Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Overview:
The African Savanna is a 5 million square mile tropical grassland that occupies almost half of Africa. Some of the major places that this Savanna covers include Congo, South Africa, Nigeria, Liberia, Uganda, Kenya and Niger River. The African Savanna attracts many or its open landscape as well as thriving wild life, homing numerous species of mammal, birds and plants as well as the famous Serengeti national park.
Historical state:
African Savanna
has a wet-dry tropical climate similar to that of Wisconsin, with 7 month of
dry season (4 inch of rain/month) from October to March while 5 moth of rainy
season from May to November (5-25inch of rain/month). Grasses and grass life
plant make up the majority of the plantation while trees make up only a small
5%. This can be attributed to African Savanna’s wet-dry tropical climate (7
month of dry season from October to March and 5 month of rainy season from May
to November. During dry seasons there is only 4 inch of rain per month, which
creates water stress for trees while the grasses remain dormant. The Savanna
holds a large variety of wildlife such as lions, cheetahs, African wildcat,
zebras, giraffes and elephants, historically consisting of 45 species of mammal,
almost 500 species of birds and also the largest diversity of hoofed animals in
the world. The land has remained unchanged for thousand of years until it was threatened
by human activities.
Human impact:
Good:
Tourism brings a positive impact to the ecosystem. Money
from tourism not only brings fund to maintain the reserve but also raises
awareness from the government and African communities to conserve the savanna
because they can only attract tourism by maintaining the natural landscape and
wildlife. Since the 1920s, the government has made laws to protect the
Serengeti and later established this area as a National Park in 1951.
Human activities generate air pollution as they
produce smoke and exhaust fumes. This releases CO2 into the air, making it
increasingly harder to the animals to breathe. It also increases the
temperature of biome, turning the savanna into a desert-like biome which many
plants and animals are not adapted to.
Furthermore, the introduction of large factories
with low regulation creates many chemical wastes that leek into the water
system. Water is crucial to the survival of animal and plants. This will
disrupt the balance of the ecosystem.
Ugly:
Humans have damaged the ecosystem as they settled
in. When Europeans first settled in Africa, the animal population has
disappeared by 1000s with every 100 increase in the human population. Humans
have mined salt, coal and oil wells from the savanna. Humans have been
transforming the natural landscape into agricultural land and for cattle
raising. The popular agriculture practice is monoculture cropping which exhausts
the soil of the Savanna. Large areas of the savanna in the South Africa have to
been used for soybean cultivation. Over glazing has taken not only taken
territory from wild animals but also depleted the land of water and grass for
indigenous animals to feed on.
Another human practice that harms the ecosystem
severely is hunting. This has driven many animal species to become extinct or
endangered. Many mega faunas and large carnivores have been hunted ceaselessly
for meat, fur and special animals parts and sold into black markets. 40,000
animal are killed annually illegally in the park. This practice has harmed the
ecological balance of the African Savanna greatly through killing key native
animals. When a critical member of the ecosystem disappears and no other animal
can fill its niches, the ecosystem will change and impact the remaining animal
and plants negatively.
Future prospect:
Considering the damages that the people have
brought upon this ecosystem, it can be concluded that African savanna is
relatively delicate. Human activities including hunting, agriculture practice,
mining and water and air pollution have altered the ecosystem of the savanna
significantly. To make matters worse, human population in Africa seems to be
increasing at an accelerating rate, destroying more unoccupied area of an
increasing rate. 
Humans have permanently changed a total of 60-80%
of South Africa’s grassland to the extent that it’s impossible to restore. Yet
parts of the Savanna that are established as National Parks are well protected
and preserved, especially popular tourist areas. Regulations and laws monitor
these areas from harmful human activities. Local and national authorities
should implement laws to stop human from eroding the remaining areas of land.
More undeveloped land should be established as national parks and those that
are already developed by humans should be developed more sustainably to let the
Africa savanna remain its natural features.
Improvements:
The most effective way to preserve the African
Savanna is to let the local governments shift the focus of economical
development of tourism rather than resource extraction. Parts of the savanna
that are well maintained are established national parks by the South African
National Park organization, especially the Serengeti National Park. These parks
are established not only to preserve the ecosystem but simply because the
economic value of tourism is very significant. In 1996 tourism has earned South
Africa 7500 million R and has became the fastest growing industry of the
country since then. The data bellow shows in the number of international tourism
of Central African Republic from 1996 to 2012, which has increased
significantly due to attraction of the African Savanna. The economic value
raises awareness for local governments on the value of the national asset.
Additionally, more environmental friendly and sustainable methods should be
used. Humans should also be convinced to stop purchasing illegal goods from
hunted wildlife. These efforts combined will help to keep preserve the fragile
African Savanna and keep its wonder alive.
Citations:
African_savanna.htm."
African_savanna.htm. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/african_savanna.htm>.
"Africa's
Shrinking Savannas." Africa's Shrinking Savannas. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov.
2012.
<http://www.ibiblio.org/london/agriculture/forums/sustainable-agriculture2/msg00402.html>.
Cole, M. M. The
Savannas: Biogeography and Geobotany. New York: Academic Press, 1986.
"Human
Impact - African Savanna- Serengeti Plains." Human Impact - African
Savanna- Serengeti Plains. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.
<http://5savanna.weebly.com/human-impact.html>.
"Human
Impact - African Savanna- Serengeti Plains." Human Impact - African
Savanna- Serengeti Plains. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.
<http://5savanna.weebly.com/human-impact.html>.
N.p., n.d. Web.
28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.planetpatrol.info/savannah.html>.
"Who Needs
Grasslands." Who Needs Grasslands. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.sawac.co.za/articles/whoneeds.htm>.
Images:
exploringnature.org
ultimateungulate.com
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/central-african-republic/international-tourism-number-of-arrivals-wb-data.html
biomea.wikispaces.com
worldofstock.com
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