scholarly journals The Alien Plants That Threaten South Africa’s Mountain Ecosystems

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 1393
Author(s):  
Kim Canavan ◽  
Susan Canavan ◽  
Vincent Ralph Clark ◽  
Onalenna Gwate ◽  
David Mark Richardson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Plant Invasions ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Mountain Ranges ◽  
The Status

The six major mountain ranges in South Africa support critically important ecosystem services—notably water production—and are rich in biodiversity and endemism. These mountains are threatened by detrimental land uses, unsustainable use of natural resources, climate change, and invasive alien plants. Invasive alien plants pose substantial and rapidly increasing problems in mountainous areas worldwide. However, little is known about the extent of plant invasions in the mountains of South Africa. This study assessed the status of alien plants in South African mountains by determining sampling efforts, species compositions and abundances across the six ranges in lower-and higher-elevation areas. Species occurrence records were obtained from three databases that used various approaches (roadside surveys, citizen science observations, focused botanical surveys). Most mountain ranges were found to be undersampled, and species composition assessments were only possible for two ranges. The majority of abundant alien plants in both the lower- and higher-elevation areas were species with broad ecological tolerances and characterised by long distance seed dispersal. These prevalent species were mostly woody plants—particularly tree species in the genera Acacia, Pinus, and Prosopis—that are contributing to the trend of woody plant encroachment across South African mountains. We suggest improved mountain-specific surveys to create a database which could be used to develop management strategies appropriate for each mountain range.

Survey of trunk pathogens in South African olive nurseries

Plant Disease ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meagan Van Dyk ◽  
Chris Spies ◽  
Lizel Mostert ◽  
Francois Halleen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Process Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Long Distance ◽  
Inoculum Sources ◽  
The Status ◽  
Old Trees ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
Olive Industry ◽  
Free Material

Several fungal trunk pathogens are associated with olive trunk diseases in South Africa. Little is known regarding the inoculum sources of these pathogens in the olive industry and no specific management strategies are in place. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of olive nurseries in South Africa, with regard to the presence of trunk pathogens in olive plant material, to determine whether nursery material can be considered inoculum sources contributing to long distance dispersal of these pathogens. Isolations were made from asymptomatic cuttings from mother blocks (Stage 1), asymptomatic and symptomatic rooted cuttings (Stage 2) and 1- to 2-year-old trees (Stage 3) of eight cultivars in two nurseries. Known olive trunk pathogens of Nectriaceae, Diaporthaceae, Botrysphaeriaceae, Togniniaceae, Phaeomoniellaceae and Pleurostomataceae were recovered. Neofusicoccum australe was detected in a single Stage 1 cutting. Stage 3 material showed the highest incidence of fungi from these families, with Pleurostoma richardsiae having the highest incidence in both nurseries (82.2% and 36.7% of the 1- to 2-year-old trees). Phaeoacremonium parasiticum was present in 28.9% of the trees from one nursery (Stage 3). The remaining pathogens occurred in 13.3% or less of the material. These results indicate that nursery propagation material from mother blocks harbour low levels of trunk pathogens, and that additional infections occur during the nursery process. Management strategies should focus on the prevention and elimination of infections in mother blocks, as well as during the propagation process to ensure pathogen-free material is delivered to producers.

scholarly journals Assessing the status of biological control as a management tool for suppression of invasive alien plants in South Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Costas Zachariades ◽  
Iain D. Paterson ◽  
Lorraine W. Strathie ◽  
Martin P. Hill ◽  
Brian W. Van Wilgen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Biological Control ◽  
Biological Invasions ◽  
Mass Rearing ◽  
Alien Plants ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Application Process ◽  
Invasive Alien Plants ◽  
Financial Investment ◽  
The Status

Background: Biological control of invasive alien plants (IAPs) using introduced natural enemies contributes significantly to sustained, cost-effective management of natural resources in South Africa. The status of, and prospects for, biological control is therefore integral to National Status Reports (NSRs) on Biological Invasions, the first of which is due in 2017. Objectives: Our aim was to evaluate the status of, and prospects for, biological control of IAPs in South Africa. We discuss expansion of biological control and suggest indicators to be used in the upcoming NSR to assess sufficient growth. Method: We used published literature, unpublished work and personal communication to assess the status of biological control of IAPs. We propose indicators based on the targets for biological control that were proposed in the 2014 ‘National Strategy for dealing with biological invasions in South Africa’. To prioritise targets for future efforts, we used published lists of damaging IAPs and assessed the prospects for their biological control. Recommendations for using biological control as a management tool were made after discussion among the authors and with colleagues. Results: Significant control of several Cactaceae, Australian Acacia species and floating aquatic plants, and many other IAPs has been achieved in South Africa since 1913. Recently, biological control has benefited from improved international collaboration, a streamlined application process for the release of new biological control agents (resulting in the approval of 19 agents against 13 IAP species since 2013), and increased funding and capacity. There is still a need to improve implementation and to better integrate biological control with other control methods. In order to maximise benefits from biological control, increased investment is required, particularly in implementation and post-release evaluation, and in targeting new IAPs. Proposed targets for growth between 2017 and 2020 include an increase in financial investment in research by 29%, implementation by 28% and mass-rearing by 68%. Research capacity should increase by 29%, implementation capacity by 63% and mass-rearing capacity by 61%. New research projects should be initiated on 12 new IAP targets, while post-release monitoring efforts should be expanded to another 31 IAPs. Conclusion: Biological control of IAPs has contributed substantially to their management in South Africa, and continues to do so. Further investment in targeted aspects of IAP biological control will increase this contribution.

Fatigue-management strategies among women with endometriosis in South Africa: a qualitative study

2021 ◽  
pp. 008124632110201
Author(s):  
Zamafiso Nombulelo Sibande ◽  
Rizwana Roomaney
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Psychosocial Intervention ◽  
Public Hospital ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Secondary Symptom ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Fatigue Management ◽  
Insight Into

Fatigue is a common, secondary symptom of endometriosis that has not been qualitatively explored. We conducted individual, face-to-face interviews with 25 women in South Africa about their experiences of endometriosis-related fatigue. Participants were recruited at a public hospital in Cape Town and through several South African endometriosis organizations. Interviews were conducted in English and Afrikaans and ranged from 30 min to 1 hr 16 min in duration. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis. We found that both the experience of fatigue and fatigue-management strategies were highly personalized. Participants reported using a variety of cognitive strategies, such as planning, pacing, and pushing through their fatigue to reduce the levels of fatigue. Participants also employed physical strategies such as rest, dietary changes, using supplements, and exercise. We found that while participants often tried fatigue-management strategies suggested to them by others, they struggled to maintain these strategies even when they were successful. There are currently no interventions aimed at reducing endometriosis-related fatigue. The findings of this study provide insight into the management of fatigue in women with endometriosis and may be used to develop a psychosocial intervention for fatigue among women with the disease.

Integrative taxonomic methods reveal an incorrect synonymisation of the South African Pseudonereis podocirra (Schmarda) as the widespread Pseudonereis variegata (Grube) from Chile

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyothi Kara ◽  
Angus H. H. Macdonald ◽  
Carol A. Simon
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Species Delimitation ◽  
Haplotype Network ◽  
The Body ◽  
General Description ◽  
The South ◽  
Morphological Examination ◽  
Genetic Structuring ◽  
The Status

The nereidid Pseudonereis variegata (Grube, 1866) described from Chile includes 14 synonymised species from 10 type localities with a discontinuous distribution, but no taxonomic or molecular studies have investigated the status of this species outside Chile. Two synonymised species, Mastigonereis podocirra Schmarda, 1861 and Nereis (Nereilepas) stimpsonis Grube, 1866, were described from South Africa and investigated here using morphological examination. MtCOI species delimitation analyses and morphology were used to determine the status of P. variegata in South Africa. Morphological examination revealed that museum and freshly collected specimens from South Africa that conform to the general description of P. variegata are similar to M. podocirra and N. stimpsonis with respect to the consistent absence of homogomph spinigers in the inferior neuropodial fascicle, expanded notopodial ligules and the subterminal attachment of dorsal cirri in posterior parapodia. The synonymy of M. podocirra and N. stimpsonis as P. variegata are rejected and P. podocirra, comb. nov. is reinstated. Morphologically, Pseudonereis podocirra differed from specimens from Chile with regard to the numbers of paragnaths, the absence of homogomph spinigers and changes in parapodial morphology along the body. Independence of these species was further supported by genetic distances, automatic barcode gap discovery and multi-rate Poisson tree process species delimitation analyses of 77 mtCOI sequences. Haplotype network revealed no genetic structuring within the South African populations. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F0B1A5AF-9CE9-4A43-ACCF-17117E1C2F21

scholarly journals Indigenous vascular plants of the Soutpansberg, South Africa

Bothalia ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Norbert Hahn
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Conservation Planning ◽  
Vascular Plants ◽  
Biosphere Reserve ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
Floristic Diversity ◽  
Literature Reviews ◽  
The Status ◽  
Herbarium Collections

Background: The first checklist for the Soutpansberg was published in 1946, and the second list was compiled by the author in 2006 as part of his doctoral thesis. Currently, there is a need for an updated account of the biodiversity of the Soutpansberg Centre of Endemism and Diversity for conservation planning in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, within which the Soutpansberg is the principle geomorphological feature.Objectives: To present an updated list of vascular plants recorded for the Soutpansberg.Method: The list was compiled from various sources including literature reviews, herbarium specimens, herbarium databases and personal observations.Results: This article presents the most geographically accurate and taxonomically updated list of the indigenous vascular flora of the Soutpansberg, the northernmost mountain range of South Africa. Altogether 2443 taxa are recorded belonging to 922 genera in 187 families and 64 orders.Conclusion: The list presented in this article confirms the status of the Soutpansberg as a centre of floristic diversity in southern Africa. Notable is the higher-order diversity of the flora. It is likely that both future surveys and reviews of herbarium collections will add new taxa to the current total.

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