Does shrub encroachment reduce foraging grass abundance through plant-plant competition in Lesotho mountain rangelands?

Shrub encroachment is understood to be an important problem facing rangeland ecosystems globally. The phenomenon is still poorly understood both in regard to its impacts (e.g., on diversity, productivity, and soil properties) and its causes. We study the impacts and causes of dwarf shrub encroachment in the highlands of Lesotho. There, shrubs have been described as indicators of generalized land degradation and soil erosion. Surprisingly, our findings show that grass abundance is not reduced by shrub abundance, but that forb abundance does decrease with shrub abundance. We suggest that not enough research has been done to examine the role of forbs in livestock diets, nor in assessing its role in plant-plant competition in grass-shrub systems. Equating shrub presence with declines in available forage may be hasty, as according to our results, grasses were not decreased by shrub expansion in this context; however, forbs are critical components of livestock diets. We propose that the role of forbs in this system should be further studied, focusing on the role that high-nutrient or N-fixing forbs could play in returning nutrients to the soil and affecting livestock grazing patterns, both of which could reduce shrub abundances and favor the establishment of a richer forb community.

Dereliction at the South African Department of Home Affairs: Time for the anthropology of bureaucracy

In this article, I consider how a temporal reorientation of bureaucracy studies – from retrospective analysis of outcomes to prospective analysis of states of possibility manifest in moments of bureaucratic waiting – could help students of bureaucracy to think non-normatively about the relationship between policy and practice. I draw on ethnographic fieldwork with low-level officials at visa permitting offices of a South African immigration bureaucracy to explore how time textures everyday bureaucratic processes and configures one’s understanding of what is possible in bureaucratic encounters. I develop the concept of “dereliction” to describe the ambiguous condition of hope and despair experienced by people engaged in bureaucratic encounters, illuminating the technologies that produce and manage this ambiguity, such as counters, cubbies, and temporary extension permits. While previous authors have shown that bureaucracies work to capture and control time, I shed light on a somewhat different sort of power: bureaucracies’ ability to orient people toward the future.

Hand in hand: social work leads students to volunteerism

Healthy individuals, healthy families, and healthy relationships are crucial to a healthy society and are our most precious and valuable resources. Home care providers can play a role in developing and maintaining these resources.