General Site Overview:

This reforestation site was an experiment by the Greenpop Foundation, with three different sections planted with different densities of the indigenous pioneer species Keurboom. These planting densities were 25%, 50% and 75%. All three sections were interplanted with other indigenous species. Overall the entire site has tall Keurboom’s reaching above 10m. The majority of the site has reached canopy closure and there are various ground covers and understory species present. Greenpop's M&E Fieldwork team encountered 2 species of small birds, while monitoring and this recovering forest is already offering various habitats, homes and food to various visiting and residing species. Natural regeneration is occurring, as the team observed some Eriochephalus and other indigenous shrubs thriving in certain areas. Some grass on the edge of the site is dominating the planted trees, but overall the site is doing very well. It will be interesting to assess the data and see which density is most successful, not just for the pioneering Keurboom, but for the other planted species. Visually, the lowest and highest density was seemingly less successful, but the visual differences may also be due to a variety of other factors. This data will reveal what density of pioneers is most beneficial for reforestation projects in the Garden Route.