Kraaibosch Forest Restoration Project

Conservation problem statement:

Invasive alien plants pose a significant environmental risk in the Garden Route of South Africa. They predominate in disturbed landscapes and alter hydrological and fire cycles, as well as out competing indigenous vegetation, causing a loss in the biodiversity of the region. The management and control of invasive plants is an expensive and time consuming tasks which requires constant follow up and significant amounts of investment. The Kraaibosch Forest Restoration project was initiated as a result of severe wildfires which burned through the area in the middle of 2018. The fires, fuelled by dense populations of invasive vegetation including Pine, Blue Gum and Wattle, caused significant damage to the area and has resulted in an even more intense regrowth of invasive plants. These invasive species are not only highly water demanding and flammable, but they are also growing back so densely that they restrict the potential of much of the indigenous vegetation in the area to recover.

The project was initiated by Pachamama projects and Bioharmonic permaculture in an effort to create linkages in the landscape for plants and animals to travel through, while simultaneously reducing the risk of future fires causing more damage to the Knysna forests. By actively clearing invasive vegetation, implementing and managing firebreaks and replanting with indigenous trees were relevant, the project hopes to increase the ecological resilience of the area and restore natural fire and water cycles. In areas where indigenous regeneration is naturally occuring, there is no need for active restoration and by simply controlling the invasive species the project is seeing healthy regeneration. However, on sites were the fire burned too intensely or the invasive seedbank was too thick, active replanting is being conducted to create a seedbank for future natural regeneration which can also act as a bird habitat, green firebreak and more.

Project Outcomes:

No. of hectares of restoration: 0.5
No. of trees planted: 4,500

For more information visit:
www.greenpop.org