Postgraduate research students

Title: Changing land use over the Holoce: Southern Africa.

Changes in land use are recognised as primary drivers of biodiversity loss and climate change, making it crucial to study how land use has evolved. While early discussions on climate change centered on the impacts of industrialisation, there's growing acknowledgement that even earlier changes in land use patterns had considerable impacts on global climate systems. Recent research shows that the expansion of agriculture in prehistoric times, long before the Industrial Revolution, significantly contributed to greenhouse gas emissions and changes in global climate dynamics. Studying past land-use systems is therefore important in addressing modern global challenges, including food insecurity and climate adaptation

My project conducts a regional analysis of land use systems across southern Africa's dry regions from 10000 BCE to 1500 CE, combining archaeological data, expert knowledge with computational modeling. Synthesizing existing archaeological and environmental datasets to systematically quantify landscape transformations initiated by early land use practices in the region. By reconstructing ancient dryland agricultural practices, my research provides empirical insights into long-term human-environment interactions, resilience strategies, and the ecological consequences of early anthropogenic activities. Results will inform the AGRI-DRY  initiative's objectives to integrate indigenous ecological knowledge with contemporary climate resilience strategies for dryland ecosystems.

• Professor Nicki Whitehouse

External supervisors

Dr J. O’Driscoll (University of Glasgow)

Professor A. Ordonez (Aarhus Univeristy)