The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) initiated the programme SPACES (Science Partnerships for the Assessment of Complex Earth System Processes), set out to advance knowledge on the function of the earth system and its response to natural changes and human interventions, thereby providing the necessary scientific data base for the formulation of science-based concepts and recommendations for earth system management strategies. The spatial focus lies on Southern Africa, which in the context of global change, has to address great challenges in terms of its natural resources, in particular to cope with the impact of climate and land use change. It is important to achieve a more efficient and sustainable resource utilisation and to promote the preservation and availability of natural resources and ecosystem services.
The earth system encompasses terrestrial, lacustrine, fluvial, coastal and marine environments; landscape evolution and hydrological changes are driven by climate and more recently land use. Geoarchives can store information regarding ecosystem responses to climatic variations or anthropogenic impact and the newly discovered paleo-analogue situations can be used in modelling approaches for future development. Geosciences hold the key to unlock these information and contribute to a better understanding, which allows for appropriate earth system management strategies.
We explicitly invite contributions from all scientists working on the mentioned geoscientific topics in Southern Africa.