- Title
- Social and ecological trade offs in combating land degradation: The case of invasion by a woody shrub (Euryops floribundus) at Macubeni, South Africa
- Creator
- Shackleton, Charlie M, Gambiza, James
- Subject
- To be catalogued
- Date
- 2008
- Type
- text
- Type
- article
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/181235
- Identifier
- vital:43711
- Identifier
- xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1002/ldr.849"
- Description
- Woody plant invasions, either of alien or indigenous species, are deemed to result in loss of ecosystem goods and services in many areas throughout the world, resulting in significant degradation and economic costs. Invasion of Euryops floribundus, a species indigenous to South Africa, is perceived to have reduced the grazing available for domestic livestock. Consequently, a programme of manual eradication has been implemented to improve the grazing resource and provide jobs for poverty alleviation. However, there is potential for a conflict of interest as our study shows that almost all households rely on Euryops for fuel and at times fencing material, whereas only a minority of households own livestock. Moreover, comparison of invaded and non-invaded sites indicated that the invaded sites harbour greater plant species richness and higher grass culm density per unit area of grass cover, as well as higher forb and litter cover. While invaded sites had lower grass cover, overall plant cover was no different between invaded and non-invaded sites. Multivariate analysis indicated no obvious differentiation in community composition between invaded and non-invaded areas, suggesting stronger drivers of community composition other than Euryops invasion presumed to be facilitated by the effects of high livestock densities. Overall, our study suggests that the clearing operation may well benefit from a better understanding of the social needs, perceptions of degradation by the various stakeholders and ecological dynamics of the area, especially local reliance on the resources, and the dynamics of the invasion, particularly its extent, rate of spread and susceptibility for re-invasion in the cleared areas.
- Format
- computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (11 pages), pdf
- Publisher
- Wiley Library Online
- Language
- English
- Relation
- Land Degradation and Development, Shackleton, C.M. and Gambiza, J., 2008. Social and ecological trade offs in combating land degradation: the case of invasion by a woody shrub (Euryops floribundus) at Macubeni, South Africa. Land Degradation and Development, 19(4), pp.454-464, Land Degradation and Development volume 19 number 4 p. 454 2008 1099-145X
- Rights
- Publisher
- Rights
- Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Wiley Library Online Terms of Use Statement (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/terms-and-conditions)
- Rights
- Closed Access
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Collections
Gambiza, James (Prof)
RU Department of Environmental Science
Shackleton, Charles Michael (Distinguished Prof)
SDG 11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 15. Life On Land
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