C4 EcoSolutions' Publications

Authors from the C4 EcoSolutions' team are in bold below:

Mills, A.J., Cowling, R.M., Steyn, D., Spekreijse, J., Van den Broeck, D., Weel, S., Boogerd, C. 2011. Portulacaria afra is constrained under extreme soil conditions in the Fish River Reserve, Eastern Cape, South Africa. South African Journal of Botany. 77: 782-786.

Kaseke, K.F., Mills, A.J., Henschel, J., Seely, M.K., Esler, K. & Brown, R. 2011. The effects of desert pavements (gravel mulch) on soil micro-hydrology. Pure & Applied Geophysics. 19 July 2011: 1-8.

Hardwick, K.P., Fiedler, P., Lee, L.C., Pavlik, B., Hobbs, R., Aronson, J., Bidartondo, M., Black, E., Coates, D., Dawes, M., Dixon, K., Elliot, S., Ewing, K., Gann, G., Gibbons, D., Gratzfeld, J., Hamilton, M., Hardman, D., Harris, J., Holmes, P., Mabberley, D., Mackenzie, A., Magdalena, C., Marrs, R., Mills, A., Lughada, E., Ramsay, M., Smith, P., Taylor, N., Trivedi, C., Way, M., Whaley, O., Hopper, S. 2011. Defining the role of Botanic Gardens in the science and practice of ecological restoration. Conservation Biology. 25 (2): 265-275.

Cowling, R.M. & Mills, A.J. 2011. A preliminary assessment of rain throughfall beneath Portulacaria afra canopy in subtropical thicket and its implications for soil carbon stocks. South African Journal of Botany. 77: 236-240.

Zedda, L., Grongroft, A., Schultz, M., Petersen, A., Mills, A.J., Rambold, G. 2011. Distribution patterns of soil lichens across the principal biomes of souther Africa. Journal of Arid Environments. 75: 215-220.

Mills, A.J., Fey, M., Kgope, B., Donaldson, J. & Bosenberg, J de W. 2011. Detecting the onset of rangeland degradation using soil respiration and boundary lines: Preliminary findings from the Nama Karoo. African Journal of Range & Forage Science. 28: 87-92.

Gbetibouo, G.A. 2011. Vulnerability and adaptation of farming to climate change in South Africa. PhD. Thesis, Faculty of Natural & Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.

Hockey, P.A.R., Sirami, C., Ridley, A.R., Salata, H.A.B., Midgley, G.F. 2011. Do short-term range changes of South African birds conform to medium-term predictions based on Bioclimatic Envelope Models? Diversity and Distributions. 17: 254-261.

Sirami, C., Brotons,L., Martin, J.L. 2011. Woodlark's (Lullula arborea) response to landscape heterogeneity created by land abandonment. Bird Study. 58: 99-106.

Fahrig, L., Baudry, J., Brotons, L., Burel, F.G., Crist, T.O., Fuller, R.J., Sirami C. et al. 2011. Functional landscape heterogeneity and animal biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Ecology Letters. 14: 100-111.

Medinski, T.V., Mills, A.J., Esler, K.J., Schmiedel, U. & Jurgens, N. 2010. Do soil properties constrain species richness? Insights from boundary line analysis across several biomes in south western Africa. Journal of Arid Environments. 74: 1052-1060.

Stephenson, J.D., Mills, A., Eksteen, J.J., Milewski, A.V. & Myburgh, J.G. 2010. Geochemistry of mineral licks at Loskop Dam Nature Reserve, Mpumalanga, South Africa. Environmental Geochemistry and Health. 33 (1): 49-53.

Mills, A.J. & Cowling, R.M. 2010. Below-ground carbon stocks in intact and transformed subtropical thicket landscapes in semi-arid South Africa. Journal of Arid Environments 74: 93-100.

Milewski, A.V & Mills, A.J. 2010. Does life consistently maximise energy intensity? Biological reviews 85: 859-879.

Gbetibouo, G.A., Hassan, R.M. & Ringler, C. 2010. South African farming sector vulnerability to climate change and variability: An indicator approach. Natural Resources Forum 34: 175-187.

Gbetibouo, G.A., Hassan, R.M., & Ringler, C. 2010. Modelling farmers’ adaptations strategies to climate change and variability, the case of the Limpopo Basin, South Africa. Agrekon 49 (2): 217-234.

Sirami, C., Nespoulous, A., Cheylan, J.P., Marty, P., Hyenegaard, G.T., Martin, J.L. 2010. Long-term social and ecological dynamics of a Mediterranean landscape: impacts on biodiversity. Landscapes and Urban Planning. 96: 214-223.

Amparo Caula, S., Sirami, C., Marty, P., Martin, J.L. 2010. Value of a Mediterranean urban habitat for the native avifauna. Urban Ecosystems. 13: 73-89.

Mills, A.J., Fey, M.V., Donaldson, J., Todd, S & Theron, L. 2009. Soil infiltrability as a driver of plant cover and species richness in the semi-arid Karoo, South Africa. Plant & Soil 320: 321-332.

Mills, A.J., Milewski, A., Fey, M.V., Groengroeft, A. & Peterson, A. 2009. Fungus culturing, nutrient mining and geophagy: A geochemical investigation of Macrotermes and Trinervitermes mounds in Southern Africa. Journal of Zoology 278: 24-35.

Medinksi, T.V., Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2009. Relationships between soil particle size fractions and infiltrability. South African Journal of Plant & Soil 26: 147-156.

Sako, A., Mills, A.J. & Roychoudhury, A.N. 2009. Rare earth and trace element geochemistry of termite mounds in central and north-eastern Namibia: Mechanisms for micro-nutrient accumulation. Geoderma. 153: 217-230.

Medinksi, T.V., Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2009. Infiltrability in soils from south-western Africa: Effects of texture, electrical conductivity and exchangeable sodium percentage. South African Journal of Plant & Soil 26: 157-163.

Sigwela, A., Cowling, R., Kerley, G., & Mills, A.J. 2009. The impact of browsing-induced degradation on the reproduction of subtropical thicket canopy shrubs and trees. South African Journal of Botany 75: 262-267.

Fox, S.C., Mills, A.J. & Poch, R.M. 2009. Micromorphology of surface crusts in the Knersvlakte, South Africa. Journal of Mountain Science 6: 189-196.

Bryan, E., Deressa, T.T.,Gbetibouo, G.A. & Ringler, C. 2009. Adaptation to Climate Change in Ethiopia and South Africa: Options and Constraints. Environmental Science & Policy 12: 413-426.

Sirami, C., Seymour, C., Midgley, G., Barnard, P. 2009. The impact of shrub encroachment on savanna bird diversity from local to regional scale. Diversity and Distributions. 15: 948-957.

Sirami, C., Brotons, L., Martin, J.L. 2009. Do bird spatial distribution patterns reflect population trends in changing landscapes? Landscape Ecology. 24: 893-906.

Brown, R., Mills, A. & Jack, C. 2008. Non-rainfall moisture inputs in the Knersvlakte: Methodology and preliminary findings. Water SA 34: 275-278.

Lechmere-Oertel, R.G., Kerley, G.I.H., Mills, A.J. & Cowling, R.M. 2008. Litter dynamics across browsing-induced fence-line contrasts in succulent thicket, South Africa. South African Journal of Botany 74: 651–659.

Sirami, C., Brotons, L., Martin, J.L. 2008. Spatial extent of bird species response to landscape changes: colonisation/extinction dynamics at the community-level in two contrasting habitats. Ecography. 31: 509-518.

Sirami, C., Brotons, L., Burfield, I., Fonderflick, J., Martin, J.L. 2008. Is land abandonment having an impact on biodiversity? A meta-analytical approach to bird distribution changes in the north-western Mediterranean. Biological Conservation. 141: 450-459.

Sirami, C., Jay-Robert, P., Brustel, H., Valladares, L., Le Guilloux, S., Martin, J.L. 2008. Saproxylic beetle assemblages of old Holm-oak trees in the Mediterranean region: role of a keystone structure in a changing heterogeneous landscape. Revue d'Ecologie. 10: 101-114.

Gonzalo-Turpin, H., Sirami, C., Brotons, L., Gonzalo, L., Martin, J.L. 2008. Teasing out biological effects and sampling artefacts when using occupancy rate in monitoring programs. Journal of Field Ornithology. 79: 159-169.

Mills, A.J. & Milewski, A.V. 2007. Geophagy and micronutrient supplementation in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, with particular reference to selenium, cobalt, and molybdenum. Journal of Zoology. 271: 110-118.

Mills, A.J., Turpie, J., Cowling, R.M., Marais, C., Kerley, G.I.H., Lechmere-Oertel, R.G., Sigwela, A.M. & Powell, M. 2007. Assessing costs, benefits and feasibility of subtropical thicket restoration in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. In Restoring Natural Capital, S. Milton & J. Aronson (eds), Island Press, Washington DC. Pages: 179-187.

Fey, M.V., Francis, M.L., Prinsloo, H.P., Ellis, F., Mills, A.J., de Clercq, W.P., Sinjan, E. & Medinski, T.V. 2007. Soils of Namaqualand: Compensations for aridity. Journal of Arid Environments 70: 588-603.

Milton, S.J., Dean, W.R.J., O’Connor, T.G. & Mills, A.J. 2007. Scaling up from site-based research to a national research and monitoring network: Lessons from Tierberg Karoo Research Centre and other design considerations. South African Journal of Science 103: 311–317.

Turpie, J.K., O'Connor, T.G., Mills, A.J. & Robertson, H. 2007. The ecological and economic consequences of changing land use in the southern Drakensberg grasslands. South African Journal of Economic & Management Sciences. 10: 423-441.

Sirami, C., Brotons, L., Martin, J.L. 2007. Vegetation and songbird response to land abandonment: from landscape to census-plot. Diversity and Distributions. 13: 42-52.

Mills, A.J., Fey, M.V., Grongroft, A., Petersen, A. & Medinski, T.V. 2006. Unravelling the effects of soil properties on water infiltration: segmented quantile regression on a large data set from arid Southwest Africa. Australian Journal of Soil Research. 44: 783-797.

Mills, A.J. 2006. The role of salinity and sodicity in the dieback of Acacia xanthophloea in Ngorongoro Caldera, Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology. 44: 61-71.

Mills, A.J., Morkel, P., Amiyo, A., Runyoro, V., Borner, M. & Thirgood, S. 2006. Managing small populations in practice: Black rhino in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania. Oryx. 40: 319-323.

Mills, A.J., Rogers, K.H., Stalmans, M. & Witkowski, E.T.F. 2006. A framework for the scaled exploration of the determinants of savanna and grassland distribution: A challenge for the new generation of ecologists. Bioscience. 56: 579-589.

Mills, A.J., & Cowling, R.M. 2006. Rate of carbon sequestration at two thicket restoration sites in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Restoration Ecology. 14: 38-49.

Fey, M.V., Mills, A.J. & Yaalon, D.H. 2006. The alternative meaning of pedoderm and its use for soil surface characterisation. Geoderma. 133: 474-477.

Kurukulasuriya, P.,  Mendelsohn, R., Hassan, R., Benhin, J., Diop, M., Eid, H.M., Fosu, K.Y., Gbetibouo, G.A., Jain, S., Mahamadou, A., El-Marsafawy, S., Ouda, S., Ouedraogo, M., Sène, I., Seo, N., Maddison, D. & Dinar, A. 2006. Will African agriculture survive climate change? World Bank Economic Review 20(3): 367-388.

Gbetibouo, G.A. 2006. Report on South Africa National Stakeholders forum on: Vulnerability and Adaptive capacity to climate change in rural South Africa. A research report submitted to International Food Policy Research Institute under “Food and Water Security under Global Change: Developing Adaptive Capacity with a Focus on Rural Africa project.

Nhemachena, C., Benhin, J. & Gbetibouo, G.A. 2006. Vulnerability to climate change and adaptive capacity in South African agriculture. Research paper submitted to the International Food Policy Research Institute Seminar. Food and Water Security under: Food and Water Security under Global Change: Developing Adaptive Capacity with a Focus on Rural Africa project.

Mills, A.J., O’Connor, T.G., Donaldson, J.S., Fey, M.V., Skowno, A.L., Sigwela, A.M., Lechmere-Oertel, R.G., Bosenberg, J.D. 2005. Ecosystem carbon storage under different land uses in three semi-arid shrublands and a mesic grassland in South Africa. South African Journal of Plant & Soil 22: 183-190.

Mills, A.J., Cowling, R.M., Fey, M.V., Kerley, G.I.H., Donaldson, J.S., Lechmere-Oertel, R.G., Sigwela, A.M., Skowno, A.L. & Rundel, P. 2005. Effects of goat pastoralism on ecosystem carbon storage in semi-arid thicket, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Austral Ecology 30: 797-804.

Mills, A.J., Fey, M.V. & Johnson, C.E. 2005. Ionic strength as a measure of sulphate salinity stress: Effects of sodium sulphate, sodium chloride and manganese sulphate on kikuyu (Pennisetum clandestinum) growth and ion uptake. South African Journal of Plant & Soil 21: 209-213.

Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2005. Interactive response of herbivores, soils and vegetation to annual burning in a South African savanna. Austral Ecology 30: 435-444.

Gbetibouo, G.A., & Hassan, R.M. 2005. Measuring the economic impact of climate change on major South African field crops: A Ricardian approach. Global & Planetary Change 47: 143- 152.

Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2004. Soil carbon and nitrogen in five contrasting biomes of South Africa. South African Journal of Plant & Soil 21: 94-103.

Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2004. Transformation of thicket to savanna reduces soil quality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Plant & Soil 265: 153-163.

Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2004. Effects of vegetation cover on the tendency of soil to crust in South Africa. Soil Use & Management 20: 308-317.

Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2004. A simple laboratory infiltration method for measuring the tendency of soils to crust. Soil Use & Management 20: 8-12.

Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2004. Frequent fires intensify soil crusting: Physicochemical feedback in the pedoderm of long-term burn experiments in South Africa. Geoderma 121: 45-64.

O’Connor, T.G., Uys, R.G. & Mills, A.J. 2004. Ecological effects of firebreaks in the montane grasslands of the southern Drakensberg, South Africa. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 21: 1-10.

Benhin, J.K. & Gbetibouo, G.A. 2004. Climate, water and agriculture: Impacts on and adaptation of agro-ecological systems in Africa: Case study of South Africa. Interim report submitted to the Centre of Environmental Economics and Policy in Africa under the Global Environmental Facility funded Project.

Gbetibouo, G.A. 2004. Economic impact of climate change on major South African field crops: A Ricardian Approach. MSc. Thesis, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, University of Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.

Mills, A.J. & Fey, M.V. 2003. Declining soil quality in South Africa: Effects of land use on soil organic matter and surface crusting. South African Journal of Science 99: 429-436.

Mills A.J. 2003. Reciprocal relationships between vegetation structure and soil properties in selected biomes of South Africa. PhD thesis, University of Stellenbosch, Stellenbosch.

Fey, M.V., O’Brien, R.D. & Mills, A.J. 2002. Rehabilitation of waste rock and overburden dumps. Encyclopedia of Soil Science. Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York.

Froneman, P.W., Ansorge, I.J.,Vumazonke, L., Gulekana, K., Webb, A.M., Leukes, W., Risien, C.M., Thomalla, S., Bernard, K.S., Hermes, J., Knott, M., Anderson, D., Hargey, N., Jennings, M.E., Veitch, J., Lutjeharms, J.R.E.,& McQuaid, C.D. 2002. Physical & biological variability in the Antartic Polar Frontal Zone: Report on the research cruise 103 of the M.V.S.A. Agulhas. South African Journal of Science 98: 534-536.

Gbetibouo, G.A. 2000. Impact du microcrédit dans l’amélioration des conditions de vie des femmes: Cas de la mutuelle de crédit MUCREFAB et du projet de Développement AFPA. DAA. Thesis, Ecole Supérieure d’Agronomie, Institut National Polytechnique Félix Houphouët Boigny, Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.

Mills, A.J. 1996. The ecology of land degradation with special reference to the resilience of African semi-arid rangelands to domestic livestock grazing pressure. MPhil thesis, University of Cambridge, Cambridge.

Mills, A.J. 1995. Response of kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandestinum) to irrigation with saline, sodic wastes and nitrogenous, manganiferous effluent. MSc thesis, University of Cape Town, Cape Town.

Papers delivered at conferences  

Gbetibouo, G.A., Hassan, R. & Ringler, C. 2010. Farmers’ perceptions of climate change and variability: Implications for adaptations in the Limpopo Basin South Africa. A paper presented at the International Colloquium ‘Adaptation to climate change: Strategies for exchange and sharing of information for the benefit of communities’, Dakar, Senegal, 6-8 July 2010.

Gbetibouo, G.A. & Ringler, C. 2009. Mapping South African farming sector vulnerability to climate change and variability: A Sub-national Level Assessment. IFPRI Discussion Paper 00885, Washington, D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Gbetibouo, G.A. & Ringler, C. 2009. Mapping South African farming sector vulnerability to climate change and variability: A Sub-national Level Assessment. IFPRI Research Brief 15-3, Washington, D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Gbetibouo, G.A. 2009. Understanding farmers’ perceptions and adaptations to climate change and variability: The case of the Limpopo Basin, South Africa. IFPRI Discussion Paper 00849, Washington, D.C: International Food Policy Research Institute.

Gbetibouo, G.A. & Ringler, C. 2009. Mapping the South African farming sector’s vulnerability to climate change and variability. A paper presented at the 2009 Amsterdam Conference on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change ‘Earth System Governance: People, Places and the Planet’, Theme: Adaptiveness of Earth System Governance, 2-4 December 2009.

Gbetibouo, G.A. 2008. Understanding farmers’ perceptions and adaptations to climate change and variability: The case of the Limpopo Basin, South Africa. IFPRI Research Brief 15-8. Washington, D.C.

Jennings, M.E., Froneman, P.W. & Scherman, P.A. 2007. Moyeni development surface water impact assessment. Poster – International Association of Impact Assessment: South Africa regional conference.

Mills, A.J., Fey, M.V. & Medinski, T.V. 2006. Identifying pedodermal soil properties that limit rainwater infiltration: A new approach in arid south-west Africa. Soil Science Society of South Africa Congress, Durban, South Africa, 23-27 January.

Jennings, M.E., Froneman, P.W. & Waldron, H. 2005. Delivery of macro-nutrients to the sea from two altered South African estuaries. Land Ocean Interaction in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) II Inaugural Open Science Meeting, Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands.

Jennings, M.E., Froneman, P.W. & Waldron, H. 2005. Delivery of macro-nutrients to the sea from two altered South African estuaries. Poster presentation – 12^th South African Marine Science Symposium (SAMSS).

Mills, A.J. 2004. Tendency to crust as an indicator of soil quality in South Africa. Eurosoil International Soil Science Congress, Freiburg, Germany, 4-12 September.

Mills, A.J. 2003. Frequent fires intensify soil crusting: Results from long-term experiments in South Africa. Golden Jubilee Congress of the Soil Science Society of South Africa, University of Stellenbosch, 20-23 January.

Mills, A.J. 2003. Declining soil quality in South Africa: Soil carbon and crusting. A celebratory review paper for the Golden Jubilee Congress of the Soil Science Society of South Africa, University of Stellenbosch, 20-23 January.

Mills, A.J., O’Connor, T.G., Skowno, A., Bosenberg, D.W., Donaldson, J., Lechmere-Oertel, R., Fey, M.V., & Sigwela, A. 2003. Farming for carbon credits: Implications for land use decisions in South African rangelands. African Journal of Range & Forage Science 20(2) Proceedings of the VII International Rangelands Congress, Durban, South Africa, 26 July-1 August.

Ansorge, I.J., Thomalla, S., Gulekana, K., Hermes, J., Risien, C.M., Webb, A.M., Anderson, D., Hargey, N., Jennings, M.E., Veitch, J. & Waldron, H. 2002. Macro-nutrient variability around a cold-cored feature upstream of the Prince Edward Islands (Southern Ocean). Poster presentation – 11^th South African Marine Science Symposium (SAMSS), Swakopmond, Namibia.

Mills, A.J. 2002. Farming with goats alters vegetation, reduces carbon stocks and increases the tendency of soils to crust in Xeric Succulent Thicket of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Proceedings of the VIII International Congress of Ecology, Seoul, South Korea, 11-18 August.

Mills, A.J. 2001. The effect of fire on water infiltration and nutrient availability in the Kruger National Park. A paper presented at workshops at the Long Term Ecological Research sites in Sevilleta, New Mexico and Konza Prairie, Kansas, USA, 13-24 May.

Mills, A.J. 2000. The effect of fire on water infiltration and nutrient availability in African savannas: Implications for managing ecosystem recovery. Remade Lands International Conference. Perth, Western Australia, 30 November-2 December.

Mills, A.J. 2000. Fire and soil crusting in African savannas. 11th International Soil Conservation Organisation Conference: Land Conservation and Food Production in the Third Millennium. Buenos Aires, Argentina, 22-27 October.