Landscapes and Landforms of the Horn of Africa

This book focuses on regions for which until now the geomorphology was very poorly studied and relatively unknown. Nevertheless, the landforms and landscapes of the Horn of Africa are highly attractive, diverse and in a few cases unique, since they span very different environments, from highland plateaus and mountains to lowlands (even below sea level) and coastlines with a high degree of diversity and from monsoon to arid climate conditions.
The main topics addressed in the book include the links between the geological evolution and the current large scale geomorphology of the Horn of Africa; the large differences between the highlands and lowlands climate, river hydrology and their variation through time within a climate change perspective. This part of the world was home of the very first hominids. The landscape in which they lived and evolved throughout the Pleistocene is described in comparison with the arid and inhospitable, though immensely scenic, environment of today.
Perennial and ephemeral rivers with very different morphology, processes, and hydrology drain the area, and, in combination with the past and recent uplift, substantially contributed to provide the region with peculiar landscapes and landforms. Long lasting weathering and erosion processes result in a typical inselberg landscape such as the Bur region, or the currently exposed flatland of old peneplain surfaces. Their changes through time, induced by both natural and anthropogenic factors, are addressed by a couple of case studies. Though the region has few inhabitants, they had to struggle to find their livelihood in a land that offers poor resources. This resulted in landscape change and land degradation. Examples of human impact on the landscape are presented at different scales.
This book provides readers interested in geography and geomorphology with essential scientific and educational information on the Landscapes and Landforms of Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia through simple, though scientifically, rigorous texts illustrated with several color maps and photos. One main prerogative of this book is therefore to give an insight into a region of the world where, for geographical and historical constraints, geomorphological investigation was very limited, thus enriching its intrinsic informative value.

Describes a huge variety in physiography and landscapes: from high mountain to lowland below sea level Shows landscape changes through time of a main Homo erectus homeland: from green environments to inhospitable arid lands Includes Horn of Africa's river and coast geomorphology, human impact, land degradation, and sustainable land management

Auteur

Prof. Paolo Billi has been working in the University of Florence and the University of Ferrara in Italy and closed his academic career at the International Platform for Dryland Research and Education of the University of Tottori in Japan. Prof. Billi s main research topics include Fluvial Geomorphology, Sediment Transport and Sediment Yield. He carried out his research activities on rivers in Italy and in the Horn of Africa. He is also editor of the Springer volume on Landscape and Landforms of Ethiopia.

Contenu
Climate variability in the Horn of Africa eastern countries.- Geology and geomorphological landscapes of Eritrea.- Geomorphology of Afar.- Geomorphology of Eritrean river systems.- Pleistocene landscape variability recorded in the Homo-bearing Dandero Basin (Eritrea).- Landscape and landforms of the Samoti plain, Eritrean Danakil.- A review of the forest landscape evolution in Eritrea throughout the last century.- Landscape Change, Land Degradation, and Sustainable Land Management in the Central Highlands of Eritrea.- Land degradation in Eritrea and Djibouti.- Landscape and landforms of northern Somalia.- Inselberg landscape of the Bur Area in southern Somalia.- Fluvial landscape of the Daban basin, northern Somalia.- River hydromorphology and flood hazard in Somalia.- Use of repeat photography to monitor landscape changes and development in Somalia.. Index.