Quantifying the Water-Use of Dominant Land Uses in the Maputaland Coastal Plain
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26"/5*':*/(5)&8"5&364&0'%0.*/"/5 -"/%64&4*/5)&."165"-"/%$0"45"-1-"*/ 77 QUANTIFYING THE WATER-USE OF DOMINANT LAND USES IN THE MAPUTALAND COASTAL PLAIN Report to the Water Research Commission by C.S. Everson (Editor) With Contributions by: Everson C S, Scott-Shaw B C, Kelbe, B E, Starke, A, Pearton T, Geldenhuys C, Vather T, Maguire M March 2019 WRC Report No. TT 781/18 Obtainable from: Water Research Commission Private Bag X03 GEZINA, 0031 [email protected] or download from www.wrc.org.za © Water Research Commission This report has been reviewed by the Water Research Commission (WRC) and approved for publication. Approval does not signify that the contents necessarily reflect the views and policies of the WRC nor does mention of trade names or commercial products constitute endorsement or recommendation for use. ISBN 978-0-6392-0083-5 QUANTIFYING THE WATER-USE OF DOMINANT LAND USES IN THE MAPUTALAND COASTAL PLAIN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY BACKGROUND 3. Could the existing hydrological models aid in the assessment of the agroforestry impact on the aquatic environment? It is widely accepted that the expansion of 4. What was the reliability of these models to commercial forestry using fast growing alien tree simulate the impacts of the various species species may have negative hydrological and combination of species under different consequences. However, it is acknowledged that agroforestry models in Maputaland? some alien plants are important contributors to the South African economy. In water-stressed In this study the ModFlow regional groundwater catchments where there is a high demand for the model and SWAT surface water model were used expansion of commercial forestry (new licence and evaluated as a tool to study the impact of applications) there is an urgent need for vegetation systems and species on the alternative land-use activities that will provide groundwater dynamics. The models were used to viable economic and resource outputs while predict the impact of various agroforestry simultaneously achieving an equitable balance in systems on shallow aquifers and dependent water resource demand. Along the Maputaland aquatic environments in primary aquifers. The coastal plain, plantation forestry, agriculture research into the groundwater flows was used to (mixed cropping, livestock and fruit trees) and clarify the understanding of the geohydrology in expanded human settlement have influenced the this region and contribute to the broader ground and surface water in the region. It is knowledge and management of environmental therefore important to understand how fast- resources such as the health of Lakes Sibaya, growing plantation forestry species and natural Mgobezeleni, Shazibe, Bhangazi North and the forest expansion have changed the plant water- Kosi Lake which are an important component of use when compared with the more naturally the iSimangaliso Wetland Park. occurring wooded-grassland conditions. Current models of plantation forestry in AIM and OBJECTIVES Maputaland incorporate water intensive closed stand plantations based on large scale production The aim of the study was to understand and or smaller community owned woodlots. Less quantify the water-use of different agricultural water intensive land-uses derived from and ecological land-use components of the agroforestry systems, might include growing Maputaland Coastal Plain. These could plantation species at different row spacings (row potentially be developed into an integrated, cropping), silvo-pasture systems (mixed multiple-use agroforestry system(s), as an indigenous species and livestock combinations) alternative to commercial plantation forestry in or cultivation of indigenous medicinal species. To water stressed catchments. implement such systems, it is important to understand the key drivers influencing the The objectives of the project were to: ecology of natural vegetation in the region and quantify the water-use of characteristic land-use 1. Understand with accuracy the water-use of types. We therefore asked the following plantation forestry and indigenous species questions: within a commercial, community woodlot 1. What was the water-use impact for different and mixed plantation or agroforestry land-uses (vegetation types) on the environment in Maputaland. Maputaland Coastal plain? 2. Understand the ecological pattern and water- 2. What was the water-use of potential use of natural vegetation systems that could agroforestry species on the Maputaland be incorporated in agroforestry systems in coastal plain? Maputaland. 1 QUANTIFYING THE WATER-USE OF DOMINANT LAND USES IN THE MAPUTALAND COASTAL PLAIN 3. Develop and evaluate groundwater models of links with moisture regime, landscape position the Maputaland Coastal Aquifer to determine and natural vegetation cover. Observations the impacts of land-use in context to showed that hygrophilous grasslands were the plantation forestry, natural vegetation most productive areas as they contained fertile systems and a mixed plantation environment. soil types, were proximate to ground water and supported palatable grass species. METHODS In Manzengwenya plantation, selection of historical localities of these grasslands enabled Study sites and species selection. resource diversification from single crop plantation agriculture to mixed species tree-grass The Maputaland Coastal Belt has been identified communities suitable for both trees and livestock as an important area due to severe water to be assessed. shortages, social and environmental sensitivities, compounded by a lack of knowledge in both Hydrological suitability ecological and hydrological fields. This is a groundwater driven site that has changed To understand the water-use of plantation drastically over the last decade with changing species within a community woodlot (objective land-use. 1), a well-managed woodlot was selected in the adjacent rural area to Manzengwenya in The main study area was the Manzengwenya consultation with the Siphesihle Bukhosini plantation north of Lake Sibaya in Maputaland. Science Centre. Vasi Pan which is surrounded by the Manzengwenya plantation, is one of the few peat Pine (Pinus elliottii) was planted in the land areas in the country and potentially holds a surrounding Manzengwenya plantations in the high level of biodiversity. It was therefore early 1950s. These plantations were possible to study the effects of plantation subsequently planted to Eucalyptus. The forestry on the Maputaland coastal aquifer, the surrounding natural areas are covered by a water-use of plantation trees in commercial and mixture of densely forested areas, interspersed community areas, indigenous forest expansion dry grasslands (dominantly palm veld), and community resource use. hygrophilous grasslands and thicket. To investigate the water-use and ecological Manzengwenya was suitable to meet the pattern of natural vegetation (objective 1 and 2), hydrological objectives of this study as: suitable examples of indigenous forest patches It had both indigenous and commercial and forest expansion areas were selected. x tree species that could be measured for Ecological suitability the water-use component; x It had many different land-uses near one The forest sites chosen for measuring forest another that would allow for various ecological processes fulfilled the following agroforestry systems to be studied; criteria: x It was an ideal site to develop and test i) That the forest patches were well distributed groundwater models, due to the across the plantation vegetation and the community largely ii) That forest patches had a canopy cover of depending on this water resource; and greater than 80 % It is an important area in terms of social iii) That forest expansion sites were in proximity x to forest patches aspects (government interest) as well as iv) That forest expansion sites were not recently hydrological and ecological importance. damaged by fire or ongoing timber management activities. Five sites were selected for the long-term monitoring of individual tree sap flow (the A key focus was to characterise typical volume of sap flowing through a stem per unit of hydrological areas in the Vasi landscape through time). The selection of species for this project was 2 QUANTIFYING THE WATER-USE OF DOMINANT LAND USES IN THE MAPUTALAND COASTAL PLAIN motivated by a combination of expert advice, gaps in research areas and from various site visits Hydrometeorological Studies where common and/or important species were identified within the selected site. Distance from The project conducted intensive measurements wetlands and groundwater resources were also of individual tree water-use using heat energy considered in the selection of groups of species. balance techniques (Heat Pulse velocity (HPV) The selected sites consisted of a range of and Dynagage) and eddy covariance (EC) dominant land uses in the area. techniques. Weather variables, soil water dynamics as well as modelling the potential Ecological Sampling of Vegetation Types impact of the plantation forestry and possible agroforestry options was achieved using the The aim of the ecological component of the study SWAT and ModFlow hydrological catchment was to identify patterns in plant ecological, plant models. The research focussed on the priority resource and plant water-use relationships that individual indigenous tree species and plantation could be incorporated in agroforestry systems in trees species within the Manzengwenya Maputaland. plantations and Vasi Pan area. The composition of natural forest