Sunday, January 23, 2005

Around the World in 7 Days: Africa

In Kenya's Lake Nakuru National Park thousands of mammals are once again in trouble, and this time invasive plants are being blamed. According to this story from allAfrica.com, the park is overloaded with non-native invasives as well as native weeds like the camphor bush (Tarconanthus camphoratus). But the real issue may be the need for better park management. There is currently no control plan for the park's grazing mammals, whose populations go through boom cycles that decimate native plant populations and lead to soil erosion and other land disturbance.

Double bonus points to allAfrica.com for using the camphor bush's scientific and Kiswahili name.

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