Comparison of plant diversity in protected and communal lands in the Bushbuckridge lowveld savanna, South Africa
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181885 , vital:43777 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00001-X"
- Description: Patterns of higher plant species richness and beta diversity were assessed using standard Modified-Whittaker plots in relation to land use, slope position and mean annual rainfall across a rainfall gradient in the savanna areas of the Bushbuckridge lowveld, South Africa. In particular, comparison of communal areas with adjacent protected areas was important in showing the impacts of potential changes in land use within an overarching catchment management plan. Although most of the protected areas considered preservation of biodiversity as their primary goal, they were characterised by significantly fewer plant species than the adjacent, highly utilised, communal lands, at both the plot and point scale. Slope position also had a significant effect on plant species richness, with eutrophic bottomlands having c. 30% more species than the dystrophic toplands. This adds weight to the need for greater public awareness for the judicious use and management of the sensitive bottomlands, which fringe the primary drainage lines that are vital for sustained supplies of good quality surface water in this semi-arid environment. The total number of species increased with increasing mean annual rainfall across the rainfall gradient. This suggests that, if the catchment management plan aims to identify additional areas for conservation, the higher rainfall areas should be the first to be assessed. Species turnover was greater along the rainfall gradient than the catenal gradient between toplands and bottomlands.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181885 , vital:43777 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(00)00001-X"
- Description: Patterns of higher plant species richness and beta diversity were assessed using standard Modified-Whittaker plots in relation to land use, slope position and mean annual rainfall across a rainfall gradient in the savanna areas of the Bushbuckridge lowveld, South Africa. In particular, comparison of communal areas with adjacent protected areas was important in showing the impacts of potential changes in land use within an overarching catchment management plan. Although most of the protected areas considered preservation of biodiversity as their primary goal, they were characterised by significantly fewer plant species than the adjacent, highly utilised, communal lands, at both the plot and point scale. Slope position also had a significant effect on plant species richness, with eutrophic bottomlands having c. 30% more species than the dystrophic toplands. This adds weight to the need for greater public awareness for the judicious use and management of the sensitive bottomlands, which fringe the primary drainage lines that are vital for sustained supplies of good quality surface water in this semi-arid environment. The total number of species increased with increasing mean annual rainfall across the rainfall gradient. This suggests that, if the catchment management plan aims to identify additional areas for conservation, the higher rainfall areas should be the first to be assessed. Species turnover was greater along the rainfall gradient than the catenal gradient between toplands and bottomlands.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Direct use values of secondary resources harvested from communal savannas in the Bushbuckridge lowveld, South Africa
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Shackleton, Sheona E
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182798 , vital:43875 , xlink:href="https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20000614194"
- Description: This study reports on the direct use value of secondary resources harvested by rural communities in a savanna region of South Africa. Data pertaining to the use, amount and direct use value of 11 secondary resources were presented individually, along with a final composite value. Only five resources (fuelwood, construction wood, edible fruits, edible herbs, and medicinal plants), individually accounted for more than 10% of the total value per hectare (US$ 141), and together they represented over 94% of the total value per hectare. On a per household basis, only 3 of the 11 resources contributed 10% or more to the total direct use value (US$ 386 used at home and US$ 767 traded), and together contributed greater than 71% of the total direct use value per household. Two-thirds of the value per household was traded locally with other households or regionally, rather than consumed at home. The total value per hectare compared favourably with other land uses within the region, except for capital intensive enterprises. The returns to collecting and selling secondary resources were higher than those paid for local agricultural wage labour. The extraction rates of several of the secondary resources are probably sustainable but not for the more important ones such as fuelwood, construction wood and medicinal plants.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Shackleton, Sheona E
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182798 , vital:43875 , xlink:href="https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/20000614194"
- Description: This study reports on the direct use value of secondary resources harvested by rural communities in a savanna region of South Africa. Data pertaining to the use, amount and direct use value of 11 secondary resources were presented individually, along with a final composite value. Only five resources (fuelwood, construction wood, edible fruits, edible herbs, and medicinal plants), individually accounted for more than 10% of the total value per hectare (US$ 141), and together they represented over 94% of the total value per hectare. On a per household basis, only 3 of the 11 resources contributed 10% or more to the total direct use value (US$ 386 used at home and US$ 767 traded), and together contributed greater than 71% of the total direct use value per household. Two-thirds of the value per household was traded locally with other households or regionally, rather than consumed at home. The total value per hectare compared favourably with other land uses within the region, except for capital intensive enterprises. The returns to collecting and selling secondary resources were higher than those paid for local agricultural wage labour. The extraction rates of several of the secondary resources are probably sustainable but not for the more important ones such as fuelwood, construction wood and medicinal plants.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Impact of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients in the Kruger National Park
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Scholes, Robert J
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Scholes, Robert J
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181874 , vital:43776 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v43i1.210"
- Description: Although fire is recognised as an important determinant of the structure and function of South African savannas, there are few studies of long-term impacts. Controlled burning blocks of contrasting fire season and frequency have been maintained throughout the Kruger National Park for almost 50 years. This paper reports on a quantitative study of the Satara plots to determine the long-term impacts of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients. Increasing fire frequency significantly decreased woody plant basal area, biomass, density, height, and mean stem circumference. The number of stems per plant and the proportion of regenerative stems increased with increasing fire frequency. Effects on species richness of woody plants were inconsistent. There were no significant differences attributable to fire frequency for any of the soil variables except organic matter and magnesium. Organic carbon was highest in the fire exclusion treatment and lowest in soils from plots burnt triennially. Magnesium levels were greatest in the annually burnt soils and least in the triennial plots.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Impact of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients in the Kruger National Park
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Scholes, Robert J
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181874 , vital:43776 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.4102/koedoe.v43i1.210"
- Description: Although fire is recognised as an important determinant of the structure and function of South African savannas, there are few studies of long-term impacts. Controlled burning blocks of contrasting fire season and frequency have been maintained throughout the Kruger National Park for almost 50 years. This paper reports on a quantitative study of the Satara plots to determine the long-term impacts of fire frequency on woody community structure and soil nutrients. Increasing fire frequency significantly decreased woody plant basal area, biomass, density, height, and mean stem circumference. The number of stems per plant and the proportion of regenerative stems increased with increasing fire frequency. Effects on species richness of woody plants were inconsistent. There were no significant differences attributable to fire frequency for any of the soil variables except organic matter and magnesium. Organic carbon was highest in the fire exclusion treatment and lowest in soils from plots burnt triennially. Magnesium levels were greatest in the annually burnt soils and least in the triennial plots.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Review of policies and legislation influencing the sustainable use of South Africa's indigenous Woodlands
- Willis, Carla B, Geach, Bev S, Versfeld, Dirk, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: Willis, Carla B , Geach, Bev S , Versfeld, Dirk , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182810 , vital:43881 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA10231765_60"
- Description: The recent completion of the South African National Land-Cover Database and the Vegetation Map of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho, allows for the first time a comparison to be made on a national scale between the current and potential distribution of 'natural' vegetation resources. This article compares the distribution and location of woodland-type vegetation categories defined within the National Land-Cover data and the equivalent 'Savanna-thicket Biomes' class defined within the Vegetation Mapdata. Significant differences were found, both in terms of the total areal extent, as well as the actual spatial distribution of these two data sets. These differences are a measure of the inherent mapping accuracies of each source, but rather an illustration of boundary delineation distinctions that are a result of different data sources, mapping objectives and information classes, that must be noted when comparing two essentially similar information sets.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Willis, Carla B , Geach, Bev S , Versfeld, Dirk , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182810 , vital:43881 , xlink:href="https://hdl.handle.net/10520/AJA10231765_60"
- Description: The recent completion of the South African National Land-Cover Database and the Vegetation Map of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho, allows for the first time a comparison to be made on a national scale between the current and potential distribution of 'natural' vegetation resources. This article compares the distribution and location of woodland-type vegetation categories defined within the National Land-Cover data and the equivalent 'Savanna-thicket Biomes' class defined within the Vegetation Mapdata. Significant differences were found, both in terms of the total areal extent, as well as the actual spatial distribution of these two data sets. These differences are a measure of the inherent mapping accuracies of each source, but rather an illustration of boundary delineation distinctions that are a result of different data sources, mapping objectives and information classes, that must be noted when comparing two essentially similar information sets.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Stump size and the number of coppice shoots for selected savanna tree species
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181896 , vital:43778 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0254-6299(15)31074-7"
- Description: Management of coppice dynamics of indigenous savanna trees could assist in increasing the regrowth rates or number of coppice shoots produced. This would be useful in natural resource management programmes to promote sustainable resource management. This study examined the influence of cutting height, stem size and surface area on the number of coppice shoots produced for twelve savanna species from a communal land in the Bushbuckndge lowveld. All species exhibited a strong coppicing ability following cutting. The number of shoots per stump was most frequently related to cutting height, although this was not always the most significant predictor. There were clear differences between species with respect to the number of shoots per unit surface area, the highest being for Albizia harveyii and the least Piliostlgma thonningii. The taller the potential height of a species, the fewer were the coppice shoots per stump surface area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181896 , vital:43778 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S0254-6299(15)31074-7"
- Description: Management of coppice dynamics of indigenous savanna trees could assist in increasing the regrowth rates or number of coppice shoots produced. This would be useful in natural resource management programmes to promote sustainable resource management. This study examined the influence of cutting height, stem size and surface area on the number of coppice shoots produced for twelve savanna species from a communal land in the Bushbuckndge lowveld. All species exhibited a strong coppicing ability following cutting. The number of shoots per stump was most frequently related to cutting height, although this was not always the most significant predictor. There were clear differences between species with respect to the number of shoots per unit surface area, the highest being for Albizia harveyii and the least Piliostlgma thonningii. The taller the potential height of a species, the fewer were the coppice shoots per stump surface area.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
The comparative value of wild and domestic plants in home gardens of a South African rural village
- High, Christopher, Shackleton, Charlie M
- Authors: High, Christopher , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181907 , vital:43779 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006247614579"
- Description: Rural inhabitants make considerable use of wild resources from communal areas around their settlements, as well as from arable and residential plots. These wild resources compete with the main crops planted in arable plots and home gardens, but play a significant economic and nutritional role in rural livelihoods. This paper reports upon a conservative financial evaluation of the wild plant resources harvested from home gardens and arable plots by inhabitants of rural village in the Bushbuckridge lowveld (South Africa), and examines their importance relative to other domesticated crops. On average, each household made use of four to five species of wild plants growing on their residential plot, whereas the mean number of crop plants was 3.4. The total value of all plants was R1694 (US$ 269) per household per year, or approximately R4200 (US$ 667) per hectare of home garden per year. Wild plants represented 31% of the value of all plants grown on residential plots, relative to the 69% for domesticated crops (including fruit trees). Approximately 72% of the total value of all plant products was consumed by the household, and the remaining 28% was sold.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: High, Christopher , Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181907 , vital:43779 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006247614579"
- Description: Rural inhabitants make considerable use of wild resources from communal areas around their settlements, as well as from arable and residential plots. These wild resources compete with the main crops planted in arable plots and home gardens, but play a significant economic and nutritional role in rural livelihoods. This paper reports upon a conservative financial evaluation of the wild plant resources harvested from home gardens and arable plots by inhabitants of rural village in the Bushbuckridge lowveld (South Africa), and examines their importance relative to other domesticated crops. On average, each household made use of four to five species of wild plants growing on their residential plot, whereas the mean number of crop plants was 3.4. The total value of all plants was R1694 (US$ 269) per household per year, or approximately R4200 (US$ 667) per hectare of home garden per year. Wild plants represented 31% of the value of all plants grown on residential plots, relative to the 69% for domesticated crops (including fruit trees). Approximately 72% of the total value of all plant products was consumed by the household, and the remaining 28% was sold.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
The use of and trade in indigenous edible fruits in the Bushbuckridge savanna region, South Africa
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Dzerefos, Cathy M, Shackleton, Sheona E, Mathabela, F R
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Dzerefos, Cathy M , Shackleton, Sheona E , Mathabela, F R
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182396 , vital:43826 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03670244.2000.9991616"
- Description: The use, processing, cultivation and trading of indigenous edible fruits was recorded across a rainfall gradient in the Mpumalanga lowveld. Three transects, each consisting of one village in a relatively high rainfall zone, one village in a low rainfall zone, and one intermediate, were sampled by means of 20 households per village. Nearly all households made use of indigenous edible fruits to some extent, with households in the wettest region using the greatest diversity of fruits. The duration of availability of selected species was increased through drying, storing and processing the raw fruits for later consumption. Such activities were more common in the drier regions relative to the wetter villages. Just less than half the respondents maintained indigenous fruit trees within their homestead or arable fields, whereas more than 65% grew exotic commercial fruit species. Many respondents traded in edible fruits, but very few obtained a significant income in this way. Nonetheless, even casual trading provided vital supplementary income for low‐income households.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M , Dzerefos, Cathy M , Shackleton, Sheona E , Mathabela, F R
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182396 , vital:43826 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/03670244.2000.9991616"
- Description: The use, processing, cultivation and trading of indigenous edible fruits was recorded across a rainfall gradient in the Mpumalanga lowveld. Three transects, each consisting of one village in a relatively high rainfall zone, one village in a low rainfall zone, and one intermediate, were sampled by means of 20 households per village. Nearly all households made use of indigenous edible fruits to some extent, with households in the wettest region using the greatest diversity of fruits. The duration of availability of selected species was increased through drying, storing and processing the raw fruits for later consumption. Such activities were more common in the drier regions relative to the wetter villages. Just less than half the respondents maintained indigenous fruit trees within their homestead or arable fields, whereas more than 65% grew exotic commercial fruit species. Many respondents traded in edible fruits, but very few obtained a significant income in this way. Nonetheless, even casual trading provided vital supplementary income for low‐income households.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
Woodlands in South Africa and the national forests act
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182065 , vital:43796 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10295925.2000.9631252"
- Description: The development of the National Forestry Action Programme (NFAP) and promulgation of the National Forests Act (NFA) have established a new vision for the care, management and distribution of benefits from South Africa's woodlands. The Department of water Affairs and Forestry is mandated with ensuring this vision is put into practice. However, historically the Department has had little to do with woodlands, and suffers from a lack of capacity and expertise, a situation which it readily acknowledges. Additionally, the legal definition of a woodland within the NFA is problematic. Within this context, this paper examines oft cited definitions of woodlands and seeks to find an appropriate one for the South African context. It then briefly reviews the major classifications of woodland types at a national scale, as the minimum basis for homogenous reporting units for which monitoring of the success of the NFAP and the NFA should be pursued. Finally, a brief description of moist/dystrophic and arid/eutrophic woodlands is presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
- Authors: Shackleton, Charlie M
- Date: 2000
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/182065 , vital:43796 , xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10295925.2000.9631252"
- Description: The development of the National Forestry Action Programme (NFAP) and promulgation of the National Forests Act (NFA) have established a new vision for the care, management and distribution of benefits from South Africa's woodlands. The Department of water Affairs and Forestry is mandated with ensuring this vision is put into practice. However, historically the Department has had little to do with woodlands, and suffers from a lack of capacity and expertise, a situation which it readily acknowledges. Additionally, the legal definition of a woodland within the NFA is problematic. Within this context, this paper examines oft cited definitions of woodlands and seeks to find an appropriate one for the South African context. It then briefly reviews the major classifications of woodland types at a national scale, as the minimum basis for homogenous reporting units for which monitoring of the success of the NFAP and the NFA should be pursued. Finally, a brief description of moist/dystrophic and arid/eutrophic woodlands is presented.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2000
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