The Physical Geography Of Africa (Oxford Regional Environments) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0198234066 ISBN 13: 9780198234067

Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A., 1999

Synopsis

This is an advanced, full length, physical geography of Africa, written by a distinguished international team of scholars. The first group of chapters identify pan-African patterns in the physical environment and those physical attributes that are distinctive to Africa. In the second group of chapters topics such as geomorphology, biogeography, environmental change and hydrology are considered within the context of the major biomes. The final chapters explore topical issues such as soil erosion, desertification, biodiversification and depletion, and conservation and development.

About this title

Review:

This is a particularly useful text for anyone with a serious interest in Africa ... This book ... makes a significant contribution to the literature on Africa and is much welcomed. (Times Higher Education Supplement)

The text is very well produced and illustrated with black and white photographs that are sharply defined, and maps and diagrams that are generally clear and comprehensible ... undoubtedly an important compilation of current information and thinking about the physical environment of Africa ... it is essential reading for all those with an interest in the African environment ... It is a book that all students with an interest in Africa should have the opportunity to read. (David Robinson, The Geographical Journal, Volume 163, Part 1, March 1997)

Synopsis:

An international team of distinguished scholars have each contributed a chapter to produce an advanced, full length, physical geography of Africa. The first part provides an overview of both pan-Africa patterns in the physical environment and those attributes of African physical geography that are distinctive by considering the development of the main features through time. The authors also provide a synoptic review of Francophone and Anglophone literature on the subject, discuss the present state of knowledge, and set out the work and methods that have created it. This part is followed by a group of chapters that integrate such topics as geomorphology, biogeography, environmental change and hydrology within each of the major biomes - forest, savannah, desert, coast, wetland, mountain, Mediterranean and Rift Valley - found in the African continent. Finally there is a section in which various authors look at topical issues concerned with the impact of human activity on the environment. Conservation and development are considered in the light of issues such as soil erosion, desertification, and biodiversity and biodepletion.

The authors have produced this integrated physical geography in honour of A.T. Grove as a durable reference work which gives a new perspective on the continent of Africa.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press, U.S.A.
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0198234066
• ISBN 13: 9780198234067
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 452
• Editor: Adams William