Book on fairy circles launches today
Public talk and excursion in March
Dancing fairies? Poisonous euphorbias? Sneaky termites? "Clever" grasses?Who or what is causing the mysterious bare circles in the grasslands on the eastern edge of the Namib?
Prof Norbert Jürgens from the University of Hamburg has been studying the vegetation of the Namib for 43 years and has been fascinated by the mystery of the fairy circles ever since. Since 2008, he has been systematically investigating the phenomenon, with measuring stations in fairy-circle areas from the southwest of Angola to the northwest of South Africa.
Now Jürgens has published a volume that summarises fairy circle research in all its sub-areas. On 376 pages, he and 14 other experts present the results of their in-depth studies on the morphology, ecology and biology of fairy circles and the organisms which create, use and maintain them. Other regular vegetation patterns of the Namib and neighbouring biomes are also introduced and discussed.
For the scientific community, the book is written in English and studded with references. For interested laypersons, it is comprehensibly worded, attractively designed and illustrated with almost 800 photos, graphs and tables. Breathtaking photographs invite the reader to a journey through the diversity of fairy circle landscapes in Namibia, Angola and South Africa.
The book was published in Germany last December and as of today (17 February) is also available in Namibian bookshops.
On 22 March at 19:00, Jürgens hosts a public lecture and publisher Klaus Hess will officially present the volume at the Namibia Scientific Society. On the following weekend (25/26 March), the author in cooperation with Gondwana Collection Namibia, presents a "fact check excursion" to the fairy circles of the Namib.
For further details please check the website Gondwana-collection.com/promotions-namibia#fairy-circles.
Fairy Circles of the Namib Desert – Ecosystem engineering by subterranean social insects by Norbert Jürgens et al. (ISBN: 978-99916-57-44-8) was published by Klaus Hess Publishers, Göttingen & Windhoek 2022. It costs N$830.