Arid regions globally have suffered ecological damage as European colonists have displaced virtually all nomadic cultures over the past 300 years, exploiting grazing, fauna and water unsustainably in creating permanent settlements. The Karoo is one such arid region that covers about one third of South Africa. In common with arid regions globally, this sparsely-populated shrubland was historically used mainly for ranching, but is now becoming increasingly important for renewable energy generation (wind and sun), for adventure tourism, and potentially for mining. Current and future land users in the Karoo face challenges posed by damage caused by past land use, particularly overgrazing and impoundments. Land users of the future will probably experience additional challenges caused by the combined impacts of damaging land use and climate change. This review synthesizes the bodies of literature on the archaeology, ecology, land use history, environmental change and development planning. In doing so, we address the effects of historical land use on biodiversity and ecosystem goods and services in the region. We also identify avenues for future research, including mitigation and restoration actions required to make continued human occupation of the Karoo sustainable. Insights on the sustainability of the Karoo region are relevant when considering the socio-ecological futures of arid regions elsewhere.

由于欧洲殖民者在过去 300 年里几乎取代了所有游牧文化，以不可持续的方式利用放牧、动物和水来建立永久定居点，因此全球干旱地区遭受了生态破坏。卡鲁就是这样一个干旱地区，约占南非的三分之一。与全球干旱地区一样，这种人烟稀少的灌木林在历史上主要用于牧场，但现在对于可再生能源（风能和太阳能）、探险旅游和潜在的采矿业变得越来越重要。卡鲁地区当前和未来的土地使用者面临着过去土地使用造成的破坏所带来的挑战，特别是过度放牧和蓄水。由于破坏性土地利用和气候变化的综合影响，未来的土地使用者可能会遇到额外的挑战。这篇综述综合了考古学、生态学、土地利用历史、环境变化和发展规划方面的文献。在此过程中，我们解决了历史土地利用对该地区生物多样性和生态系统产品和服务的影响。我们还确定了未来研究的途径，包括使人类对卡鲁的持续占领可持续所需的缓解和恢复行动。在考虑其他干旱地区的社会生态未来时，对卡鲁地区可持续性的见解是相关的。我们还确定了未来研究的途径，包括使人类对卡鲁的持续占领可持续所需的缓解和恢复行动。在考虑其他干旱地区的社会生态未来时，对卡鲁地区可持续性的见解是相关的。我们还确定了未来研究的途径，包括使人类对卡鲁的持续占领可持续所需的缓解和恢复行动。在考虑其他干旱地区的社会生态未来时，对卡鲁地区可持续性的见解是相关的。