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Rangelands are increasingly being degraded as a result of increased human and livestock populations. The impacts of these anthropogenic pressures are not well understood and their effects on carbon and water fluxes are also scarcely known. This is partly attributed to scarcity of information regarding their locations, spatial extent and degree of intensity. Deriving representations of these variables is complicated by surface heterogeneity as well as the effects of scale. A central objective of this book is to illuminate key aspects of surface heterogeneity that deserve consideration of scales and to highlight scaling approaches relevant to wooded grasslands. Our work is linked to an ongoing effort of establishing an observing system in Upper Ewaso Ngiro River Basin in Laikipia, Kenya. The observatory integrates ecological, hydrological, physiological, meteorological and climatological measurements sampled along the hydro-topographical gradients. Thus, as a second objective, we describe the design of this observing system, elaborating the components of the system and highlighting the significant scale-related issues and how they have been dealt with.
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Mr. Kiama is a researcher working with Kenya Forestry Research Institute. His research interests include quantitative representation of land surface structure and properties and interaction with biophysical processes, and modelling the dynamics of carbon and water balance.
