Economic analysis of the eradication and management of invasive alien vegetation in the Mhlatuze river catchment (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)

Alien invasive vegetation threatens the functioning and existence of natural ecosystems in South Africa because many of these plants have no predators or competitors, allowing them to dominate the ecosystem which they inhabit. The rapid proliferation of this alien vegetation, ascribed to the increase in afforestation and changes in land use, has had significant adverse impacts on water resources, biodiversity and the stability as well as integrity of these ecosystems. Although eradicating alien invasive vegetation gives rise to a number of different benefits, this process entails enormous costs. Consequently, in order to establish the economic viability of alien plant eradication it is essential to analyse these costs as well as the benefits associated with eradication.

Download Full-text

Application of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing for Land Use/Cover Change Analysis in the Klip River Catchment, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

Advances in Science Technology and Engineering Systems Journal ◽

10.25046/aj060509 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

pp. 65-72

Author(s):

Dunisani Thomas Chabalala ◽

Julius Musyoka Ndambuki ◽

Wanjala Ramadhan Salim ◽

Sophia Sudi Rwanga

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Remote Sensing ◽

Land Use ◽

Information Systems ◽

Geographic Information Systems ◽

Geographic Information ◽

Change Analysis ◽

River Catchment ◽

Kwazulu Natal

Download Full-text

Chronology and controls of donga (gully) formation in the upper Blood River catchment, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa: Evidence for a climatic driver of erosion

The Holocene ◽

10.1177/0959683613508157 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 23 (12) ◽

pp. 1875-1887 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Richard Lyons ◽

Stephen Tooth ◽

Geoff AT Duller

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

River Catchment ◽

Kwazulu Natal

Download Full-text

Railway side mapping of alien plant distributions in Mpumalanga, South Africa

Bothalia ◽

10.4102/abc.v47i1.2130 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 47 (2) ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ndifelani Mararakanye ◽

Modau N. Magoro ◽

Nomakhazi N. Matshaya ◽

Matome C. Rabothata ◽

Sthembele R. Ncobeni

Keyword(s):

South Africa ◽

Plant Invasions ◽

Unsupervised Classification ◽

Plant Distribution ◽

Natural Ecosystems ◽

Alien Plant ◽

Production Water ◽

Analysis Technique ◽

Salix Babylonica ◽

Species Occurrences

Background: Alien plant invasions are among the major threats to natural and semi-natural ecosystems in South Africa on approximately 18 million hectares of land. Much of the available data are not suitable for planning of local scale management because it is presented at a quarter degree grid square scale, which makes accurate location and estimates of invaded areas difficult.Objectives: The aim was to identify the dominant alien plant species and quantify their areal extent along a 479 km railway corridor in the Mpumalanga province.Method: The extent of the invaded area was obtained by manual digitising of alien plant distribution and density from Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre 5 imagery and by further applying an Iterative Self-Organising Data Analysis technique of the unsupervised classification method. Species’ occurrences were located and identified in the field using a Global Positioning System.Results: The most dominant invaders in terms of the number of individual polygons and the infested area were Eucalyptus spp., Acacia spp., Populus alba L., Pinus patula Schltdl Cham., Salix babylonica L. and Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston. These species have also been previously classified as major invaders, although the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act regulations permit their planting provided spreading to adjacent areas is avoided except for C. decapetala, which must be cleared under all circumstances.Conclusion: Knowledge of the species’ occurrence and their extent will assist landowners and relevant authorities to control the spread of alien plants, which impact rail safety, agricultural production, water availability and biodiversity.

Download Full-text