Agronomic & vegetative rehabilitation
(South Africa)
Restoration, rehabilitation, reclamation
Description
Combinations; cultivation & vegetative
The purpose of the rehabilitation includes an increase in production potential, vegetative cover and density, biodiversity, fodder for grazing and palatable grass species.
To establish this technology, cultivation of the denuded areas was done by dyker plough. Oversowing with a grass-seed mixture followed. The seeds (indigenous) were purchased from a seed-company. If woody encroachment species are available, place the branches on the cultivated area. No maintenance is necessary; the area is left as it is for 3 years with no grazing if possible (no grazing for cattle, but for game some grazing-areas are partly covered by branches no grazing).
Location
Location: Zeerust (Eastern parts), North West Province, South Africa
No. of Technology sites analysed:
Geo-reference of selected sites
Spread of the Technology: evenly spread over an area (20.0 km²)
In a permanently protected area?:
Date of implementation: less than 10 years ago (recently)
Type of introduction
-
through land users' innovation
-
as part of a traditional system (> 50 years)
-
during experiments/ research
-
through projects/ external interventions
(Klaus Kellner)
Classification of the Technology
Main purpose
-
improve production
-
reduce, prevent, restore land degradation
-
conserve ecosystem
-
protect a watershed/ downstream areas – in combination with other Technologies
-
preserve/ improve biodiversity
-
reduce risk of disasters
-
adapt to climate change/ extremes and its impacts
-
mitigate climate change and its impacts
-
create beneficial economic impact
-
create beneficial social impact
Land use
Land use mixed within the same land unit: Ja - Silvo-pastoralism
-
Grazing land
- Semi-nomadic pastoralism
- Ranching
-
Forest/ woodlandsProducts and services: Timber, Fuelwood, Fruits and nuts, Grazing/ browsing, Nature conservation/ protection, Recreation/ tourism
Water supply
-
rainfed
-
mixed rainfed-irrigated
-
full irrigation
Purpose related to land degradation
-
prevent land degradation
-
reduce land degradation
-
restore/ rehabilitate severely degraded land
-
adapt to land degradation
-
not applicable
Degradation addressed
-
soil erosion by water - Wt: loss of topsoil/ surface erosion, Wg: gully erosion/ gullying
-
chemical soil deterioration - Cn: fertility decline and reduced organic matter content (not caused by erosion)
-
water degradation - Ha: aridification
SLM group
-
improved ground/ vegetation cover
-
minimal soil disturbance
SLM measures
-
vegetative measures - V2: Grasses and perennial herbaceous plants
Technical drawing
Technical specifications
Establishment and maintenance: activities, inputs and costs
Calculation of inputs and costs
- Costs are calculated:
- Currency used for cost calculation: Rand
- Exchange rate (to USD): 1 USD = 6.0 Rand
- Average wage cost of hired labour per day: 8.00
Most important factors affecting the costs
No subsidies
Very labour intensive
Establishment activities
-
Dyker plough making hollows (Timing/ frequency: Beginning of rainy season)
-
Sowing of perennial grass seeds (in hollows, waiting for rain) (Timing/ frequency: Beginning of rainy season)
-
Fences (Timing/ frequency: At beginning of project)
Establishment inputs and costs
| Specify input |
Unit |
Quantity |
Costs per Unit (Rand) |
Total costs per input (Rand) |
% of costs borne by land users |
|
Labour
|
| Ploughing and sowing |
persons/day |
60.0 |
8.0 |
480.0 |
|
|
Equipment
|
| Machine use |
ha |
100.0 |
14.0 |
1400.0 |
|
|
Plant material
|
| Seeds |
ha |
100.0 |
40.0 |
4000.0 |
|
| Total costs for establishment of the Technology |
5'880.0 |
|
| Total costs for establishment of the Technology in USD |
980.0 |
|
Maintenance activities
-
Dyker plough cultivation on contours (Timing/ frequency: Start of growing season /)
-
Chopping of woody branches of encroaching species (Timing/ frequency: Start of growing season /)
-
Bush packing on cultivated area (Timing/ frequency: Beginning of season /1st season)
Natural environment
Average annual rainfall
-
< 250 mm
-
251-500 mm
-
501-750 mm
-
751-1,000 mm
-
1,001-1,500 mm
-
1,501-2,000 mm
-
2,001-3,000 mm
-
3,001-4,000 mm
-
> 4,000 mm
Agro-climatic zone
-
humid
-
sub-humid
-
semi-arid
-
arid
Specifications on climate
n.a.
Slope
-
flat (0-2%)
-
gentle (3-5%)
-
moderate (6-10%)
-
rolling (11-15%)
-
hilly (16-30%)
-
steep (31-60%)
-
very steep (>60%)
Landforms
-
plateau/plains
-
ridges
-
mountain slopes
-
hill slopes
-
footslopes
-
valley floors
Altitude
-
0-100 m a.s.l.
-
101-500 m a.s.l.
-
501-1,000 m a.s.l.
-
1,001-1,500 m a.s.l.
-
1,501-2,000 m a.s.l.
-
2,001-2,500 m a.s.l.
-
2,501-3,000 m a.s.l.
-
3,001-4,000 m a.s.l.
-
> 4,000 m a.s.l.
Technology is applied in
-
convex situations
-
concave situations
-
not relevant
Soil depth
-
very shallow (0-20 cm)
-
shallow (21-50 cm)
-
moderately deep (51-80 cm)
-
deep (81-120 cm)
-
very deep (> 120 cm)
Soil texture (topsoil)
-
coarse/ light (sandy)
-
medium (loamy, silty)
-
fine/ heavy (clay)
Soil texture (> 20 cm below surface)
-
coarse/ light (sandy)
-
medium (loamy, silty)
-
fine/ heavy (clay)
Topsoil organic matter content
-
high (>3%)
-
medium (1-3%)
-
low (<1%)
Groundwater table
-
on surface
-
< 5 m
-
5-50 m
-
> 50 m
Availability of surface water
-
excess
-
good
-
medium
-
poor/ none
Water quality (untreated)
-
good drinking water
-
poor drinking water (treatment required)
-
for agricultural use only (irrigation)
-
unusable
Is salinity a problem?
Occurrence of flooding
Characteristics of land users applying the Technology
Market orientation
-
subsistence (self-supply)
-
mixed (subsistence/ commercial)
-
commercial/ market
Off-farm income
-
less than 10% of all income
-
10-50% of all income
-
> 50% of all income
Relative level of wealth
-
very poor
-
poor
-
average
-
rich
-
very rich
Level of mechanization
-
manual work
-
animal traction
-
mechanized/ motorized
Sedentary or nomadic
-
Sedentary
-
Semi-nomadic
-
Nomadic
Individuals or groups
-
individual/ household
-
groups/ community
-
cooperative
-
employee (company, government)
Age
-
children
-
youth
-
middle-aged
-
elderly
Area used per household
-
< 0.5 ha
-
0.5-1 ha
-
1-2 ha
-
2-5 ha
-
5-15 ha
-
15-50 ha
-
50-100 ha
-
100-500 ha
-
500-1,000 ha
-
1,000-10,000 ha
-
> 10,000 ha
Scale
-
small-scale
-
medium-scale
-
large-scale
Land ownership
-
state
-
company
-
communal/ village
-
group
-
individual, not titled
-
individual, titled
Land use rights
-
open access (unorganized)
-
communal (organized)
-
leased
-
individual
-
commercial
Water use rights
-
open access (unorganized)
-
communal (organized)
-
leased
-
individual
-
commercial
Access to services and infrastructure
Impacts
Socio-economic impacts
production area (new land under cultivation/ use)
Keep 3 years from grazing
initial costs
Labour intensive, must have a tractor & implement or hire
Socio-cultural impacts
SLM/ land degradation knowledge
Ecological impacts
surface runoff
Quantity before SLM: 70
Quantity after SLM: 20
Off-site impacts
reliable and stable stream flows in dry season (incl. low flows)
downstream flooding (undesired)
Better vegetative cover, better water infiltration, less siltation of dams used for watering live stock
wind transported sediments
August - wind high, higher vegetation cover & density
Cost-benefit analysis
Benefits compared with establishment costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive
Long-term returns
very negative
very positive
Benefits compared with maintenance costs
Short-term returns
very negative
very positive
Long-term returns
very negative
very positive
Adoption and adaptation
Percentage of land users in the area who have adopted the Technology
-
single cases/ experimental
-
1-10%
-
11-50%
-
> 50%
Of all those who have adopted the Technology, how many have done so without receiving material incentives?
-
0-10%
-
11-50%
-
51-90%
-
91-100%
Number of households and/ or area covered
50 percent of the area
Has the Technology been modified recently to adapt to changing conditions?
To which changing conditions?
-
climatic change/ extremes
-
changing markets
-
labour availability (e.g. due to migration)
Conclusions and lessons learnt
Strengths: land user's view
-
Increase grazing capacity, more fodder
How can they be sustained / enhanced? Good & controlled management
-
Better & more income: meat, funds
How can they be sustained / enhanced? Good & controlled management
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
-
Decrease bush encroachment and invasion of woody species
How can they be sustained / enhanced? New growth of species must be controlled
-
Increase vegetation cover & density
How can they be sustained / enhanced? Keep out grazing
-
Increase soil moisture & infiltration rate
How can they be sustained / enhanced? Deep cultivation, cover by twigs/branches
-
Increase seed bank for whole area
How can they be sustained / enhanced? Let the grasses sown - reproductive & make seed so that seed can be distributed by wind or animals
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
-
Low cost/benefit rates in short term
Keep it up and don't get discouraged -see advantages over the long term
-
Need tractor & implements
Hire implements from Agriculture of other land users
-
Must have knowledge about the SWC technology
Ask technical & support by Agricultural extension or researches or other land users
References
Reviewer
-
David Streiff
-
Alexandra Gavilano
Date of documentation: Jan. 24, 2011
Last update: Junie 21, 2019
Resource persons
-
Klaus Kellner - SLM specialist
Full description in the WOCAT database
Documentation was faciliated by
Key references
-
Van der Merwe, JPA. MSc thesis. 1995.Soil conservation booklet: Potchefstroom University
-
Soil conservation booklet:
