Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe & Zambia
Main Contributors:
Henning Nolzen
Other Contributors:
Reinette (Oonsie) Biggs, Garry Peterson
Summary
Lake Kariba is the largest man-made lake in Africa. It is located at the border between the northern part of Zimbabwe and the southern part of Zambia. In the case of Lake Kariba, the shift from a submerged plant dominated regime to a floating plant dominated regime occurred through Salvinia molesta in 1958 during the filling of the lake and Eichhornia crassipes from 1980 onward, was a result of strong water-level fluctuations which enhanced nutrient input from flooded land.
Type of regime shift
Ecosystem type
- Freshwater lakes & rivers
Land uses
- Small-scale subsistence crop cultivation
- Extensive livestock production (natural rangelands)
- Fisheries
- Tourism
Spatial scale of the case study
- Local/landscape (e.g. lake, catchment, community)
Continent or Ocean
- Africa
Region
- Mashonaland West (Zimbabwe), Matabeleland North (Zimbabwe), Southern, (Zambia)
Countries
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
Locate with Google Map
Key References
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Machena C. 1989. Ecology of the Hydrolittoral Macrophyte Communities in Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe. Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis 196, 1-357.
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Marshall BE, Junor FJR. 1981. The decline of Salvia molesta on Lake Kariba, Hydrobiologica 83, 477-484.
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Mitchell DS. 1969. The Ecology of Vascular Hydrophytes on Lake Kariba, Hydrobiologica 34, 448-460.
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Oliver JD. 1993. A review of the biology of Giant Salvinia (Salvinia molesta Mitchell). Journal of Aquatic Plant Management 31, 227-231.
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Scheffer M, Szabó S, Gragnani A, van Nes EH, Rinaldi S, Kautsky N, Norberg J, Roijackers RMM, Franken RJM. 2003. Floating plant dominance as a stable state. PNAS 100, Issue 7, 4040-4045.
Citation
Henning Nolzen, Reinette (Oonsie) Biggs, Garry Peterson.
Lake Kariba, Zimbabwe & Zambia.
In: Regime Shifts Database, www.regimeshifts.org.
Last revised 2012-03-17 19:19:44 GMT.
