Abstract
This paper presents major findings from a BIOTA West Africa project based on the continuous analytical monitoring of hydro-meteorological and biophysical parameters that effect localbiocoenosis at study sites in Côte d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Benin. It is the explicit intention of this paper to share instrumental and methodological experiences to support the establishment of a Long-Term-Socio-Ecological Research (LTSER) site within the alpine region of the northern Maloti Drakensberg (MD). This MD LTSER site has the potential to contribute data to national platforms as well as to international LTSER networks and beyond, for instance, to measurement systems of WMO or the Southern African Science Service Centre for Climate Change and Adaptive Land Management (SASS
CAL). From long-term measurements in West Africa the author has experienced that hydro-meteorological and biophysical parameters are crucial components that, involving various stochastic and deterministic processes, form an essential part of the manifold mechanisms originating and maintaining terrestrial biodiversity. Understanding the complex reasons for the significant climate change processes observed not only in West Africa, but in particular also in southern Africa, is still a major challenge for scientific research, since recurrent droughts and floods affect great parts of the area in terms of ecological, economic, and societal aspects.
Therefore weather, water, and climate related information and services play a critical role in support of climate change adaptation and decision-making at regional, national and community levels by providing key information to help anticipate, prepare for and effectively respond to climatic and environmental changes. A particular challenge in roughed mountainous terrain is the great heterogeneity of microclimatic conditions, which requires a measurement strategy that is appropriately designed and adapted for these special environmental conditions. The author concludes that the prime contribution of hydro-meteorological and biophysical investigations within biodiversity and land restoration research is to generate a multi-scaled scientifically sound framework derived by reliable experimental field measurements and a profound analysis of regional climate variability including vegetation dynamics and land cover/use changes. The latter aspect should be supported by means of remote sensing, upscaling procedures and dynamic spatial modelling. Concerning future scenarios and the development of sustainable management strategies it is important to know
how land cover/use changes affect regional patterns of climate and biodiversity, and vice versa.