Human Dimensions and Conservation

Seine, R.

doi:10.1007/978-3-642-59773-2_23

Cited by 5 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Indications of the intimate connections between early tribal life and inselbergs are provided, for instance, by the rich rock art left by the San people in Southern Africa and the Aboriginal people of Australia. For an extensive review of the cultural aspects of inselbergs and human impact on these habitats see Seine (2000), Burke (2002, 2003) and Bayly (2002a,b), among others. The pools on rocky outcrops were and still are invaluable for the local population as water reservoirs, both for humans and their cattle (Seine, 2000).…”

Section: Cultural Importance Human Impact and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For an extensive review of the cultural aspects of inselbergs and human impact on these habitats see Seine (2000), Burke (2002, 2003) and Bayly (2002a,b), among others. The pools on rocky outcrops were and still are invaluable for the local population as water reservoirs, both for humans and their cattle (Seine, 2000). In Western Australia, for instance, fresh water is scarce and local aborigines therefore intensively used the natural water reservoirs on rocky outcrops as a source of drinking water.…”

Section: Cultural Importance Human Impact and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…They sometimes even enlarged and excavated the rock pools to increase their water storage capacity (Laing & Hauck, 1997). Even today water is still collected from granite outcrops for public use (Twidale, 2000) as is the case for the village of Hyden in Western Australia (Bayly, 1999; Seine, 2000).…”

Section: Cultural Importance Human Impact and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While inselberg vegetation is relatively tolerant of human interference and can easily withstand moderate disturbance (Seine, 2000), terrestrial habitats on many granite rocks are still often compromised by human activities (Main, 1997). Little is known about the sensitivity of rock pool communities to external disturbance, but it seems that the rock pool environment is often pristine.…”

Section: Cultural Importance Human Impact and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Freshwater rock pools: a review of habitat characteristics, faunal diversity and conservation value

2010

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SUMMARY1. In the light of the recent surge of interest in small and often temporary wetlands as model systems for ecological and evolutionary research, this article reviews current knowledge on freshwater rock pools and their fauna. 2. Freshwater rock pools occur all over the globe in all major biomes and depend mainly on precipitation for filling. Rock pool clusters are some of the more persistent and oldest freshwater habitats worldwide. Interactions between climate and geology (e.g. limestone, sandstone, granite) generally determine the morphology and hydrology of rock pool habitats, with hydroperiods ranging from several days up to the whole year. Pool volume is usually small, resulting in strongly fluctuating environmental conditions, low conductivity and wide variations in pH (from 4.0 to 11.0) and temperature (from freezing point to 40°C) often with well-marked diel cycles. The highly variable environmental conditions, combined with the unpredictability of the flooding regime, require high stress tolerance of the inhabitants, with adaptations for surviving the dry phase such as the production of resistant stages and active emigration followed by recolonisation. 3. About 460 aquatic animal species have been recorded from freshwater rock pools around the world. Approximately 170 of these are passive dispersers, which mainly disperse as resting stages via wind and overflow of water between pools. Successful long distance dispersal seems limited. This group is composed mainly of rock pool specialists with a high degree of endemicity. The remaining taxa can be considered active dispersers, with migration usually restricted to the adult stage. Often these taxa are broadly distributed and occur in a wide range of temporary habitats in addition to rock pools. 4. The inherent characteristics of freshwater rock pools, such as their simple structure and occurrence on similar substrata all over the world, facilitate comparison of research results and promote rock pools as model systems for ecological and evolutionary research. Nevertheless, despite their potential as model systems, the unique fauna and their importance as sources of freshwater in dry countries, the ecology of freshwater rock pools remain virtually unexplored in large parts of the world.

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Section: Cultural Importance Human Impact and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cultural Importance Human Impact and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cultural Importance Human Impact and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cultural Importance Human Impact and Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Freshwater rock pools: a review of habitat characteristics, faunal diversity and conservation value

2010

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“…Hence, in tropical rainforest landscapes, inselbergs can be regarded as habitat islands (Whittaker 1998) providing shelter for azonal vegetation types associated with azonal edaphic and climatic conditions. Inselbergs have been used by humans for everyday life and for outstanding religious or profane purposes (Seine 2000). The intensity of these human uses and their consequences on the inselberg fauna and vegetation differ according to the region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shrubby and forest fringe communities of the inselberg - rainforest ecotone in Atlantic Central Africa

Mignaut¹,

Senterre²,

Parmentier

et al. 2010

Plecevo

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Background and aims -Inselbergs are rock outcrops standing out from the surrounding plains. In the rainforest landscape they can be considered as forming "xeric islands". Plants on inselbergs endure very harsh edaphic and microclimatic conditions. The inselberg -rainforest ecotone is characterized by the spatial transition from monocotyledonous mats and grasslands to an herbaceous fringe, a shrubby fringe, a forest fringe and a saxicolous forest. We describe here the plant communities of the shrubby and forest fringes of 25 sites in Southern Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon. We identify their affinities with other inselberg plants communities described in West and Central Africa and evaluate their conservation value. Methods -We used cluster analysis and ordination to classify 191 phytosociological relevés into plant communities, as well as the IndVal method to highlight the character species of each plant community. Key results -A total of 709 vascular plant species and 394 morpho-species were recognized within the 191 plots. The four plant communities recognized correspond to three groups of inselbergs distinct by their geographical location, mean annual rainfall, altitude, rock substrate and the presence of buffaloes. They differ from plant communities described in other habitats in Central Africa and from the rock outcrop and inselberg plant communities described in West Africa. A limited number of species are restricted to the inselberg habitat or endemic to the study area. Conclusions -Inselbergs contribute to the regional biodiversity through (i) the presence of some endemic species restricted to the inselberg habitat and to Atlantic Central Africa, (ii) the presence of species that inside the rainforest zone, can only be found on inselbergs, their main distribution being in the savannas or on mountains at higher elevations and (iii) their unique species assemblages. To preserve the inselberg flora and plant communities in Atlantic Central Africa, several sites and the surrounding rainforest should be protected within each of the three ecogeographical groups identified.

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Inselbergs in a changing world — global trends

Burke¹

2003

Diversity and Distributions

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Abstract. Based on a review of recent literature, this paper puts forward hypotheses for global trends of inselbergs (isolated mountains) with regard to: (a) their bioclimatic position in relation to the surroundings; (b) their potential for providing habitat niches; and (c) human impacts that may influence ecological processes. This review takes a landscape‐level perspective and highlights the challenges ahead in view of changing environmental conditions. Recognizing that inselbergs per se are composed of different microhabitats relative to their surroundings, inselbergs are hypothesized to be bioclimatic ‘islands’ of xeric conditions in a humid matrix in tropical and temperate regions, and ‘islands’ of mesic conditions in arid regions. The bioclimatic status of intermediate positions along this global axis (e.g. semiarid and subtropical savanna regions) is less clear. Here, other environmental variables may be of greater importance (microhabitat composition, size of inselberg, distance to other mountain habitats and biogeographical influences). Whether or not biotic communities match these hypothesized physical and bioclimatic trends warrants investigation and could contribute to explaining global species diversity patterns. Invasion of alien species in tropical and Mediterranean‐climate regions, and altered fire regimes and resource use pose threats to inselberg communities. Their role as sources of native species to recolonize disturbed surroundings is important in degraded semiarid and arid regions. A generalized model is proposed hypothesizing possible processes between inselberg habitats and disturbed areas in their surroundings in different climatic regions. This model may help to direct further research towards substantiating these perceived trends.

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Human Dimensions and Conservation

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Freshwater rock pools: a review of habitat characteristics, faunal diversity and conservation value

Freshwater rock pools: a review of habitat characteristics, faunal diversity and conservation value

Shrubby and forest fringe communities of the inselberg - rainforest ecotone in Atlantic Central Africa

Inselbergs in a changing world — global trends

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