: IS DURBAN’S FLAGSHIP REFORESTATION PROJECT MEETING STATED TARGETS?

Kathryn Terblanche, Kevin Kirkman, Hylton Adie, Debra Roberts, Errol Douwes

• South ’s major port city • Population: 3.5 million • Area: 2 300 km2 (888 mi2) • 30 – 40% unemployment • 37% 20+ completed high school

• Contains four of South Africa's eight biomes • Seven vegetation types • Over 2000 indigenous taxa • Durban is part of a global biodiversity hotspot • Substantial development deficits - created by:

• shortage of human and financial resources, • increasing levels of informality, • poor governance, • environmental degradation, • biodiversity loss, • poverty, • growing inequality.

• This ultimately means that environmental projects need to address poverty alleviation and help to reduce inequality to be sustainable in the long term.

• The Environmental Planning and Climate Protection Department (EPCPD) - EThekwini Municipality.

• Restore natural forest and woodland in the buffer zone of the Buffelsdraai Regional Landfill site.

• Offset a portion of the carbon emissions related to the hosting of the ‘carbon neutral’ 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

• Climate change adaptation role – to improve city resilience.

The location of Buffelsdraai Community Reforestation Project within the eThekwini Municipal Area

• 100 ha footprint but is surrounded by a 800 ha buffer zone.

• Initially covered by over 500 ha of sugarcane.

• Wildlands Conservation Trust’s ‘Indigenous Trees for Life’ concept.

• Through tree planting, these projects are able to sequester carbon as well as alleviate poverty.

• Previously sugar cane • Depleted seed bank • Uplift local communities • Quick

• Forests supply many ecosystem services – buffer.

• Trees are easier to trade.

• Grasslands are a fire risk to the landfill.

To determine whether active restoration implemented at Buffelsdraai will satisfy stated objectives of the restoration program.

1. To examine: • richness; • species diversity; • stem density; • species composition; and • functional diversity (partially explored).

2. To compare active restoration sites with a reference ecosystem.

• It is critical for management of the project.

• This study will: • Determine biological composition of sites being restored. • Aid adaptive management on site and allow the department to fine-tune/adjust their management of the site. • Provide baseline data for monitoring. Is the project meeting its stated goals? • Three active restoration sites.

• Project planting blocks -2009, 2010 and 2011.

• 20 200m2 (2153 ft2) circular plots at each site.

• Chosen randomly prior to field work.

• Steel peg with a 7.98 m (26 ft.) length of 7.98m tape attached to it. • Plant identification. • Active restoration – planted specimens only.

• Are we going in the right direction?

• Intact forest/woodland patches at Kenneth Stainbank Nature Reserve.

• Same methodology – (20x 200 m2 (2153 ft2) random plots).

• Stems dbh >10 cm (4 in)

1400

1200

1000 Implications: 800 • Sprawling trees 600 • Grass dominated • Fire 400 • Competition Stemsper hectare

200

0 Site 1 (2009) Site 2 (2010) Site 3 (2011) Mean planting density (stems per ha). Error bars represent 95% CI.

All sites below recommended reforestation planting density 40

35

30

25 Site 1

20 Site 2

15 Site 3 10 Site 4 (KS)

species richnessRarefied 5

0 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400 450 No. of Individuals

Tree species encountered per number of individuals through Mao-Tau sample- based rarefaction in EstimateS (Colwell)

35

30

25

20

15

10

5 number of Effective species

0 Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 (KS)

Species diversity (Shannon exponential) (Chao and Shen, 2010). Error bars represent 95% CI. 1

0.5 KS B1 0 B2 -1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5 B3

-0.5

-1

Differences in communities illustrated by an MDS plot using Bray Curtis similarity (PRIMER 6). Error bars indicate 95% CI. • Acacia caffra • Acacia karroo • Erythrina lysistemon • Dalbergia obovata NITROGEN FIXERS / SPRAWLING STRUCTURES / PERSIST IN FIRE

• Croton sylvaticus • Englerophytum natalense • Searsia chirindensis • Xylotheca kraussiana • FOREST ONLY Fast growing, sprawling species dominating the reforestation sites, but forest species missing

• Treepreneur choices (Easy to grow? Fast growing?)

• Seed collection (what's in the vicinity?)

• Survival

35 30 25

20 15 10 5

of species 0 Site 1 Site 2 Site 3 Site 4 (KS) Effective number Sites • More sun tolerant trees planted now, could act as nurse trees for the forest trees, which can be added at a later stage. • Not yet complete • Traits • Wood density (g/cm3) • Seed mass (g) • SLA (cm3/g) • Dispersal mode (CATEGORICAL) • Resprouter (CATEGORICAL)

• Analyses (SPSS) • Log transform • MANOVA and post hoc tukey - continuous data • Chi square - categorical data • Increase density to reduce the risk of fire and speed up growth. • Increase diversity. • Start teaching people to grow forest species. • Source a good quality forest nearby where seeds can be collected. • Be prescriptive about what trees to be grown. • Perhaps offer incentives for the more rare / forest species.

University of KwaZulu-Natal College of Agriculture, Engineering and Science Grassland Science Masters by Dissertation

Kathryn Terblanche (213573257) [email protected]

Thanks to:

Prof Kevin Kirkman, Dr Hylton Adie, Dr Debra Roberts & Mr Errol Douwes

Funding: