Historical changes in the extent, composition and structure of the forest patches on the KwaNibela Peninsula, St. Lucia
- Authors: Corrigan, Bridget Marion
- Date: 2011-04-13T08:16:55Z
- Subjects: Forest ecology , Forest dynamics , Forest influences , KwaNibela Peninsula (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7057 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3597
- Description: M.Sc. , This study examined the disturbance and recovery patterns and processes of a subtropical dry forest in Southern Maputaland, South Africa in an attempt to determine how the forest areas interact with non-forest areas in the presence of human-induced disturbances. The KwaNibela Peninsula is an outcrop of land at the northern reaches of Lake St Lucia with patches of forest interspersed in a woodland matrix. The peninsula is inhabited by the local KwaNibela community who utilise the forest resources for a variety of purposes and the question is: how do the vegetation communities and species respond to these disturbances? The forest has increased in extent over the last 71 years; however the degree of forest patch fragmentation has also increased as a result of clearcutting areas of forest for homesteads, kraals, cropland and infrastructure. The floristic and structural changes from areas of core forest to the open woodland show that forest regeneration is taking place, particularly within the young, re-growth stages and certain shade-intolerant species only occur within the forest as mature individuals, with no recruitment under the forest canopy. The presence of open areas/gaps in and around the forest allows the recruitment of shade-intolerant species and this drives forest succession in a woodland environment. The resource use by the local community contributes toward the relatively high levels of regeneration and the forest in KwaNibela can be described as a young and dynamic KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Forest with affinities to related forest types. The vernacular names and uses of 82 plant species and eight animal species were recorded and compared to previously-recorded Zulu knowledge, as well as uses recorded elsewhere in Africa. A considerable number of species were found to have uses and vernacular names that are new to our current recorded knowledge and this study, therefore, reveals that the ethnobotanical knowledge of the Zulu ethnic group in Maputaland is incompletely recorded. A framework for sustainable resource use management was provided, based on the information collated during this study and it was ascertained that managerial efforts should focus on encouraging responsible resource use practices and promoting income and resource alternatives in the attempt to relieve pressure on forest resources while ensuring the long-term sustainability of forest-based livelihoods in this area.
- Full Text:
- Authors: Corrigan, Bridget Marion
- Date: 2011-04-13T08:16:55Z
- Subjects: Forest ecology , Forest dynamics , Forest influences , KwaNibela Peninsula (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:7057 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/3597
- Description: M.Sc. , This study examined the disturbance and recovery patterns and processes of a subtropical dry forest in Southern Maputaland, South Africa in an attempt to determine how the forest areas interact with non-forest areas in the presence of human-induced disturbances. The KwaNibela Peninsula is an outcrop of land at the northern reaches of Lake St Lucia with patches of forest interspersed in a woodland matrix. The peninsula is inhabited by the local KwaNibela community who utilise the forest resources for a variety of purposes and the question is: how do the vegetation communities and species respond to these disturbances? The forest has increased in extent over the last 71 years; however the degree of forest patch fragmentation has also increased as a result of clearcutting areas of forest for homesteads, kraals, cropland and infrastructure. The floristic and structural changes from areas of core forest to the open woodland show that forest regeneration is taking place, particularly within the young, re-growth stages and certain shade-intolerant species only occur within the forest as mature individuals, with no recruitment under the forest canopy. The presence of open areas/gaps in and around the forest allows the recruitment of shade-intolerant species and this drives forest succession in a woodland environment. The resource use by the local community contributes toward the relatively high levels of regeneration and the forest in KwaNibela can be described as a young and dynamic KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Forest with affinities to related forest types. The vernacular names and uses of 82 plant species and eight animal species were recorded and compared to previously-recorded Zulu knowledge, as well as uses recorded elsewhere in Africa. A considerable number of species were found to have uses and vernacular names that are new to our current recorded knowledge and this study, therefore, reveals that the ethnobotanical knowledge of the Zulu ethnic group in Maputaland is incompletely recorded. A framework for sustainable resource use management was provided, based on the information collated during this study and it was ascertained that managerial efforts should focus on encouraging responsible resource use practices and promoting income and resource alternatives in the attempt to relieve pressure on forest resources while ensuring the long-term sustainability of forest-based livelihoods in this area.
- Full Text:
An ethnobotanical survey of the Agter-Hantam, Northern Cape Province, South Africa
- De Beer, Josef Johannes Jacobus
- Authors: De Beer, Josef Johannes Jacobus
- Date: 2012-08-20
- Subjects: Khoisan (African people) - Ethnobotany , Ethnobotany - South Africa - Calvinia , Human-plant relationships - South Africa - Calvinia , Calvinia (South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2763 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6204
- Description: M.Sc. , This study aimed to systematically record and thus preserve indigenous plant use information of the Agter-Hantam area in a scientifically accurate way and to make a contribution to the knowledge of Khoi-San ethnobotany. The research work met all the minimum standards for ethnobotanical research as proposed by Heinrich et al. (2009), which includes that field studies should be built on a clear conceptual framework and hypothesis testing, that ethical clearance should be obtained, the methodology/ research procedures should adhere to minimum requirements, and the research should comply with data standards that will make it possible to use specific information in future experimental and applied research. The study area was the Agter-Hantam region, Calvinia district, Northern Cape Province of South Africa, where the ancestors of the supervisor have had a well-recorded presence since the 1770’s. The rapid appraisal methodology was initially used and this was followed by a new rigorous and practical quantitative approach developed during this study ̶ here referred to as the Matrix Method in conducting ethnobotanical field work. The survey has revealed a wealth of traditional knowledge on useful plants amongst people of Khoi-San decent in the Agter-Hantam. The traditional and contemporary uses of 64 plant species were accurately recorded. Previously unpublished information on indigenous plant use revealed by this study includes 14 new species records of useful plants, 20 new vernacular names not recorded in literature, and 99 new uses for 46 of the plant species. Although some work has been done in what Prance et al. (1987) coined as “quantitative ethnobotany”, this study also introduced two new terms- the Ethnobotanical Knowledge Index (EKI), a quantitative measure of a person’s knowledge of local plant use (with a value between 0 and 1), and the Species Popularity Index (SPI), a quantitative measure of the popularity of each species (value between 0 and 1). In the Agter-Hantam, the EKI of participants varied from 0.20 to 0.93. The best known and most popular indigenous plants in the Agter-Hantam are Aloe microstigma (a new species record, with a SPI of 0.97), Hoodia gordonii (SPI = 0.94), Microloma sagittatum (0.94), Sutherlandia frutescens (0.92), Quaqua incarnata (0.92) and Galenia africana (0.85).
- Full Text:
- Authors: De Beer, Josef Johannes Jacobus
- Date: 2012-08-20
- Subjects: Khoisan (African people) - Ethnobotany , Ethnobotany - South Africa - Calvinia , Human-plant relationships - South Africa - Calvinia , Calvinia (South Africa)
- Type: Thesis
- Identifier: uj:2763 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/6204
- Description: M.Sc. , This study aimed to systematically record and thus preserve indigenous plant use information of the Agter-Hantam area in a scientifically accurate way and to make a contribution to the knowledge of Khoi-San ethnobotany. The research work met all the minimum standards for ethnobotanical research as proposed by Heinrich et al. (2009), which includes that field studies should be built on a clear conceptual framework and hypothesis testing, that ethical clearance should be obtained, the methodology/ research procedures should adhere to minimum requirements, and the research should comply with data standards that will make it possible to use specific information in future experimental and applied research. The study area was the Agter-Hantam region, Calvinia district, Northern Cape Province of South Africa, where the ancestors of the supervisor have had a well-recorded presence since the 1770’s. The rapid appraisal methodology was initially used and this was followed by a new rigorous and practical quantitative approach developed during this study ̶ here referred to as the Matrix Method in conducting ethnobotanical field work. The survey has revealed a wealth of traditional knowledge on useful plants amongst people of Khoi-San decent in the Agter-Hantam. The traditional and contemporary uses of 64 plant species were accurately recorded. Previously unpublished information on indigenous plant use revealed by this study includes 14 new species records of useful plants, 20 new vernacular names not recorded in literature, and 99 new uses for 46 of the plant species. Although some work has been done in what Prance et al. (1987) coined as “quantitative ethnobotany”, this study also introduced two new terms- the Ethnobotanical Knowledge Index (EKI), a quantitative measure of a person’s knowledge of local plant use (with a value between 0 and 1), and the Species Popularity Index (SPI), a quantitative measure of the popularity of each species (value between 0 and 1). In the Agter-Hantam, the EKI of participants varied from 0.20 to 0.93. The best known and most popular indigenous plants in the Agter-Hantam are Aloe microstigma (a new species record, with a SPI of 0.97), Hoodia gordonii (SPI = 0.94), Microloma sagittatum (0.94), Sutherlandia frutescens (0.92), Quaqua incarnata (0.92) and Galenia africana (0.85).
- Full Text:
- «
- ‹
- 1
- ›
- »