Short-term responses of herbaceous vegetation to bush clearing in semi-arid rangelands of South Africa

dc.contributor.authorMndela, Mthunzi
dc.contributor.authorMadakadze, Ignacio Casper
dc.contributor.authorNherera-Chokuda, Florence V.
dc.contributor.authorDube, Sikhalazo
dc.contributor.authorRamoelo, Abel
dc.contributor.authorMangwane, Mziwanda
dc.contributor.authorTjelele, Julius T.
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-04T11:32:25Z
dc.date.available2023-10-04T11:32:25Z
dc.date.issued2022-04-08
dc.descriptionADDITIONAL FILE 1: TABLE S1. Pearson’s correlation between herbaceous species and soil properties at Makapaanstad rangeland.en_US
dc.description.abstractBush thickening reduces herbaceous species diversity and forage production, leading to a decline in grazing capacity. Hence, altering the micro-climate and woody-grass competition in bush-encroached rangelands using bush clearing is instrumental for the restoration of herbaceous vegetation. The short-term recovery potential of herbaceous species composition, basal cover and biomass production was assessed following bush clearing at Makapaanstad, North West province, South Africa. The mean density was 6908 woody plants ha−1, with Vachellia tenuispina encroaching at 6301 plants ha−1. Paired observations were conducted in bush-cleared sites (where woody plants were cut using saws, with stumps treated with picloram at 1% concentration) and uncleared sites (where the woody cover was left intact). Fortynine different herbaceous species were recorded, with grasses being more abundant in cleared (62%) than in uncleared sites (50%). Herbaceous species showed interspecific responses, with Brachiaria eruciformis and Panicum coloratum colonising in cleared sites, whereas the frequency of other species remained comparable between cleared and uncleared sites. Graminoids, largely bunch grasses, had a significantly greater basal cover in cleared (496 cm2 m−2) compared to uncleared (301 cm2 m−2) sites. Likewise, total biomass production was significantly (p = 0.05) higher in cleared (760 kg DM ha−1) than in uncleared (636 kg DM ha−1) sites. The principal component analysis (PCA) showed that most herbaceous species were associated with soils having high total nitrogen and nitrite. Seedlings of forbs (r2 = 0.81), grasses (r2 = 0.97) and succulents (r2 = 0.98) were highly associated with nitrate-rich soils. Our results revealed that even at a short term, bush clearing is important for the restoration of herbaceous vegetation.en_US
dc.description.departmentPlant Production and Soil Scienceen_US
dc.description.librarianam2023en_US
dc.description.urihttp://link.springer.com/journal/13570en_US
dc.identifier.citationMndela, M., Madakadze, I.C., NhereraChokuda, F.V. et al. 2022, 'Short-term responses of herbaceous vegetation to bush clearing in semi-arid rangelands of South Africa', Pastoralism: Research, Policy and Practice, vol. 12, no. 17, pp. 1-13. DOI : 10.1186/s13570-022-00235-7.en_US
dc.identifier.issn2041-7136
dc.identifier.other10.1186/s13570-022-00235-7
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/92699
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSpringerOpenen_US
dc.rights© The Author(s). 2022 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.en_US
dc.subjectBasal coveren_US
dc.subjectBiomass productionen_US
dc.subjectBush clearingen_US
dc.subjectSpecies compositionen_US
dc.subjectSDG-15: Life on landen_US
dc.subjectSemi-ariden_US
dc.subjectSouth Africa (SA)en_US
dc.titleShort-term responses of herbaceous vegetation to bush clearing in semi-arid rangelands of South Africaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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