Population assessments of priority plant species used by local communities in and around three Wild Coast reserves, Eastern Cape, South Africa
- Authors: Fearon, Joclyn Joe
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Plant diversity conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rare plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Population viability analysis , Biodiversity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Plant conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human-plant relationships -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4751 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007059 , Plant diversity conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rare plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Population viability analysis , Biodiversity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Plant conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human-plant relationships -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The project was initiated by Eastern Cape Parks (ECP) as a request for the construction of inventories of priority species and their population levels inside three nature reserves on the Eastern Cape Wild Coast, South Africa, and to develop a strategic management plan to manage these natural resources in each reserve. Thirty key species were identified by local communities in and around Dwesa-Cwebe, Silaka and Mkambati Nature Reserves through community workshops. For forested areas belt transects of 100 m x 6 m where used. The basal circumference of key tree species within the belt transect was measured as well as the height of saplings (height < 150 m). Tree species were categorized based on densities, size class distribution (SCD) curves and values, and spatial grain. For grassland areas straight transects of 200 m long were used, along which ten 3 m x 3 m quadrates were placed at 20 m intervals. Within each grassland transect the height of herbs or tuft diameter of grasses was recorded and percentage cover estimated. Grassland species were categorized based on density, SCD curves and percentage cover. All species were placed into harvesting categories based on analysed ecological data that was collected in the field. Category 1 species were very rare or not found in the reserve and it was recommended that species be conserved and monitored. Category 2 species had low densities in the reserve indicating declining populations and was suggested that these be monitored and not harvested. Category 3 species had high densities and have potential for harvesting with strict limitations. Category 4 species were most abundant with very high densities and can be harvested within management guidelines. These categories were grouped further using social and ecological data such as harvesting risk, frequency of collection, use value and number of uses. This highlighted which species have conservation priority within each category and a decision can be made as to how intense or limited extraction should be. By incorporating GIS the distribution of each species was looked at and harvesting and non-harvesting zones established to determine where species can be extracted. Monitoring plans must consider the quantity of plant material collected, fire regimes, optimal harvesting rates and harvesting zones, and be able to pick up changes in populations. Also, it is important that the community be involved in conserving and monitoring these species. Adaptive monitoring and management must be used to steer harvesting practices in the Wild Coast reserves. This allows for the development of harvesting practices through ‘learning by doing’, and the evolution of good questions to guide monitoring decisions
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Fearon, Joclyn Joe
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Plant diversity conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rare plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Population viability analysis , Biodiversity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Plant conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human-plant relationships -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4751 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1007059 , Plant diversity conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Rare plants -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Population viability analysis , Biodiversity -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Plant conservation -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human-plant relationships -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Description: The project was initiated by Eastern Cape Parks (ECP) as a request for the construction of inventories of priority species and their population levels inside three nature reserves on the Eastern Cape Wild Coast, South Africa, and to develop a strategic management plan to manage these natural resources in each reserve. Thirty key species were identified by local communities in and around Dwesa-Cwebe, Silaka and Mkambati Nature Reserves through community workshops. For forested areas belt transects of 100 m x 6 m where used. The basal circumference of key tree species within the belt transect was measured as well as the height of saplings (height < 150 m). Tree species were categorized based on densities, size class distribution (SCD) curves and values, and spatial grain. For grassland areas straight transects of 200 m long were used, along which ten 3 m x 3 m quadrates were placed at 20 m intervals. Within each grassland transect the height of herbs or tuft diameter of grasses was recorded and percentage cover estimated. Grassland species were categorized based on density, SCD curves and percentage cover. All species were placed into harvesting categories based on analysed ecological data that was collected in the field. Category 1 species were very rare or not found in the reserve and it was recommended that species be conserved and monitored. Category 2 species had low densities in the reserve indicating declining populations and was suggested that these be monitored and not harvested. Category 3 species had high densities and have potential for harvesting with strict limitations. Category 4 species were most abundant with very high densities and can be harvested within management guidelines. These categories were grouped further using social and ecological data such as harvesting risk, frequency of collection, use value and number of uses. This highlighted which species have conservation priority within each category and a decision can be made as to how intense or limited extraction should be. By incorporating GIS the distribution of each species was looked at and harvesting and non-harvesting zones established to determine where species can be extracted. Monitoring plans must consider the quantity of plant material collected, fire regimes, optimal harvesting rates and harvesting zones, and be able to pick up changes in populations. Also, it is important that the community be involved in conserving and monitoring these species. Adaptive monitoring and management must be used to steer harvesting practices in the Wild Coast reserves. This allows for the development of harvesting practices through ‘learning by doing’, and the evolution of good questions to guide monitoring decisions
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
Stories from forest, river and mountain : exploring children's cultural environmental narratives and their role in the transmission of cultural connection to and protection of biodiversity
- Authors: Alexander, Jamie Kim
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Children and the environment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Oral tradition -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social learning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Traditional ecological knowledge -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6061 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015267
- Description: Preservationist conservation created a legacy of national parks and protected areas that were surrounded by local people dispossessed of their land and denied the rights to use the resources they had previously relied upon. Although conservation is now shifting towards a more participatory approach, research gaps still exist in determining the meaning of 'the environment' and the role of local means of conservation in rural communities in South Africa. This study focused on children's cultural environmental narratives from two rural villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Children from grades 4, 7 and 10 were involved in the study, and adult family members, local experts and village elders were included in the study to allow for comparison between children's and adult's narratives and to realise what Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) was being passed on. This thesis considers children's use of the environment for play and their sense of place as key methods in ascertaining children's environmental narratives and perceptions. At both field sites, local experts and community elders possessed a wealth of cultural environmental narratives, but these narratives were not necessarily being passed on. Changing household structures and other socio-economic factors influence cultural environmental practices, which in turn have an impact on the cultural environmental narratives being passed down. In many cases, parents' safety fears strongly impacted upon children's access to the environment, resulting in gendered environmental knowledge. The study compared differing vegetation types and degrees of environmental access. The differing environments produced similar cultural environmental narratives, leading to new understandings in community environment relationships. Children living near the state administered forest had significantly less environmental knowledge, bringing about questions of sustainable bio-cultural diversity in the future. The recognition of cultural environmental values is especially important in the rural areas of South Africa, where unemployment and increased poverty levels have led to greater dependence on natural resources for social, economic and cultural purposes. It is proposed that local cultural environmental narratives and landscape perceptions be included into community conservation and environmental education policies and programmes to provide local solutions to the problem of biodiversity conservation in local contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Alexander, Jamie Kim
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Children and the environment -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Conservation of natural resources -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape -- Citizen participation , Environmental education -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Human ecology -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Oral tradition -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Social learning -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape , Traditional ecological knowledge -- South Africa -- Eastern Cape
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MA
- Identifier: vital:6061 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1015267
- Description: Preservationist conservation created a legacy of national parks and protected areas that were surrounded by local people dispossessed of their land and denied the rights to use the resources they had previously relied upon. Although conservation is now shifting towards a more participatory approach, research gaps still exist in determining the meaning of 'the environment' and the role of local means of conservation in rural communities in South Africa. This study focused on children's cultural environmental narratives from two rural villages in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Children from grades 4, 7 and 10 were involved in the study, and adult family members, local experts and village elders were included in the study to allow for comparison between children's and adult's narratives and to realise what Local Ecological Knowledge (LEK) was being passed on. This thesis considers children's use of the environment for play and their sense of place as key methods in ascertaining children's environmental narratives and perceptions. At both field sites, local experts and community elders possessed a wealth of cultural environmental narratives, but these narratives were not necessarily being passed on. Changing household structures and other socio-economic factors influence cultural environmental practices, which in turn have an impact on the cultural environmental narratives being passed down. In many cases, parents' safety fears strongly impacted upon children's access to the environment, resulting in gendered environmental knowledge. The study compared differing vegetation types and degrees of environmental access. The differing environments produced similar cultural environmental narratives, leading to new understandings in community environment relationships. Children living near the state administered forest had significantly less environmental knowledge, bringing about questions of sustainable bio-cultural diversity in the future. The recognition of cultural environmental values is especially important in the rural areas of South Africa, where unemployment and increased poverty levels have led to greater dependence on natural resources for social, economic and cultural purposes. It is proposed that local cultural environmental narratives and landscape perceptions be included into community conservation and environmental education policies and programmes to provide local solutions to the problem of biodiversity conservation in local contexts.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
The impact of forest degradation on carbon stocks of forests in the Matiwane area of the Transkei, South Africa
- Authors: Mangwale, Kagiso
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Forest degradation -- Control -- South Africa -- Transkei , Forest ecology -- South Africa -- Transkei , Carbon sequestration -- South Africa -- Transkei , Forest conservation -- South Africa -- Transkei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4781 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012799 , Forest degradation -- Control -- South Africa -- Transkei , Forest ecology -- South Africa -- Transkei , Carbon sequestration -- South Africa -- Transkei , Forest conservation -- South Africa -- Transkei
- Description: This study focused on assessing the condition and creating a carbon inventory of forests in the Matiwane area of the Transkei. This entailed the use of aerial photography in tracing forest cover change from 1942 to 2007 coupled with ground-truthing to assess whether the forests have in any way endured degradation over the years with a potential reduction in carbon stocks as a result. This study revealed both the loss and gain of biomass in the area with a general trend of forests being continuously converted to agricultural fields resulting in reduced forest area, stem density, tree density and carbon loss in different pools of the forests, reflecting that these forests are degraded. The conversion has resulted in the reduction in the number of species from a mean of 11±0.57 species/200m² in intact forests to 1±0.23species/200m² plot in degraded forests. It was also revealed that approximately 5.2 % (791 hectares) of 15 352 hectares of forest area was lost as a result of the conversion of forest land to agricultural fields from 1942 to 2007 with 99 % of the clearing occurring in the last 33 years (1974-2007) and of which 60 % ( 4 77 hectares) occurred from 1995 to 2007, indicating that forest degradation in these forests is on the increase. The assessment also revealed some areas that were nonforest in 1942 that have accumulated woody biomass (BAA), composed mainly of Acacia sp accounting for 51.18 MgC.ha⁻¹ (Megagrams of carbon per hectare) and total carbon stocks of 0.02 TgC (Teragrams of carbon). The degradation of these forests induced a reduction in carbon stocks from 311.68±23.69 MgC.ha⁻¹ (to a soil depth 0-50 cm) in intact forest to 73.46±12.34 MgC.ha⁻¹ in degraded forests. The total carbon stocks in the degraded forests were approximated at 0.06 TgC and the BAA areas 0.02 TgC with 4.7 TgC in intact forests. The degradation of these forests has resulted in the net carbon loss of 0.19 TgC between 1942 and 2007 but 4.76 TgC is still locked in these forests. The large difference in carbon stocks between intact and degraded forests indicated the need to reduce the degradation of these forests to prevent further carbon loss and reduction of the carbon sequestration potential of these forests.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
- Authors: Mangwale, Kagiso
- Date: 2011
- Subjects: Forest degradation -- Control -- South Africa -- Transkei , Forest ecology -- South Africa -- Transkei , Carbon sequestration -- South Africa -- Transkei , Forest conservation -- South Africa -- Transkei
- Language: English
- Type: Thesis , Masters , MSc
- Identifier: vital:4781 , http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1012799 , Forest degradation -- Control -- South Africa -- Transkei , Forest ecology -- South Africa -- Transkei , Carbon sequestration -- South Africa -- Transkei , Forest conservation -- South Africa -- Transkei
- Description: This study focused on assessing the condition and creating a carbon inventory of forests in the Matiwane area of the Transkei. This entailed the use of aerial photography in tracing forest cover change from 1942 to 2007 coupled with ground-truthing to assess whether the forests have in any way endured degradation over the years with a potential reduction in carbon stocks as a result. This study revealed both the loss and gain of biomass in the area with a general trend of forests being continuously converted to agricultural fields resulting in reduced forest area, stem density, tree density and carbon loss in different pools of the forests, reflecting that these forests are degraded. The conversion has resulted in the reduction in the number of species from a mean of 11±0.57 species/200m² in intact forests to 1±0.23species/200m² plot in degraded forests. It was also revealed that approximately 5.2 % (791 hectares) of 15 352 hectares of forest area was lost as a result of the conversion of forest land to agricultural fields from 1942 to 2007 with 99 % of the clearing occurring in the last 33 years (1974-2007) and of which 60 % ( 4 77 hectares) occurred from 1995 to 2007, indicating that forest degradation in these forests is on the increase. The assessment also revealed some areas that were nonforest in 1942 that have accumulated woody biomass (BAA), composed mainly of Acacia sp accounting for 51.18 MgC.ha⁻¹ (Megagrams of carbon per hectare) and total carbon stocks of 0.02 TgC (Teragrams of carbon). The degradation of these forests induced a reduction in carbon stocks from 311.68±23.69 MgC.ha⁻¹ (to a soil depth 0-50 cm) in intact forest to 73.46±12.34 MgC.ha⁻¹ in degraded forests. The total carbon stocks in the degraded forests were approximated at 0.06 TgC and the BAA areas 0.02 TgC with 4.7 TgC in intact forests. The degradation of these forests has resulted in the net carbon loss of 0.19 TgC between 1942 and 2007 but 4.76 TgC is still locked in these forests. The large difference in carbon stocks between intact and degraded forests indicated the need to reduce the degradation of these forests to prevent further carbon loss and reduction of the carbon sequestration potential of these forests.
- Full Text:
- Date Issued: 2011
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