Hu man E co logy, Vol. 27, No . 1, 1999
Rangeland Mismanage m ent in South A frica:
Failu re to A pp ly Ecolo gical Kn owledge
A ndre w T. Hudak 1
Ch ronic, hea vy livestock graz in g an d concom itan t ® re suppressio n ha ve
cau sed the grad u al replacem ent of palatab le grass species by less palatab le
trees an d w oody sh rubs in a ran gelan d degrad atio n process termed bush
encroach m ent in So uth A frica. G razin g policym akers an d cattle farm ers
alike ha ve not ap preciated the ecolo gical role ® re an d native brow sers play
in preventin g bush encroach m ent. Unpredictab le drough ts are com m on in
So uth A frica but have de¯ ected too m uch blam e for bush encroach m ent
aw ay from graz in g m ism an agem ent. B ush encroach m ent is w id espread on
both black an d w hite farm s, alth ough the contrib utin g socioeconom ic, cultural, an d political forces differ. Man agers at Mad ikw e G am e Reserve ha ve
rein troduced ® re an d native gam e an im als in to a fo rm erly o vergraz ed system
in an attem pt to rem ediate bush encroach m ent, w ith enco uragin g prelim in ary
results. A bush control program is needed that ed ucates cattle farm ers ab out
the ecolo gical cau ses of bush encroach m ent an d encourages the u se of ® re
an d nati ve brow sers as tools for sustain ab le graz in g m an agem ent.
KE Y WOR DS: bush e ncroachme nt; carrying capacity; grazing policy; rangeland manage me nt;
stocking rate .
INTR OD U CTION
Range land de gradation has bee n obse rve d on e ve ry contine nt whe re
arid and se mi-arid savannas occur (A rche r, 1995) . B ecause the y are usually
1
De partme nt of E nvironme ntal, Population, and Organismic B iology, and the Center for the
Study of E arth from Space, Cooperative Institute for Re se arch in E nvironmental Scie nce s,
University of Colorado, Campus B ox 216, B oulder, Colorado 80309-0216; e-mail:
hudak@cse s.colorado.edu.
55
0300-7839/99/0300± 0055$16.00/0 Ó
1999 Ple num Publishing Corporation
56
Hud ak
too dry to support most crops, range lands are predominantly used for cattle
grazing. Live stock grazing is the primary cause of de se rti® cation globally
(Mabbutt, 1984) . The proportion of arid range lands de se rti® e d has not
bee n ade quate ly quanti® ed but is believe d to be 49 ± 90% in A frica ( Grae tz,
1994) . Many scie ntists have discusse d pote ntial links be twee n de se rti® cation
and global climate change but no cle ar link has be e n e stablishe d (e .g.
Glantz, 1992) . In the Republic of South A frica (RSA ), the location of this
study, ne ithe r Tyson (1987) nor V oge l (1988a,b) found e vide nce for climate
change ove r the past 150 ye ars.
A le ss well-known, more subtle , ye t wide spre ad form of range land
degradation is e ncroachme nt by ge nerally unpalatable tre e s and shrubs at
the e xpe nse of palatable grasse s ove r a time span of se veral de cade s. South
A fricans refe r to this phe nomenon as bush e ncroachm e nt. Climate change
and the incre asing atmosphe ric carbon dioxide conce ntration have be en
sugge ste d as causes for bush e ncroachm e nt, but much stronge r evide nce
implicate s live stock grazing as the cause (A rche r et al., 1995) . In the southern A frica re gion, he avy grazing by dome stic live stock is conside red the
main cause for ve ge tation de gradation ( Ringrose et al., 1990) , and many
studie s have sugge sted that he avy grazing re duce s the productivity of se miarid range lands (A cocks, 1953; Talbot, 1961; Downing, 1978; Huntle y, 1978;
Roux and V orste r, 1983) . B ush encroachm ent decrease s grazing capacity
(Richter, 1990) , incre ase s transpiratio n (thus lowering the soil moisture
available for grass growth) (Donaldson, 1967) , and de creases weane r calf
production (Moore and O de ndaal, 1987) Ð all of which le ad to economic
hardship for cattle farme rs.
A frica contains the large st proportion of the savanna biom e, comprising 43 million ha in the Republic of South A frica (RSA ) alone , 84% of
which is use d for live stock ranching ( Grossman and Gande r, 1989) . Thirty® ve ye ars ago, van de r Schijff (1964) estimate d that 18 million ha of savanna
in RSA we re se riously e ncroache d by bush or were susce ptible to bush
encroachm ent. A ccording to more recent assessments, bush e ncroachm e nt
has re nde re d 1.1 million ha of South A frican savanna unusable , thre ate ns
anothe r 27 million ha, and has re duce d the grazing capacity 2 throughout
the re gion by up to 50% (Grossman and Gande r, 1989) .
B ush e ncroachm e nt is conside re d a proble m in the two localitie s targe te d for this study (Fig. 1); the re asons are diffe re nt but both are e conomic.
A t Ganye sa, live stock farming is the bulwark of the local e conomy, and
bush e ncroachme nt has cause d marke d de cline s in carrying capacity (CC).
A t Madikwe , live stock farming is also an e conom ic mainstay e xce pt within
2
The grazing capacity, or ecological carrying capacity (CC), is the maximum population of
graze rs that the ve ge tation can support at a give n time.
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
57
Fig. 1. Location of Ganyesa and Madikwe study areas.
Madikwe Game Reserve (MGR). Farme rs outside the rese rve are concerne d about bush e ncroachme nt for the same re ason as Ganye sa farme rs;
ecological manage rs for MGR are mainly concerne d be cause thick bush
inte rfere s with gam e viewing by tourists.
This pape r is compose d of ® ve parts. First, I provide necessary background inform ation to give context to the human e cology surrounding the
bush e ncroachme nt proble m in this re gion. Second, I contrast a statistical
analysis of long-te rm rainfall records with local farme rs’ te nde ncy to ® rst
blame drought for bush e ncroachme nt rathe r than ove rstocking. Third, I
present e vide nce of historic ove rstocking by cattle farme rs and expose the
ecological failure of past grazing manage me nt policy and practice . Fourth,
I compare the manage ment philosophy currently being applie d in MGR
to that applie d by its main forme r occupant. Fifth, base d large ly on the
MGR model, I offe r some re commendations for more sustainable range land manage ment.
58
Hud ak
B A CK G R OU ND
Sav an na E colo gy
Savannas are de ® ne d as having a continuous grass unde rstory inte rspersed by a discontinuo us woody ove rstory. Productivit y of arid and se miarid savannas is primarily de termined by rainfall (Ruthe rford, 1980; van
den B e rg, 1983; Le Houe rou et al., 1988; Le Houe rou, 1989) . Se asonal
drought in this se mi-arid savanna region lasts from approxim ate ly midA pril to mid-Nove mbe r, with rainfall de clining along a longitudinal gradie nt
from east to west. Inte rannual drought is common but unpre dictable . Grass
growth is vigorous in ye ars with ample rainfall, raising fue l loads and ® re
risk during the dry se ason. Natural savanna ® re s are ignite d by lightning
from dry thunde rstorms that pre cede the arrival of more substantial rain.
Fire kills tree s of insuf® cient height, while grasse s resprout very quickly.
Fire the re fore tilts the competitive balance betwe en tree s and grasse s in
favor of grasse s (Coughe nour and E llis, 1993) . Seve ral years without a ® re
allows tre e se e dlings to e stablish (Conant, 1982) . Herbivore s add anothe r
compone nt to savanna e cology. Grazing free s more re source s for tre e se e dlings compe ting with grasse s (von Maltitz, 1991) , while browsing serve s as
a che ck on woody plant growth.
E cologists have e stablishe d the existe nce of thre sholds of e nvironme ntal change betwe e n domains of re lative stability (Holling, 1973; Wisse l,
1984) . Savannas are inhe rently unstable , with the ratio of woody plants /
grasse s dete rmine d by climate , soils, and ® re and he rbivore disturbance
regime s. Savanna specie s are adapte d to withstand high variability in the se
dete rminants. For e xample , Danckwe rts and Stuart-H ill (1988) found that
when grazing live stock were withdrawn for 6 months after a drought e nde d,
palatable grasse s quickly re cove re d to the ir forme r abundance . E ven so,
the combination of he avy grazing and ® re suppre ssion ove r many decades
appe ars to push the system be yond the thre shold into a re lative ly stable
state that is not re adily reve rse d through natural proce sse s. E ncroaching
bush can ultim ate ly form virtually impe netrable , thorny thicke ts, which
monopolize light, wate r and nutrie nt re source s and pe rmit little or no grass
growth unde rne ath (B e lsky and Canham , 1994) . The paucity in grass fue l
bene ath woody thicke ts make s the m re sistant to burning (Schole s, 1987) .
Thus, an inhe rently unstable grassland savanna can gradually transform
into a re lative ly stable thorn woodland (A rcher, 1990) .
B ush encroache s at large spatial and temporal scale s, making it hard
to pe rceive until it is quite far advance d. It is dif® cult to measure the
magnitude of bush e ncroachm e nt whe n no ungraze d land re mains with
which obje ctive ly to compare it. In summary, bush e ncroachm e nt is a
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
59
te xtbook but unde rpublicize d e xample of a cree ping e nvironm ental phe nome non, the term coine d by Glantz (1994a) to de scribe many long-te rm,
slow-onse t e nvironme ntal de gradations that may proce e d to gre at magnitude be fore the nee d for re mediative action is realize d or re mediative
action take n.
Reme diative efforts to improve range land condition have ge ne rally
focuse d on providing drought re lie f, which typically consists of drilling more
bore hole s to provide water to cattle year round and ove r wide r are as. The
ecological effe cts of this strategy have prove d disastrous. The availability
of pe rmane nt drinking stations expose s grasse s to continuous grazing pressure , to which they are not adapte d. Thus, creating pe rmane nt drinking
stations to improve range lands actually back® re s and e xacerbate s dete rioration of the grass re source base (Glantz, 1976; Picardi and Siefe rt, 1976) .
G razin g Histo ry
Grazing has be en the predominant land use practice in savanna e cosyste ms for generations. Tswana pastoralists have graze d cattle in north-ce ntral
South A frica for as long as docume ntation exists, with cattle historically
playing a central role in Tswana e conom y, culture and socie ty (Comaroff
and Comaroff, 1991) . Pastoral nomadism was forme rly perceive d as destructive by grazing analysts. Hardin (1968) ® rst propose d the Trage dy of the
Commons, the ide a that communal grazing was doome d to de ple te the
resource base be cause the costs of exploiting the fre e grass re source are
passe d on to socie ty while the be ne ® ts are enjoye d sole ly by individual
herde rs Ð making e xploitation always the more attractive option for all
herde rs. More recent research has large ly de bunke d this notion that pastoralism is inhe re ntly destructive to the e nvironm ent and shown it is an
ecologically sustainable strate gy at low enough population densitie s (McCay
and A che son, 1987; Fee ny et al., 1990; McCabe , 1990; Reid and E llis, 1995) .
The nine te e nth-century arrival of the white Tre kboe rs (and the ir live stock) into inte rior South A frica during ``the Gre at Tre k’ ’ north from the
Cape Colony (Marx, 1993) dramatically alte red historic savanna e cology.
Cattle and she e p, having a re strictive die tary pre fe rence for a fe w grass
specie s, re place d the dive rse array of indige nous grazing and browsing
ungulate s, along with the pastoral cattle he rds. Fence line s were ere cted to
restrict live stock move ments, which shorte ned or e liminate d ve getation
recovery pe riods.
Constrainin g live stock move ments force s live stock to graze the same
pasture continuousl y, which conse que ntly re duce s e cosyste m re silie nce , or
the e cosyste m’ s ability to re spond to varying climatic conditions (Pe rrings
60
Hud ak
et al., 1995; Niamir-Fulle r, 1998) . B ore hole s and wells were also e stablishe d,
furthe r facilitating continuous grazing of ve ge tation adapte d to re st during
the dry se ason. Finally, natural ve ld 3 ® re s were eithe r active ly suppre ssed
by farme rs or passive ly preclude d by live stock that ate or trample d the
grass which would have fue led ® res. Such alte rations to ® re and he rbivore
disturbance regime s have cause d the bush e ncroachm e nt commonly observe d today in South A frican ve ld (Hoffman, 1997) .
Stu dy A re as
The two are as targe te d for this study, Ganye sa and Madikwe , are
name d afte r se parate parcels of the forme r bantustan (B lack home land)
of B ophuthatsw ana (B O P), scatte re d across north central South A frica
near the B otswana borde r. The two study are as straddle the forme r B O P
borde r with RSA , allowing comparison betwe en B lack and White cattle
farms (see Fig. 1). B O P was of® cially e stablishe d in 1977 for the Tswana
tribe in be late d accordance with the 1936 Native Trust and Land A ct,
although B lacks already had be en forced to se ttle the re for many ye ars.
Crowding of me n and be asts was re porte d as far back as 1941 (De Kiewiet,
1941) . In 1949, human population densitie s were ove r four times greate r
inside the B lack re se rves than in White -controlle d areas (Roux, 1949) Ð and
growing faste r. Gene rally, the bantustans contain land of infe rior quality,
with denser human settle ment patte rns, poore r e cological inte grity, and
reduce d agricultural pote ntial (B utle r et al., 1977; SE TPLA N, 1990; V oge l,
1994) . B O P and the othe r bantustans were assimilate d into RSA whe n
aparthe id e nde d and the A frican National Congre ss was e lected into powe r
in 1993.
Most farms include d in this study were forme r white farms bought out
by the RSA gove rnment for fair marke t value and hande d ove r to B O P
in the e arly 1980s as South A frican Developme nt Trust (SA DT) Farms. A
recent analysis of historical ae rial photographs sugge sts that these farms
we re alre ady he avily e ncroache d at the time of transfe r (Hudak and
We ssman, 1998) . In 1991, the B O P gove rnme nt commissione d a surve y in
the Madikwe are a to re commend the most e f® cient form of land use for
60,000 ha of ge ologically and biologically dive rse ve ld that had be en se ve re ly
ove rgraze d. This surve y pre cipitate d the creation of MGR. To quote the
MGR vision state ment, ``The e cological manage ment will be focuse d on
restoring Madikwe to its former state with a view to enhancing the visitor
expe rie nce.’ ’ The phrase ``restoring Madikwe to its forme r state’ ’ re fe rs to
3
``Veld’ ’ is the South A frican e quivale nt of what A mericans re fer to as ``range.’ ’
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
61
reme diating he avy bush encroachm ent re sulting from a ``legacy of mismanage ment’ ’ from cattle farming (Madikwe Developme nt Task Team, 1994) .
BLA MING D R OU G HT
``Drought’ ’ is popularly viewed as a sole ly meteorological phe nome non
eve n though it is only pe rceive d whe n it adve rsely affects society (Glantz,
1994b) . The de trime ntal effe cts of low rainfall are more like ly felt among
inhabitants of ove re xploite d lands, found typically in unde rdeve lope d regions such as the one chosen for this study. It has be en e stablishe d since 1923
that land mismanage ment and ove re xploitation have aggravate d drought
impacts in RSA (V oge l, 1994) . Seve re drought in the 1980s caused alarming
degradation to ve ld vege tation, sparking de ve lopme nt of a National Grazing
Strate gy (du Toit et al., 1991) . Nationwide surve ys of cattle farme rs found
that the y conside red ove rgrazing more of a proble m than the drought itse lf
(V oge l, 1994) .
Neve rthe le ss, 16 out of the 17 farme rs aske d in this local study to nam e
the cause s for bush e ncroachme nt ® rst blame d drought. To furthe r explore
this vie wpoint, I obtaine d monthly rainfall re cords from rainfall monitoring
stations locate d e ithe r within or in ve ry close proximity to the Ganye sa
( N 5 14 stations) and Madikwe ( N 5 18 stations) study are as. For each
are a, I chose the station with the longe st rainfall record for time se ries
analysis, afte r ® rst con® rming that the long-te rm mean of the se two stations
was within one standard de viation of the mean for the re spe ctive are a
stations combine d. The Ganye sa station chose n was Morokwe ng (87-ye ar
record) and the Madikwe station chose n was Nie tverdie nd (70-ye ar re cord) .
Regre ssions of annual rainfall on ye ar prove d insigni® cant at Morokwe ng
( y 5 0.052x 2 75.59; R 2 5 0.038; p 5 0.219) and Nie tve rdie nd ( y 5
2 0.016x 1 72.56; R 2 5 0.006; p 5 0.856) , indicating no dete ctable longte rm rainfall tre nd.
A rid and semi-arid re gions are typi® e d by high inte rannual rainfall
variability, howeve r, making it ve ry dif® cult to de te ct long-te rm change
(Glantz, 1994b) . Inde e d, high inte rannual rainfall variability at Morokwe ng
and Nie tve rdiend made any pote ntial, de cadal-scale rainfall patte rns dif® cult to discern from the annual rainfall re cords shown in Figs. 2a and b.
The re fore , I e xplore d the monthly rainfall re cords 4 more thoroughly using
4
No rain falls for se veral months during the dry winter in South A frica, causing substantial
positive skew in the Morokwe ng (ske wness statistic 5 1.85) and Nietverdie nd (ske wness
statistic 5 1.94) monthly rainfall re cords. There fore, be fore calculating autocorrelation in
these re cords, I normalized them using a square root transformation, which re duce d their
ske wness statistics to 0.49 and 0.45, we ll below the most widely recognize d uppe r limit of
1.0 for a normal distribution.
62
Hud ak
Fig. 2. A nnual rainfall re corde d at the (a) Morokwe ng (Ganyesa are a) , and (b) Nietverdiend
(Madikwe are a) rainfall stations, with mean annual rainfall indicated by the horizontal lines;
autocorre lation function of monthly rainfall data from (c) Morokwe ng (March 1911±
Septembe r 1997) , and (d) Nie tve rdiend (March 1928 ± Octobe r 1997) ; ® rst difference transformation to re move the annual pe riodicity from the autocorrelation functions for the (e) Morokwe ng and (f) Nietverd iend rainfall records. Source: Institute for Soil, Climate and Wate r,
Pretoria, RSA .
the statistical autocorre lation function. A utocorre lation is a measure of the
self-similarity of a se que nce , calculate d at successive positions throughout
the se que nce (Davis, 1986) . Data in the se que nce must be se parate d by
equal inte rvals, so I substitute d the long-te rm monthly mean for the fe w
missing obse rvations in each time serie s. Furthe rmore , autocorre lation is
calculate d at increasingly broade r inte rvals, known as lags, up to a spe ci® e d
limit. Lags that approach the le ngth of the e ntire se rie s can cause e rratic
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
63
behavior in the autocorre lation function be cause fe wer inte rvals can be
sample d. Since the shorte r, Nie tve rdiend re cord was 70 years long, I conse rvative ly chose a maximum lag of 600 months (50 ye ars) and, for consiste ncy,
applie d it to the Morokwe ng re cord as well.
The autocorre lograms shown in Figs. 2c and d e xhibit the strong 12month periodicity in the rainfall re cords. This periodicity was re move d via
a ® rst diffe re nce transform ation, which essentially omits the 12-m onth lag
from calculations of the autocorre lation function. The resulting ® rst diffe rence autocorre lograms shown in Figs. 2e and f are use ful for re vealing
more subtle patte rns in temporal variation. This diffe rencing ope ration can
be iterate d to succe ssive ly subtract othe r pe riodicitie s from the re cord.
Howe ve r, since no more pe riodicitie s are appare nt in the se records, no
furthe r diffe re nce transform ations were pe rforme d. The signi® cant de viations of the se correlograms be yond the 95% con® de nce inte rvals is e vide nce
of signi® cant inte rannual rainfall variability. The fact that the y are une ve nly
space d with re gard to lag is evide nce that this variability is unpre dictable .
The se re sults indicate that signi® cant drought e ve nts (and high rainfall
periods) lasting se ve ral ye ars occur frequently but unpre dictably, which
corroborate s an e arlie r, re gional analysis of rainfall re cords by Z ucchini et
al. (1992) . The RSA Departm ent of A griculture (DA ) has a drought re lie f
program conceive d from the National Grazing Strate gy, which stipulate s
that drought disaste r re lief should be give n only to farme rs known to be
practicing conservation measure s ( V oge l, 1994) . I learne d more about this
drought re lief program by inte rviewing Jannie van de n He eve r, se nior
agricultural e xte nsion age nt for the DA in V ryburg District (which include s
Ganye sa District since the 1993 dissolution of B O P). O nly farme rs who
periodically report the ir stocking rate s (SRs) to the DA are e ligible for
drought re lie f. In the e vent of a drought, a farme r must se ll 1 / 3 of his
live stock. Thus, farme rs typically report SRs approaching 100% of CC,
which de cline to approxim ate ly 60% of CC during a drought. A reduce d
SR the n must be maintaine d until 2 months be yond the end of the drought
to give the ve getation time to re cove r. Howe ver, 2 months can hardly be
calle d long te rm. V oge l ( 1994) similarly reports that agricultural subsidie s
from the RSA gove rnme nt are dole d with little atte ntion give n to mid- to
long-te rm sustainability of agricultural activitie s.
DuÈ vel and Scholtz (1992) showe d that South A frican farme rs ge ne rally
belie ve the long-te rm CC of their land to be highe r than do the agricultural
exte nsion age nts who advise the m. More ove r, the DA cannot force farmers
to adhe re to the SRs re commende d by its e xtension age nts. Drought subsidie s are paid only to those farme rs who stock at of® cially re commende d
rate s, but the re are loophole s in this system. For instance , ``re al’ ’ live stock
numbe rs may e xce ed those reporte d in tax re turns or agricultural censuse s
64
Hud ak
(Jannie van de n Hee ver, pe rsonal communication ), a factor also note d by
Dean and Macdonald (1994) . Yet this is not a re cent de ve lopm ent, and
agricultural re turns ve ry like ly have always be e n conse rvative (De an and
Macdonald, 1994) . Historically, pote ntial re ceipt of ® nancial aid appe ars
to be more important than agricultural pote ntial in de termining SR (De an
and Macdonald, 1994) , so South A frican ve ld has te nde d to be ove rstocked
rathe r than unde rstocked ( Talbot, 1961; Danckwe rts and King, 1984;
Danckwe rts and Marais, 1989; DuÈ ve l and Scholtz, 1992; Dean and
Macdonald, 1994) .
De ® ning drought is dif® cult at be st. Pe rhaps for this re ason, gove rnments pre fe r to blame drought on natural factors rathe r than socie tal factors
when agricultural production de cline s or fails (Glantz, 1994b) . I submit
that it is this same human te nde ncy for defe rring blame that cause s many
cattle farme rs to perceive droughts as highly unfortunate e vents rathe r than
normal manife stations of a climate with unre liable rainfall.
E V ID E NCE OF MISMA NA G E ME NT
Conservation committe es in the 1950s de te rmine d CCs nationally for
the various veld type s; the DA has the re sponsibility for updating CC
assessme nts as ve ld conditions change (Jannie van de n Hee ve r, pe rsonal
communication) . In B O P, this task fell upon a parastatal name d the A gricultural Developm ent Corporation of B ophuthatsw ana Ltd. (A gricor) . Table
I re veals that ove rstocking is not just a re cent practice in the three forme r
BO P districts situate d within the study re gion. Note that CCs were re duced
from 1950s e stimates as far back as 1978. A similar A gricor study in 1984,
a drought ye ar, de te rmined ove rstocking to be 352%, 170%, and 200%
for Ganye sa, Madikwe , and Lehurutshe Districts, respectively. Since it is
unlike ly that actual SRs incre ase d 3- to 8-fold in only 6 ye ars, the incre ase d
ove rstocking more like ly re¯ e cts furthe r de cline in CC.
Le Houe rou (1989) showe d that de clining SRs re¯ e ct de crease s in
ve ld CC resulting from he avy and continuous ove rstocking. Dean and
Tab le I. Pe rcent Ove rstocking in Three B ophuthatswana Districts in 1978 a
District
Stocking rate
(ha / LSU / yr)
Carrying capacity
(ha / LSU / yr)
% O ve rstocke d
Ganye sa
Madikwe
Le hurutshe b
7.97 ± 8.44
5.13 ± 4.37
3.81 ± 3.61
12
6
6
42.2
37.3
66.2
a
b
Source: A gricor annual re port (1978) .
Lehurutshe District is locate d betwe en Ganye sa and Madikwe Districts.
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
65
Fig. 3. Livestock population trends in Ganye sa District, 1972± 1996. Source: A gricor annual
re ports (1972± 1996) .
Macdonald (1994) provide d SR e vide nce that the production pote ntial of
regional se mi-arid and arid range lands has de creased marke dly since 1911.
Cattle , she ep, and goat numbers have de cline d during the last decade to
the ir lowe st leve ls in 60 ye ars ( Bosch and The unisse n, 1992) . Howeve r,
Bosch and The unisse n (1992) re porte d a 50% incre ase in SR in V ryburg
District be twe en the pe riods 1911± 1930 (SR 5 9.74 ha / LSU / yr) and 1971 ±
1981 (SR 5 6.49 ha / LSU / yr).5 This incre ase corre late d with an incre ase
in the de nsity of stock-wate r points (Dean and Macdonald, 1994) .
Figure 3 illustrate s historic live stock numbe rs in Ganye sa District, as
compile d in this study. The de crease in stock numbe rs in the e arly 1980s
is due to drought (see Fig. 2a) . The more gene ral increase has be e n accompanie d ne ithe r by an incre ase in rainfall nor an improve me nt in ve ld condition.
A gricor (1985) e stimate d CC to be 10 ha / LSU / yr and actual SRs to be
betwe en 11 and 12 ha / LSU / yr in Ganye sa District. Five years late r, an
inde pe nde nt, nongove rnme ntal, re gional deve lopm e nt study de termined
that 49 SA DT Farms in Ganye sa District we re ove rgraze d, e stimating CC to
be only 20 ha / LSU / yr while actual SR was 8 ha / LSU / yr ( SE TPLA N, 1990) .
How can one e xplain this ne arly two-fold discrepancy in e stimate d CC
betwe en the two re ports? It is unlike ly that CC decline d to such a de gre e
5
A large stock unit (LSU) is de ® ned as the metabolic equivalent of a 454 kg bovine (Meissner
et al., 1983) .
66
Hud ak
in only 5 ye ars, e spe cially since 1985 was during an exte nde d drought while
rainfall in 1990 was ne ar norm al (se e Fig. 2a) . The diffe re nce lie s in how
CC was e stimatedÐ only the SE TPLA N re port was pre pare d in consultation with ecologists.
A gricor has re commended reduce d SRs for Ganye sa farms. A 1990
A gricor surve y of ve ld condition on the same 49 farms re commende d shortte rm SRs ranging from 14 ha / LSU / yr to 25 ha / LSU / yr (Kowang et al.,
1990b) . Unfortunately, this re commendation was weake ne d by the addition
of four conclusions that were e ithe r confusing, naive , or misle ading. I have
quote d the re levant portions of e ach, adde d my own paranthe tical comments for clari® cation, and elaborate d on why e ach is proble matic.
1. Unde r normal conditions, when the grazing condition is at its climax stage
{maximum grass production}, the carrying {capacity} of the area surveyed is 10 ha /
LSU / yr.
This conclusion is ® rst of all confusing, as ``grazing condition’ ’ cannot be
both ``normal’ ’ and ``at a climax stage ’ ’ at the same time . If ``normal condition’ ’ is meant to describe typical se asonal variation in forage availability,
the n CC e stimate s should be base d on grazing condition ave rage d across
the e ntire ye ar, not just the ``climax stage .’ ’
2. To facilitate a faste r improve me nt of the veld, farms we re advised to adhere to
a long-term SR of 12 ha / LSU / yr.
This is also confusing give n their short-te rm SR recomme ndation of 14 ± 25
ha / LSU / yr, as the re port faile d to de ® ne e ithe r ``short-te rm’ ’ or ``longte rm.’ ’
3. Lack of water also causes bigger are as of some farms to be unde rutilized with
the re sult that grass be comes moribund.
This stateme nt re ve als the perception of the author (a pasture / anim al
scientist) that the ve ld is little more than a source of cattle fodde r; the
state ment ignore s the important ecological role such ``moribund’ ’ grass
plays in fue ling ve ld ® res, as de scribe d e arlie r.
4. Ine quitable distribution of water is one of the factors that is contributing to the
degene ration of the grazing because large numbers of animals be come conce ntrate d
in an area in which wate r is available.
This conclusion is dange rously misleading. E vide nce for the damaging e ffe ct
of bore hole s on range land ve ge tation, including in A frica, has e xiste d for
at least 20 ye ars, as me ntione d e arlie r (Glantz, 1976; Picardi and Sie fert,
1976) . The more e cologically-b ase d 1990 SE TPLA N re port, pre pare d the
same ye ar, state d quite the opposite .
V e ld can re cove r from a drought or from grazing if allowed to rest. Previously
ungrazed areas are now grazed constantly due to fence lines and bore hole technology.
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
67
Fe nce lines have restricte d forme r communal grazing move me nt patterns. Cattle
have a daily walking range of about 10 km, so once the me an distance betwe en
water points is reduce d to , 10 km, the whole ve ld is graze d the year round. E ve n
if fe ncing and rotational grazing manageme nt practices are e mploye d, ove rgrazing
will still occur unless the ove rall stocking rate is conservati ve .
The authors of the 1990 SE TPLA N re port made four conclusions of
the ir own that re ve al the failure of cattle farme rs to manage grazing in an
ecologically sustainable manne r:
1. Few farmers (including RSA farmers) adhere d to re comme nde d veld management syste ms.
2. Farme rs ge ne rally had a complacen t attitude towards ve ld de terioration.
3. The important ve ld manageme nt principle of ve ge tation resting pe riod bre aks
down under economic pre ssure .
4. Re latively rigid veld manageme nt recomme ndations are unlikely to be adhe red
to by live stock farmers with traditionally-based manageme nt methods.
The ® rst conclusion above implie s that both B lack and White farme rs
we re guilty of grazing mismanage ment, which be gs the que stion: E cological
factors being equal (same climate , soils, and biota) , doe s SR diffe r be twe en
Black and White farms? I found 1995 stocking re cords for B lack farms in
Ganye sa District and compare d the se to stocking records from ne arby
White farms, as summarized in Table II.
Note that the appare nt de crease in SR at Ganye sa be twe en 1978 (Table
I) and 1995 ( Table II) may not ne cessarily indicate a de crease in grazing
Table II. Comparison of 1995 Stocking Rate s B e twee n B lack and White Farms
in V ryburg District a
B lack farms c (N 5 19)
Range
Median
A verage
Standard deviation
White farms d (N 5 22)
Range
Median
A verage
Standard deviation
a
He ctare s
Actual stocking rate as a
% of carrying capacity b
1626± 4577
2722
2792
905
33± 184
76
76
42
766± 27085
3305
5172
5713
13± 127
58
62
26
Monthly stock ce nsus data we re available for W hite farms over a 16-month
period, while stock ce nsus data for B lack farms did not spe cify the month.
Howe ve r, cattle count data indepe ndently gathe red and recorde d throughout
1995 by animal health of® cers at the same B lack farms agre e d close ly, when
ave raged, with the B lack farm data summarize d he re.
b
Carrying capacity is 10 ha / LSU / yr.
c
Source : District A gricor Of® ce , Ganyesa.
d
Source : RSA De partme nt of A griculture E xtension Of® ce, Vryburg.
68
Hud ak
pressure . Since farmers are struggling to make a pro® t, the appare nt de crease more like ly indicate s failure to lowe r CC as bush e ncroachm e nt
proce e ded. Madikwe SA DT farms ( N 5 6) surve ye d had 1995 SRs ave raging 73% of CC, which closely agre e s with the ave rage of 76% for Ganye sa
SA DT farms in Table II. This may indicate a re gional ove re stimation of
CC by the gove rnment.
A stude nt’ s t-te st for inde pe nde nt sample s re ve ale d that ave rage
grazing pre ssure, as calculate d in Table II, was not signi® cantly highe r
on B lack farms than on White farms ( p . 0.10) . Howeve r, the discre pancy
in ave rage size betwe en B lack and White farms was more signi® cant
( p , 0.10) .
The National Grazing Strate gy dre w attention to proble ms of une conomic farm size and poor farm manage ment that presente d obstacle s to
achie ving sustainable grazing practice s ( V oge l, 1994) . White farms have no
size limitation, so the 3000 ha size limitation on SA DT farms give s B lack
farmers a compe titive disadvantage . From the be ginning, A gricor decreed
that SA DT farms should maintain an annual income standard, e ven during
drought ye ars. A ccording to A lbanius Dipale , chairm an of the B oruakgom o
Farme r’ s A ssociation, an advisory body of 12 SA DT farme rs at Madikwe ,
A gricor de signate d 1500 ± 3000 ha as a ``life -sustaining unit,’ ’ or the minimum are a re quire d to achie ve a pro® table operation. A t Madikwe , a fe w
disposse ssed White farms up to 30,000 ha in are a were divide d into 15
SA DT farms and adve rtise d for le ase Ð ove r 600 aspiring B lack farmers
applie d. Hence , the 3000 ha uppe r limit may have be en establishe d to
reward as many applicants as possible .
O vergrazing occurs whe n farme rs on smalle r farms or farms with
high capital inve stment ende avor to be pro® table (V oge l, 1994) . White
farms in this study, which usually fe ature much highe r capital inve stment,
we re also found to be bush-e ncroache d. Eve n in good rainfall ye ars,
cattle farming is not a very pro® table ve nture . Drought subsidie s to
White farme rs have he lpe d them sustain ope rations as pro® ts de cline .
More ove r, White farme rs te nd to be more e motionally inve ste d in the ir
farms be cause ofte n the y have be e n family owne d and ope rate d since
the Trekboe rs from the Cape colony se ttle d ove r a century ago (Marx,
1993) . Meanwhile , Ganye sa District agricultural e xte nsion age nt Paul
Maubane said that only thre e out of 68 B lack farme rs in Ganye sa
District actually re side on the ir lease d SA DT farms, and few make large
capital e xpe nditure s; most se e m to be busine ssmen just hoping to e arn
some e xtra incom e on the side with minimal inve stme nt. In summary,
the socioe conom ic and cultural force s driving cattle farme rs to ove rstock
the ir land diffe r betwe e n B lack and White farme rs, but the e nd re sult Ð
bush e ncroachme ntÐ is the same .
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
69
MA D IK WE G A ME R E SE R V E
B ophuthatsw ana was assimilate d into the ne w North We st Province
in 1993, and manage me nt of MGR was transfe rre d to North We st Parks
Board (NWPB ). From the onse t, park manage rs de® ned ® re as ``an inte gral
part of the Madikwe syste m.’ ’ B ush thinning, and he nce ve ge tation re storation, would be accomplished ``through a combinatio n of ® re, browsing, and
mechanical means and whe re unavoidable , with strictly controlle d use of
appropriate arboricide s’ ’ (Madikwe Deve lopm e nt Task Te am, 1994) . While
it is too soon to claim conclusive ly that manage ment ® res have thinne d
bush de nsitie s, they are achie ving marke d topkill of the woody ove rstory
canopy, as pre dicted by pre vious studie s (e .g., Trollope and Tainton, 1986;
Bond, 1997) . The signi® cance of curre nt efforts by NWPB to reme dy bush
encroachm ent in the re se rve is be st appre ciate d by ® rst conside ring the
previous land manage ment practice s of cattle farme r B ob B rown 6 of the
large st anne xed farm, which at ne arly 30,000 ha would comprise one -half
of the future MGR.
B ob B rown, who is White , blam ed drought for the lost CC on his farm.
His son B ill also mentione d the de trime ntal impact of a big drought from
1979 ± 1986. B ill remarke d, ``In 1970, a life-sustaining unit was 800 ha, but
now it’ s 3500 ha!’ ’ Bill attribute d the lost CC to ``drought and ove rgrazing.’ ’
In 1990, B ob B rown had still not vacate d his farm e ven though it had
bee n hande d ove r to B O P from RSA years e arlie r. A nticipating le gal battle s
to ke e p his land from be ing disposse sse d, B ob commissione d Simon Kemp,
a pe rsonal frie nd and pasture scie nce consultant at North West Coope rative
Ltd., to asse ss the farm’ s CC. A stonishingly, Kemp de termined a CC of
5.2 ha / LSU / yr. This ® gure conve niently mirrors that of note d South A frican
botanist J. P. H. A cocks, who in 1947 e stimated the same CC for the same
ve ldtype in go od conditio n. Yet, also in 1990, A gricor advise d area farms
( N 5 12) to re duce the ir SRs to 10 ± 15 ha / LSU / yr because no ve ld existe d
in good condition (Kowang et al., 1990a) . This SR re commendation actually
may be quite libe ral, if the 1990 A gricor SR re commendations for Ganye sa
District (prese nte d e arlie r) were any indication. The fact that B ob B rown
gave Kemp and his assistant fre e room and board for a whole month, in
addition to paying the m, brings Kemp’ s obje ctivity into que stion. B ob
Brown and his othe r son, B ud, were re luctant to provide me with a copy
of Kemp’ s re port, claiming it might upse t the lawye r preparing the ir case
for land claim s court.
Kemp has since le ft North West Coop, but I inte rvie wed his re place ment, pasture scie ntist Riaan Dame s, who did furnish me with a copy of
6
All farme r names are ® ctitious to protect their identity.
70
Hud ak
Kemp’ s re port. Whe n I que stione d Dame s about Kemp’ s CC dete rmination,
Dame s said that the de te rmining formula was de signe d for highve ld (a
diffe rent ve ldtype ), and that the formula had be e n alte re d. He conside red
the alte re d formula highly subje ctive and would not re commend it himself.
The re port also reve ale d that B ob had quote d me a bogus ® gure during
our inte rvie w: B ob had claime d that Kemp de te rmine d a CC of 3.9 ha /
LSU / yr, but Kemp’ s own CC e stimate s re corde d in the re port range from
4.18 ± 7.18 ha / LSU / yr for the various soil type s found on B rown’ s farm
(which ave rage to the 5.2 ha / LSU / yr ® gure cite d previously) . Thus, B ob
Brown may have be en trying to hide the fact that he had ove rgraze d
his land, as SR data docum ente d by two inde pe nde nt source s re ve al in
Table III.
B ob B rown and his two sons all stre sse d that the y belie ve d in farming
``naturally.’ ’ Yet the y made it clear that the y be lie ve d burning was ``unnatural.’ ’ Whe n aske d if he conside re d a ® re ignite d by lightning unnatural,
Bob the n agre e d that lightning was natural, but ``with lightning come s
rain, so re ally only the rotte n grass burns. Utilize d are as won’ t burn from
lightning.’ ’ Dames ¯ atly dispute d the B rowns’ ne gative vie w of ® re , stating,
``Farme rs do not re st the ve ld long enough be fore a ® re . The grass growth
should be vigorous when it’ s burne d.’ ’
John Doe , a de ceased farme r who live d just north of B rown, was
the only farme r in the Madikwe are a known to sometime s burn his land.
A ccording to B rown, Doe burne d ``be cause he unde rstocked. Unde rutilize d
grass nee ds to be burne d, or it will rot and cattle won’ t graze it.’ ’ In
sharp contrast, Greg Stuart-H ill, the original e cological manage r of MGR,
described Doe as ``the one farme r who didn’ t ¯ og the land.’ ’
B ob B rown is now re tire d, and his two sons own and ope rate the ir
own farms. Yet all three fe e l strongly that their farm should be returne d
to the family and are ge nuine ly disturbe d about the large ve ld ® re s being
ignite d inside MGR. The y are also conce rne d that the e le phants reintroduce d into MGR are se riously dam aging the ve ld. This same opinion was
offe re d by se ve ral othe r farme rs inte rvie wed in this study, as well as many
Tab le III. Stocking Rate s (ha / LSU / yr) on B ob B rown’ s Farm from 1979± 1986, A ccording
to Two Inde pe nde nt Sources
Gove rnment a
Brown b
a
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
Me an
4.2
4.9
4.3
4.6
3.7
4.0
3.7
4.0
3.7
4.0
3.6
3.8
4.2
4.6
NA
6.5
3.91
4.55
Ye arly stocking rates (in ha / LSU / yr) from 1979± 1985, as de termine d by gove rnment cattle inspectors.
b
Ye arly stocking rate s (in ha / LSU / hr) from 1979 ± 1986 according to B rown’ s own re cords,
as reporte d to the Departme nt of Revenue for tax purposes.
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
71
Tab le IV . Comparison of Stocking Rates B e tween B ob B rown’ s Farm and Madikwe Game
Re serve (MGR)
B rown a (1990)
Game count
Stock-equivalent c
Stock count
Total
Are a (ha)
Stocking rate (ha / LSU / yr)
4415
1139
7033
8172
28,800
3.5
MGR b (1995)
MGR b (1996)
MGR b (1997)
11500
5833
0
5833
59,527
10.2
13456
6856
0
6856
59.527
8.7
13316
7049
0
7049
59.527
8.4
a
Source : B ob B rown’ s farm records.
Source : A dcock (1997) .
c
Conversion factors are means for all age and sex classes of e ach game specie s, since age and
se x distribution data we re not available . Source : Meissner (1982) .
b
tourists who witness e lephant de struction of tre e s that are ofte n not principal encroaching spe cie s.
The re introduction of native fauna into MGR 7 pose s a compe lling
que stion: How have game SRs in MGR compare d to e arlie r SRs on B ob
Brown’ s farm? Conve rting game count data to live stock-e quivale nts allowe d this comparison, summarize d in Table IV .
A ssuming that stock e quivale nces have bee n ade quate ly accounte d
for, Table IV shows that grazing pre ssure was substantially greate r on
Brown’ s farm than in MGR in any year since . (Game populations in MGR
prior to 1995 were still mainly be ing re introduce d, he nce aerial surve ys
we re not ye t conducte d.) Furthe rmore , since native he rbivore s include
both graze rs and browsers, one can expe ct the ve getation to support more
herbivore s with dive rse die tary pre ferences than an equal mass of cattle with
the same die tary pre fe rence . In savannas with indige nous large he rbivore s,
O wen-Smith (1993) found that graze r biomass tends to outwe igh browse r
biom ass, and 75 ± 90% of consum ption is conce ntrate d on the grass component. O the r studie s also de termined that the impact of e lephants on woody
browse is ove rrate d as long as the e le phant the mselve s are not ove rpopulate d. Stuart-H ill ( 1992) found that in A ddo E le phant National Park, whe re
ele phant occur at high de nsitie s, browse consum ption amounts to about
8% of e stimate d production. In Kruger National Park, whe re e le phant occur
at lowe r de nsitie s, browse consumption is 7% of e stimate d production while
at Umfolozi Wildlife Park, whe re ele phant are abse nt, it is 4% (O wenSmith and Danckwe rts, 1997) .
7
Ten thousand animals of 28 spe cies have bee n re leased through 1995 (B ophuthatswana
National Parks B oard, 1995 / 96) , amounting to the largest animal re introduction program
ever undertake n.
72
Hud ak
G R A ZING MA NA G E ME NT R E COMMEND A TIONS
A dvance s in our unde rstanding of savanna ecological processes have
not be e n matche d by de ve lopme nts in the the ory and practice of range
assessme nt (Friede l, 1991) . A lthough the spatial and te mporal stochasticity
of ecological proce sse s in arid and se mi-arid savannas (Coughe nour, 1991)
complicate s asse ssments of how various grazing manage me nt strate gie s
affe ct these e cosyste ms, ove rgrazing can re sult from any manage me nt
method unle ss SR is re duce d, particularly during drought ( McCabe , 1991) .
Lake Turkana pastoralists in northe rn Kenya avoid range land de gradation
during drought with dramaticall y re duce d he rd size s to le ve ls far be low
CC (McCabe , 1987) . Ultimate ly, the most sustainable grazing manage me nt
strate gy is an opportunist ic one , where stock numbe rs are manage d to
re¯ e ct changing ve ge tation condition (Westoby et al., 1989; B e hnke and
Scoone s, 1992) . A t the broade r scale of environm ental policy, this is an
example of ``adaptive manage ment’ ’ be cause it e mphasize s e nvironm ental
fe e dbacks in shaping policy. A n adaptive manage me nt strate gy is ite rative
and le arning-base d because manage me nt policy and the state of the re source co-e volve (B e rke s and Folke , 1998) .
Large tracts of savanna have e ntered an unde sirable , pe rhaps irre ve rsible , e cosyste m steady state due to se vere bush e ncroachm ent re sulting
from chronic ove rstocking and ® re suppre ssion. Reductions in SR, or pe rhaps e ve n total cattle e xclusion, may no longe r suf® ce to reve rt the se
syste ms to the ir forme r, more de sirable condition (Frie de l, 1991) . The time
has long since arrive d for grazing policym ake rs to advocate ® re manage me nt
and for cattle farmers to apply it.
A cade mic knowle dge re garding ® re e ffe cts on range land ve getation
progre ssed from ge ne ral hostility in the e arly 1920s to wide spre ad acce ptance by the 1950s (Scott, 1984) , ye t improve d unde rstanding of the e sse ntial
role of ® re in savanna e cology has faile d to re ach cattle farmers, who are
most in ne ed of it. The re is an obvious ne ed to e ducate cattle farme rs,
but this may be dif® cult, particularly with re gard to A frikane r farme rs.
A frikane rs have historically deve lope d into, and pre fe r to view the mselve s,
as a hardy, proud, inde pende nt people instinctive ly distrustful of gove rnment intrusion. 8 It be came appare nt through my inte rvie ws with local
A frikane r farme rs that the y vie wed cattle grazing as not only the be st use
for the ve ld but also its most appropriate purpose.
8
The cultural and philosophical parallels be twee n A frikaner and A me rican ranche rs are striking. A n insightful, amusing anecdote is found on the of® cial road sign marking the city limits
of the district capital of V ryburg: ``VRYB URG: Te xas of South A frica’ ’ .
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
73
O n the othe r hand, cattle farme rs, be the y Black or White , are acute ly
aware of the bush e ncroachme nt proble m and de sire a solution. A ll se ven
farmers inte rvie wed on farms ne ar Ganye sa were only too willing to dismiss
using ® re as a manage ment tool. Yet four out of te n farme rs on farms
situate d near MGR’ s periphe ry had e xpe rimente d with ® re s on the ir own
land in 1996, the ye ar inte rvie ws were conducte d. The probability that this
diffe rence in attitude was due to chance is le ss than 10% ( p , 0.10) according
to a chi-square d te st. A ttitude s about ® re are e vide ntly shifting among
farmers who are noticing the thinning effe ct ® re is having on bush densitie s
within MGR.
For example , one Madikwe farme r, Jim Jone s, is still bitte r ove r an
ill-tim ed 1992 ® re that destroye d much of the winte r forage on his farm,
causing him conside rable e conom ic hardship. The ® re jumpe d onto his farm
from MGR very early in the dry se ason, whe re it had ignite d from a lightning
strike . Yet surprisingly , Jone s acknowle dge d that a ® re appropriate ly time d
at the e nd of the dry se ason can be use ful for thinning bush and rejuve nating
grass growth. Most note worthy of all, Jone s was obse rve d starting ve ld ® re s
on his own farm in 1996.
In the course of this re se arch I e ncounte re d only one farme r, an A frikane r at Madikwe name d Sam Smith, who appre ciate d the link betwe en
® re suppre ssion and bush e ncroachme nt. He re garde d the gove rnme nt’ s
CC e stimation of 7 ha / LSU / yr for the are a as ``impossible because the
ve ld is too bushy.’ ’ Smith continue d, ``The gove rnme nt, inste ad of offe ring
drought subsidie s, should offe r subsidie s to e radicate bush! The y should
also offe r a ® re manage me nt program. Fire s are ne ede d to control bush.’ ’
The 1990 nongove rnme ntal SE TPLA N de ve lopme nt study (pre pare d
in consultation with two e cologists) made some use ful, sustainable grazing
manage ment re commendations:
1. Rotate grazing betwe e n four camps by making wate r available at
only one camp at any time , insuring that thre e camps will be re ste d.
2. E stablish veld ``re se rves’ ’ whe re wate r will not be re ticulate d, to act
as buffe rs to re gional ove r-utilization of the natural re source base .
3. Introduce gam e spe cie s that browse, move fre e ly, do not re quire
continual manage ment, and are communally owned, croppe d and
marke te d.
Note that while the se are sound re commendations, ® re as a manage me nt
tool is unmentione d. Despite the consensus among e cologists that ® re is a
vital compone nt of savanna ecology, this knowle dge has not suf® ciently
diffuse d to grazing manage rs.
74
Hud ak
CONCLUD ING COMME NTS
The re introduction of native herbivore s and ve ld ® re s into MGR offers
a hope ful e xam ple of how bush may be controlle d ``naturally,’ ’ using native
browse rs and ® re. Game animals re quire le ss inte nsive manage ment than
cattle be cause game are bette r adapte d to the e nvironm e nt, and gam e
provide the adde d economic be ne ® t of attracting tourists and hunte rs. The
DA should collaborate more close ly with NWPB , pe rhaps by providing
fre e MGR tours to re gional cattle farmers so the y can view for the mselves
the positive e ffect ® re s and native browse rs are having on bush control.
A frikane r farme rs are more like ly to be re ceptive to this ``carrot’ ’ approach
than to a ``stick’ ’ approach of stricte r gove rnme nt SR re gulations, which are
dif® cult to e nforce . A nothe r smalle r ye t promising e xample was provide d by
one of the DA ’ s own e xte nsion age nts, Jannie van de n Hee ve r, who I
witne sse d offe r a training se minar to e ducate agricultural exte nsion of® cers
at the Ganye sa District A gricor O f® ce about the e cological causes and
effe cts of bush e ncroachme nt. More importantly, he pre se nted guide line s
on how to use high inte nsity ve ld ® re s as a manage me nt tool for bush control.
The DA should capitalize on the se hope ful e xam ple s by re cognizing
the importance of ® re and browse rs in savanna e cology and dynamically
adapting SR recomme ndations according to changing ve ld conditions, espe cially during drought. The DA should also re place its curre nt drought re lie f
program with a bush control program that fe ature s ® re and native browsers
as ve ld manage ment tools.
The cause s of re gional bush e ncroachme nt in South A frican range lands, and the promising e xample of bush re mediation occurring locally
within MGR, are re le vant for range land manage rs worldwide . Fire and
herbivore disturbance re gimes large ly dete rmine the balance betwe en
woody plants and grasse s in global savannas. Manage ment strate gie s that
ignore this fact by alte ring the se vital disturbance re gimes eve ntually have
unde sirable ecological and e conom ic conse que nce s. E cological sustainability, and not just e conom ic productivity , should be use d as a crite rion for
evaluating cattle farm success. Grazing manage me nt will prove sustainable
only once e xisting e cological knowle dge is applie d.
A CK NOWLED G ME NTS
This re se arch was made possible by graduate fe llowships from the U.S.
EPA , the Coope rative Institute for Research in E nvironme ntal Scie nce s and
the B iosphe re-A tmosphe re Rese arch Training Program at the Unive rsity of
Colorado. I wish to thank B ob Schole s and A lfre d Rasweswe for supplying
Range lan d Mismanagem en t in So uth A frica
75
inform ation and Moses Moe ti for A frikane r translations . Roger Pie lke , Jr.,
John Magistro, and Carol We ssman provide d he lpful critical re vie ws.
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