegetation
Geográfico
Mali, Mauritania, Senegal
