Addressing the Ecology and Management of Prosopis Species in Eastern Africa
Publisher DOI
Abstract
Prosopis trees have intentionally been introduced to eastern Africa to provide a suite of benefits. The trees have subsequently become invasive, resulting in detrimental impacts on ecosystems and people’s livelihoods. Their management is therefore complex, with no apparent simple solutions being available. Addressing this will require integrated interdisciplinary research approaches involving ecologists, economists and social scientists, as well as close collaboration with the potential end-users of research findings. This book describes how these problems were addressed in a 8-year research initiative, the Woody Weeds project, and a three-year implementation project, the Woody Weeds + project, which sought to integrate findings from different disciplines to scale these up to appropriate spatial resolutions, and to involve potential end-users at all stages. This chapter outlines the intention of the book to draw together scattered studies into a single, open-access volume that should be useful to researchers and managers alike.
The book is in four parts. The first deals with the history, evolution and spread of Prosopis trees in eastern Africa – how the trees arrived and adapted to the new environment, the rate at which they spread, and their current and potential future distribution. The second examines what is known about the ecological, social and economic consequences of Prosopis trees in the region. The third deals with how Prosopis trees can best be managed by outlining both the management techniques themselves and how they could be effectively implemented. The final part addresses how to bridge silos in practice and research by encouraging the broad involvement of all parties and integrating research across disparate disciplines. It is hoped that these accounts will allow readers to gain insights into the complexity of the issue, and in so doing assist them in the formulation of appropriate policy and management responses.
The book is in four parts. The first deals with the history, evolution and spread of Prosopis trees in eastern Africa – how the trees arrived and adapted to the new environment, the rate at which they spread, and their current and potential future distribution. The second examines what is known about the ecological, social and economic consequences of Prosopis trees in the region. The third deals with how Prosopis trees can best be managed by outlining both the management techniques themselves and how they could be effectively implemented. The final part addresses how to bridge silos in practice and research by encouraging the broad involvement of all parties and integrating research across disparate disciplines. It is hoped that these accounts will allow readers to gain insights into the complexity of the issue, and in so doing assist them in the formulation of appropriate policy and management responses.
Date Issued
2025
Publication Type
Book Section
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
van Wilgen, Brian W. | |
Schaffner, Urs | CABI Swiss Centre |
Bekele, Ketema |
Editor(s)
Bekele, Ketema | |
Ehrensperger, Albrecht | |
van Wilgen, Brian W. |
Additional Credits
Publisher
CABI
ISSN
2957-613X
2957-6148
ISBN
9781800623620
Project(s)
Related URL(s)
https://www.cabidigitallibrary.org/doi/book/10.1079/9781800623644.0000
Access(Rights)
open.access