STM Article Repository

The theoretical worth of a contingencies framework in dynamic savanna systems is discussed in this study, with the goal of facilitating the adaption of previous studies of savanna landscape change in limited human-interaction settings to those that more realistically present the socio-ecological context of southern Africa’s savannas. Landscape changes and the processes that drive them have been an important part of savanna study and management efforts. In response to both anthropogenic and climatic shifts, these dynamics have an impact on human populations, animals, carbon storage, and overall spatio-temporal dynamism. Landscapes can be simplified as produced by flows of energy and matter that are historically and spatially contingent. In addition, observation of these contingencies is scale-dependent. By separating their distinct geographical, temporal, and organisational contingencies, both biophysical and human agents of change can be identified. However, we suggest that a large section of savanna research has either treated humans as exogenous (e.g., through establishing regional or larger policies) or as spatially and temporally separated from the system (e.g., as in many protected areas with limited current human habitation).