IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i9p3833-d355414.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Topsoil Transfer from Natural Renosterveld to Degraded Old Fields Facilitates Native Vegetation Recovery

Author

Listed:
  • Sheunesu Ruwanza

    (Department of Environmental Science and Centre for Invasion Biology, Rhodes University, P. O. Box 94, Makhanda 6140, South Africa)

Abstract

The transfer of soils from intact vegetation communities to degraded ecosystems is seen as a promising restoration tool aimed at facilitating vegetation recovery. This study examined how topsoil transfer from intact renosterveld to degraded old fields improves vegetation diversity, cover, and composition. Transferred topsoil were overlaid on 30 quadrats, each measuring 1 m 2 , in May 2009. Eight years following the initial soil transfer, vegetation diversity in the soil transfer site showed an increase towards the natural site compared to the old field site where no soil transfer was administered. Both species richness and cover for trees and shrubs in the soil transfer site increased towards the natural site, though this was not the case for herbs and grasses. One-way analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) showed significant (R = 0.55) separation in community composition between sites. The study concludes that soil transfer from intact renosterveld to degraded old fields is a promising restoration technique because it increases species diversity and cover and facilitates vegetation recovery. A significant restoration implication of this study is that soil transfer introduces key renosterveld native tree and shrub species that can facilitate successful restoration and act as restoration foci or nurse plants.

Suggested Citation

  • Sheunesu Ruwanza, 2020. "Topsoil Transfer from Natural Renosterveld to Degraded Old Fields Facilitates Native Vegetation Recovery," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-13, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:9:p:3833-:d:355414
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/9/3833/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/9/3833/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tobias Plieninger & Cang Hui & Mirijam Gaertner & Lynn Huntsinger, 2014. "The Impact of Land Abandonment on Species Richness and Abundance in the Mediterranean Basin: A Meta-Analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(5), pages 1-12, May.
    2. Maura Andrew & Roddy Fox, 2004. "'Undercultivation' and intensification in the Transkei: a case study of historical changes in the use of arable land in Nompa, Shixini," Development Southern Africa, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(4), pages 687-706.
    3. Dale Blair & Charlie M. Shackleton & Penelope J. Mograbi, 2018. "Cropland Abandonment in South African Smallholder Communal Lands: Land Cover Change (1950–2010) and Farmer Perceptions of Contributing Factors," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-20, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Shackleton, C.M. & Mograbi, P.J. & Drimie, S. & Fay, D. & Hebinck, P. & Hoffman, M.T. & Maciejewski, K. & Twine, W., 2019. "Deactivation of field cultivation in communal areas of South Africa: Patterns, drivers and socio-economic and ecological consequences," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 686-699.
    2. Bethwell Moyo & Khuliso Emmanuel Ravhuhali, 2022. "Abandoned Croplands: Drivers and Secondary Succession Trajectories under Livestock Grazing in Communal Areas of South Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-14, May.
    3. Ana D. Maldonado & Darío Ramos-López & Pedro A. Aguilera, 2019. "The Role of Cultural Landscapes in the Delivery of Provisioning Ecosystem Services in Protected Areas," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-18, April.
    4. Mugido, Worship & Shackleton, Charlie M., 2019. "The contribution of NTFPS to rural livelihoods in different agro-ecological zones of South Africa," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    5. Radomír Němec & Marie Vymazalová & Hana Skokanová, 2022. "The Impact of Fine-Scale Present and Historical Land Cover on Plant Diversity in Central European National Parks with Heterogeneous Landscapes," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-18, May.
    6. Mtero, Farai, 2017. "Rural livelihoods, large-scale mining and agrarian change in Mapela, Limpopo, South Africa," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 53(C), pages 190-200.
    7. Keitometsi Ncube & Charlie M. Shackleton & Brent M. Swallow & Wijaya Dassanayake, 2016. "Impacts of HIV / AIDS on food consumption and wild food use in rural South Africa," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 8(6), pages 1135-1151, December.
    8. Paula Meli & Karen D Holl & José María Rey Benayas & Holly P Jones & Peter C Jones & Daniel Montoya & David Moreno Mateos, 2017. "A global review of past land use, climate, and active vs. passive restoration effects on forest recovery," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(2), pages 1-17, February.
    9. Botlhe Matlhodi & Piet K. Kenabatho & Bhagabat P. Parida & Joyce G. Maphanyane, 2019. "Evaluating Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Gaborone Dam Catchment, Botswana, from 1984–2015 Using GIS and Remote Sensing," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(19), pages 1-21, September.
    10. Martinson Ankrah Twumasi & Bright Senyo Dogbe & Ernest Kwarko Ankrah & Zhao Ding & Yuansheng Jiang, 2023. "Assessing Financial Literacy and Farmland Abandonment Relationship in Ghana," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-18, February.
    11. Current Masunungure & Sheona E. Shackleton, 2018. "Exploring Long-Term Livelihood and Landscape Change in Two Semi-Arid Sites in Southern Africa: Drivers and Consequences for Social–Ecological Vulnerability," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-23, April.
    12. Charlie Shackleton & Monde Ntshudu, 2023. "Declines in Livestock Numbers Accompany Cropping Deagrarianisation Processes in the Eastern Cape, South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-14, September.
    13. Yi Yu & Tingbao Xu & Tao Wang, 2020. "Outmigration Drives Cropland Decline and Woodland Increase in Rural Regions of Southwest China," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-23, November.
    14. Jiang Du & Miao Zeng & Zhengjuan Xie & Shikun Wang, 2019. "Power of Agricultural Credit in Farmland Abandonment: Evidence from Rural China," Land, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-14, December.
    15. Valentina Santarsiero & Antonio Lanorte & Gabriele Nolè & Giuseppe Cillis & Biagio Tucci & Beniamino Murgante, 2023. "Analysis of the Effect of Soil Erosion in Abandoned Agricultural Areas: The Case of NE Area of Basilicata Region (Southern Italy)," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-22, March.
    16. Frei, Theresa & Derks, Jakob & Rodríguez Fernández-Blanco, Carmen & Winkel, Georg, 2020. "Narrating abandoned land: Perceptions of natural forest regrowth in Southwestern Europe," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. Sky Roberts & Charlie Shackleton, 2018. "Temporal Dynamics and Motivations for Urban Community Food Gardens in Medium-Sized Towns of the Eastern Cape, South Africa," Land, MDPI, vol. 7(4), pages 1-12, November.
    18. Enric Tello & Joan Marull & Roc Padró & Claudio Cattaneo & Francesc Coll, 2020. "The Loss of Landscape Ecological Functionality in the Barcelona Province (1956–2009): Could Land-Use History Involve a Legacy for Current Biodiversity?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-15, March.
    19. Jiménez-Olivencia, Yolanda & Ibáñez-Jiménez, Álvaro & Porcel-Rodríguez, Laura & Zimmerer, Karl, 2021. "Land use change dynamics in Euro-mediterranean mountain regions: Driving forces and consequences for the landscape," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    20. Prishchepov, Alexander V. & Schierhorn, Florian & Löw, Fabian, 2021. "Unraveling the diversity of trajectories and drivers of global agricultural land abandonment," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 10(2).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:9:p:3833-:d:355414. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.