AGE308: ASALS

Plant life

Saharan vegetation is generally sparse, with scattered concentrations of

grasses, shrubs, and trees in the highlands, in oasis depressions, and
along the wadis. Various halophytes (salt-tolerant plants) are found in
saline depressions. Some heat- and drought-tolerant grasses, herbs,
small shrubs, and trees are found on the less well-watered plains and
plateaus of the Sahara.

The vegetation of the Sahara is particularly noteworthy for its many

unusual adaptations to unreliable precipitation. These are variously
seen in morphology—including root structure, a broad range of

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physiological adaptations, site preferences, dependency and affinity
relationships, and reproductive strategies. Many of the herbaceous
plants are ephemerals that may germinate within three days of
adequate rainfall and sow their seeds within 10 or 15 days of
germination. Sheltered in the Saharan massifs are occasional stands of
relict vegetation, often with Mediterranean affinities.

Prominent among the relict woody plants of the Saharan highlands are
species of olive, cypress, and mastic trees. Other woody plants found in
the highlands and elsewhere in the desert include species of Acacia and
Artemisia, doum palm, oleander, date palm, and thyme. Halophytes
such as Tamarix senegalensis are found along the western coastal zone.
Grasses widely distributed in the Sahara include species of Aristida,
Eragrostis, and Panicum. Aeluropus littoralis and other salt-tolerant
grasses are found along the Atlantic coast. Various combinations of
ephemerals form important seasonal pastures called acheb.

In the 21st century, recognition that the Sahara and its border region to
the south, the Sahel, were creeping southward owing to desertification
led to efforts to stall that movement; most notable was the Great
Green Wall for the Sahara and Sahel Initiative. The idea that led to the
initiative—planting a “wall” of trees along the edges of the Sahara that
would stretch across the African continent in order to halt further
desertification—was first conceived in 2005 and was later further
developed with the assistance of the African Union and other
international organizations. It involved plans to plant drought-resistant
native trees in a 9-mile- (15-kilometre-) wide swath of territory from
the western to the eastern edges of the continent, creating a barrier to
keep the desert from further encroaching on the lands to its south.

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Animal life

Relict tropical fauna of the northern Sahara include tropical catfish and
chromides found at Biskra, Algeria, and in isolated oases of the Sahara;
cobras and pygmy crocodiles may still exist in remote drainage basins
of the Tibesti Mountains. More subtle has been the progressive loss of
well-adapted, more mobile species to the advanced firearms and
habitat destruction of humans. The North African elephant became
extinct during the Roman period, but the lion, ostrich, and other
species were established in the desert’s northern margins as late as
1830. The last addax in the northern Sahara was killed in the early
1920s; serious depletion of this antelope has also occurred on the
southern margins and in the central massifs.

Among the mammal species still found in the Sahara are the gerbil,
jerboa, Cape hare, and desert hedgehog; Barbary sheep and scimitar-
horned oryx; dorcas gazelle, dama deer, and Nubian wild ass; anubis
baboon; spotted hyena, common jackal, and sand fox; and Libyan
striped weasel and slender mongoose. Including resident and migratory
populations, the birdlife of the Sahara exceeds 300 species. The coastal
zones and interior waterways attract many species of water and shore
birds. Among the species encountered in the interior regions are
ostriches; various raptors; secretary birds, guinea fowl, and Nubian
bustards; desert eagle owls and barn owls; sand larks and pale crag
martins; and brown-necked and fan-tailed ravens.

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Frogs, toads, and crocodiles live in the lakes and pools of the Sahara.
Lizards, chameleons, skinks, and cobras are found among the rocks and
dunes. The lakes and pools of the Sahara also contain algae and brine
shrimp and other crustaceans. The various snails that inhabit the desert
are an important source of food for birds and animals. Desert snails
survive through aestivation (dormancy), often remaining inactive for
several years before being revived by rainfall.

People of the Sahara

Although as large as the United States, the Sahara (excluding the Nile
valley) is estimated to contain only some 2.5 million inhabitants—less
than 1 person per square mile (0.4 per square kilometre). Huge areas
are wholly empty, but wherever meagre vegetation can support grazing
animals or reliable water sources occur, scattered clusters of
inhabitants have survived in fragile ecological balance with one of the
harshest environments on earth.

Long before recorded history, the Sahara was evidently more widely
occupied. Stone artifacts, fossils, and rock art, widely scattered through
regions now far too dry for occupation, reveal the former human
presence, together with that of game animals, including antelopes,
buffalo, giraffe, elephant, rhinoceros, and warthog. Bone harpoons,
accumulations of shells, and the remains of fish, crocodiles, and
hippopotamuses are associated with prehistoric settlements along the
shores of ancient Saharan lakes. Among some groups, hunting and
fishing were subordinated to nomadic pastoralism, after domesticated
livestock appeared in the Sahara almost 7,000 years ago. The cattle-
herding groups of the Ténéré region of Niger are believed to have been
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either ancestral Berbers or ancestral Zaghawa; sheep and goats were
apparently introduced by groups associated with the Capsian culture of
northeastern Africa. Direct evidence of agriculture first appears about
6,000 years ago with the cultivation of barley and emmer wheat in
Egypt; these appear to have been introduced from Asia. Evidence of the
domestication of native African plants is first found in pottery from
about 1000 BCE discovered in Mauritania. The cultivators have been
associated with the Gangara, the ancestors of the modern Soninke.

Archaeological evidence suggests that the Sahara was increasingly

inhabited by diverse populations, and plant and animal domestication
led to occupational specialization. While the groups lived separately,
the proximity of settlements suggests an increasing economic
interdependence. External trade also developed. Copper from
Mauritania had found its way to the Bronze Age civilizations of the
Mediterranean by the 2nd millennium BCE. Trade intensified with the
emergence of the Iron Age civilizations of the Sahara during the 1st
century BCE, including the civilization centred in Nubia.

The greater mobility of nomads facilitated their involvement in the

trans-Saharan trade. Increasing aridity in the Sahara is documented in
the transition from cattle and horses to camels. Although camels were
used in Egypt by the 6th century BCE, their prominence in the Sahara
dates from only the 3rd century CE. Oasis dwellers in the Sahara were
increasingly subject to attack by the Sanhaja (a Berber clan) and other
camel-mounted nomads—many of whom had entered the desert to
avoid the anarchy and warfare of the late Roman period in North Africa.
Many of the remaining oasis dwellers, among them the Haratin, were

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subjugated by the nomads. The expansion of Islam into North Africa
between the 7th and 11th centuries prompted additional groups of
Berbers, as well as Arab groups wishing to retain traditional beliefs, to
move into the Sahara. Islam eventually expanded through the trade
routes, becoming the dominant social force in the desert.

Despite considerable cultural diversity, the peoples of the Sahara tend

to be categorized as pastoralists, sedentary agriculturalists, or
specialists (such as the blacksmiths variously associated with herders
and cultivators). Pastoralism, always nomadic to some degree, occurs
where sufficient scanty pasturage exists, as in the marginal areas, on
the mountain borders, and in the slightly moister west. Cattle appear
along the southern borders with the Sahel, but sheep, goats, and
camels are the mainstays in the desert. Major pastoral groups include
the Regeibat of the northwestern Sahara and the Chaamba of the

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northern Algerian Sahara. Hierarchical in structure, the larger pastoral
groups formerly dominated the desert. Warfare and raids (ghazw) were
endemic, and in drought periods wide migrations in search of pasture
took place, with heavy loss of animals. The Tuareg (who call themselves
Kel Tamasheq) were renowned for their warlike qualities and fierce
independence. Although they are Islamic, they retain a matriarchal
organization, and the women of the Tuareg have an unusual degree of
freedom. The Moorish groups to the west formerly possessed powerful
tribal confederations. The Teda, of the Tibesti and its southern
borderlands, are chiefly camel herders, renowned for their
independence and for their physical endurance

In the desert proper, sedentary occupation is confined to the oases,

where irrigation permits limited cultivation of the date palm,

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pomegranate, and other fruit trees; such cereals as millet, barley, and
wheat; vegetables; and such specialty crops as henna. Cultivation is in
small “gardens,” maintained by a great expenditure of hand labour.
Irrigation utilizes ephemeral streams in mountain areas, permanent
pools (gueltas), foggaras (inclined underground tunnels dug to tap
dispersed groundwater in the beds of wadis), springs (ʿayn), and wells
(biʾr). Some shallow groundwaters are artesian, but it is often necessary
to use water-lifting devices. Ancient methods such as the shadoof (a
pivoted pole and bucket) and the animal-driven noria (a Persian
wheel with buckets) have been replaced by motorized pumps in more
accessible oases. Water availability strictly limits oasis expansion, and,
in some, overuse of water has produced a serious fall in the water level.
Salinization of the soil by the fierce evaporation and burial
by encroaching sand are further dangers.

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Economy of the Sahara

Resources

During the century of colonial dominion over the Sahara, which lasted
from the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, there was little
fundamental change, except for military pacification; colonial powers
were little interested in the economic development of what appeared
to be an unpromising region. After World War II, however, the
discovery of oil, in particular, attracted international interest and
investment. Within a few years major discoveries had been made,
particularly in mineral resources.

Metallic minerals are of considerable economic importance. Algeria

possesses several major deposits of iron ore, and the reserves at Mount
Ijill, in western Mauritania, are substantial; less extensive deposits have
been found in Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Western Sahara, and Niger.
Near Akjoujt, in southwestern Mauritania, lie substantial quantities of
copper ore; extensive manganese deposits occur south of Béchar,
Algeria. Uranium is widely distributed in the Sahara and has been
particularly important in Niger. A broad range of other economically
significant minerals have been found in the Ahaggar, Aïr, Tibesti, and
Eglab regions. Rich phosphate deposits exist in Morocco and Western
Sahara, and smaller deposits have been found elsewhere.

Fuel resources include coal, oil, and natural gas. Sources of coal include
anthracite seams in Morocco and bituminous fields near Béchar.
Following the discovery of oil near I-n-Salah, Algeria, after World War II,
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major reserves have been found in the Western Desert of Egypt,
northeastern Libya, and northeastern Algeria. Minor reserves exist in
Tunisia and Morocco, as well as in Chad, Niger, and Sudan in the south.
Deposits of oil shale have also been discovered in the Sahara. Major
fields of natural gas are exploited in Algeria and Egypt, and minor fields
exist in Libya and Tunisia.

As a result of geologic and oil prospecting, vast underground reserves

of water have also been found in a number of sedimentary basins,
mainly within sandstone formations. Some recoverable water is also
present in surface sand formations.

Economic development of the desert, however, offers enormous

difficulties and has not changed the traditional Sahara. Oil and ore
extraction have brought modern technology and improved
communications to scattered locations, but such activities provide
limited opportunities for local employment. Although oil revenues offer
the means for desert development, the more immediate and attractive
returns possible in inhabited coastal regions tend to take priority. The
underground water offers possibilities for major developments in both
agriculture and industry; but exploitation on a large scale would be
expensive. Heavy exploitation would also result in progressive
depletion, and hydrological changes might increase the threat of locust
plagues, as locusts congregate into swarms when food supplies are
restricted, multiply, and then occupy larger areas when conditions
improve.

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The desert peoples have benefited little from mineral exploitation—
perhaps indeed the reverse. The decline in nomadic pastoralism,
started by pacification, has been accelerated by changing economic
conditions and official settlement policies (for nomads are
administratively inconvenient). Widespread environmental degradation
further encourages the drift of nomads to oases and towns, with
resultant overcrowding and poverty. High wages in the oil fields attract
labour but disrupt traditional life, and the jobs are relatively few and
impermanent. Of the traditional desert products—animal skins and
wool, surplus fruits, salt—only dates (particularly the daglet nour of the
northern oases) retain much commercial importance. Industrial
occupations to relieve growing unemployment have as yet made little
progress.

In the early 21st century, renewable energy projects, particularly those

focusing on wind- and solar-generated power, continued to be under
development and had the potential to provide enough energy to allow
countries in the region to manufacture and process goods locally, which
would be a boon to their economies. However, renewable energy
projects were hampered by factors such as the harsh desert climate, a
lack of water for operating and maintaining equipment, the overall
exorbitant costs involved in such an undertaking, and security issues.
Tourism has grown considerably since the mid-20th century, although
the difficulties of transport and of providing accommodations have
largely limited it to the Sahara’s fringes.

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Transportation

Traditionally, travel in the Sahara was by camel caravan and was slow,
arduous, and dangerous. To the hazards of losing the way, excessive
heat, stifling sandstorms, and death by starvation—or more probably
thirst—were added those of attack by raiders. Despite all this, trans-
Saharan trade along caravan routes linking oases has persisted from
very early times. Most of the principal routes were west of the Tibesti
Mountains and tended to shift somewhat over time, although the
easternmost of these—which ran northward from Lake Chad to Bilma
(now in Niger) and through the Fezzan region to Tripoli—was used
continuously through the centuries. East of the Tibesti Mountains oases
are few, but the darb al-arbaʿīn (“road of the forty *days+”), west of the
Nile, was a former slave route. Gold, ivory, slaves, and salt were major
items of trade in the earlier days, but today camel caravans have almost
ceased, except for a residual trade in salt from Mount Ijill, Bilma, and
Taoudenni, Mali. The main routes remain in use, however, by specially
equipped motor trucks, often traveling in convoys. Modern highways
have been extended farther along the ancient trade routes into the
desert. Off of the main routes a network of recognized tracks are
motorable, with care; but in the open desert four-wheel drive is
virtually essential, with at least two vehicles, ample spares, and large
emergency supplies of fuel, food, and water—particularly in summer,
when special regulations apply to all travelers. In large areas maps are
inadequate, and navigational methods may be necessary.

To supplement ground travel, numerous international air services cross

the Sahara on scheduled flights, while local services link the main

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inhabited centres to one another. Development of railways has been
limited.

Study and exploration

Classical accounts describe the Sahara much as it is today—a vast and

formidable barrier. The Egyptians controlled only their neighbouring
oases and, occasionally, lands to the south; the Carthaginians
apparently continued the commercial relationships with the interior
that had been established during the Bronze Age. Herodotus described
a desert crossing by an expedition of Berbers during the 5th century
BCE, and Roman interest in the Sahara is documented in a series of
expeditions between 19 BCE and 86 CE. The descriptions of the Sahara
in the works of Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and Ptolemy reflect growing
interest in the desert. Geographic exploration, sponsored by the
ʿAbbāsids, Fāṭimids, Mamlūks, and other courts in the Middle East,
North Africa, and Moorish Spain, was widespread during the medieval
period. Descriptions of the Sahara are contained in the works of
numerous Arab writers, including al-Yaʿqūbī, ash-Sharīf al-Idrīsī, and Ibn
Baṭṭūṭah.

Medieval travelers with religious and commercial motives contributed

further to an understanding of the Sahara and its peoples. Abraham
Cresque’s Catalan Atlas, published for Charles V of France in about
1375, renewed European interest in the desert. The atlas contained
information based upon the knowledge of Jewish traders active in the
Sahara. Its publication was followed by a period of intense Portuguese,
Venetian, Genoese, and Florentine activity there. Particularly well
documented are the travels of such 15th-century explorers as Alvise Ca’
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da Mosto, Diogo Gomes, and Pedro de Sintra. Growing interest in the
Sahara within northern Europe was reflected in the travels and writings
of the 17th-century Dutch geographer Olfert Dapper.

Subsequent European exploration of the Sahara, much of it incidental

to interest in the major waterways of interior Africa, began in earnest in
the 19th century. Attempts to determine the course of the Niger River
took the British explorers Joseph Ritchie and George Francis Lyon to the
Fezzan area in 1819, and in 1822 the British explorers Dixon Denham,
Hugh Clapperton, and Walter Oudney succeeded in crossing the desert
and discovering Lake Chad. The Scottish explorer Alexander Gordon
Laing crossed the Sahara and reached the fabled city of Timbuktu in
1826, but he was killed there before he could return. The French
explorer René Caillié, disguised as an Arab, returned from his visit to
Timbuktu by crossing the Sahara from south to north in 1828. Other
notable expeditions were undertaken by the German geographer
Heinrich Barth (1849–55), the French explorer Henri Duveyrier in 1859–
62, and the German explorers Gustav Nachtigal (1869–75) and Gerhard
Rohlfs (1862–78).

After the military occupation of the Sahara by the various European

colonial powers, more detailed exploration took place; and by the e end
of the 19th century the main features of the desert were known.
Political, commercial, and scientific activities that began in the 20th
century greatly increased knowledge of the Sahara, although vast tracts
of the desert remain remote.

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REVISION QUESTIONS:

1. Differentiate between cold and hot deserts in terms of their location

2. List ten plant species found in the Sahara
3. List ten animal species found in the Sahara
4. How are living organisms adapted to living in the Sahara?
5. List any ten geomorphic features of the Sahara
6. Describe the peoples of African arid lands in a country of your choice in
terms of
a) Major ethnic groups and Religion
b) Economic activities

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