The effectiveness of active restoration following alien clearance in fynbos riparian zones and resilience of treatments to fire

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dc.contributor.authorPretorius M.R.
dc.contributor.authorEsler K.J.
dc.contributor.authorHolmes P.M.
dc.contributor.authorPrins N.
dc.date.accessioned2011-05-15T15:54:50Z
dc.date.available2011-05-15T15:54:50Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.description.abstractIn 1998, a restoration field trial was initiated in a catchment near Wellington (Western Cape, South Africa) to determine whether fynbos riparian scrub vegetation cleared of woody invasive alien trees require post-clearance restoration actions to accelerate indigenous vegetation recovery. The aim was to assess the relative effectiveness of three sowing treatments for restoring indigenous vegetation cover after the widely used "Fell & Burn" method of clearing invasive alien trees. Sowing treatments included non-invasive alien grasses to determine whether they have a negative effect on recovering native vegetation. A summer fire, eight years after trial initiation, provided an opportunity to determine how resilient restoration treatments are to alien re-invasion and fire. Restoring the site after alien clearing by sowing indigenous seeds increased both diversity, by improving species presence and abundance. However, a census done 8 years later (in 2006) revealed that seedlings of woody invasive alien plants dominated all plots, and had also survived the burn by resprouting, indicating the importance of follow-up control to justify initial clearing and restoration costs. Indigenous grass density was significantly reduced in plots where alien grasses were sown, while in the control and fynbos sowing treatment, indigenous grass density increased. By 2006, alien grass density was negligible in all treatments, indicating that the two grass species sown are not persistent or invasive. Active restoration of riparian areas after alien plant clearing has potential to facilitate vegetation recovery, but must be coupled with a long-term plan for adequate follow-up removal of post-clearance and post-fire alien recruits. © 2008 SAAB.
dc.description.versionArticle
dc.identifier.citationSouth African Journal of Botany
dc.identifier.citation74
dc.identifier.citation3
dc.identifier.issn2546299
dc.identifier.other10.1016/j.sajb.2008.01.180
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/9425
dc.subjectabundance
dc.subjectbiological invasion
dc.subjectcensus
dc.subjectecosystem resilience
dc.subjectforest fire
dc.subjectfynbos
dc.subjectinvasive species
dc.subjectmanagement practice
dc.subjectrestoration ecology
dc.subjectriparian zone
dc.subjectsowing
dc.subjectvegetation cover
dc.subjectAfrica
dc.subjectSouth Africa
dc.subjectSouthern Africa
dc.subjectSub-Saharan Africa
dc.subjectWellington [Western Cape]
dc.subjectWestern Cape
dc.subjectPoaceae
dc.titleThe effectiveness of active restoration following alien clearance in fynbos riparian zones and resilience of treatments to fire
dc.typeArticle
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