Deactivation of field cultivation in communal areas of South Africa: Patterns, drivers and socio-economic and ecological consequences

The Availability of Non-Timber Forest Products under Forest Succession on Abandoned Fields along the Wild Coast, South Africa

“…The results clearly demonstrated that cultivated fields that are abandoned generally become dominated by shrubby and later, tree species, such that the woody cover steadily increased through time after cultivation ceased. This echoes findings from a number of sites from the wooded biomes of South Africa [8,9], including in the Wild Coast region [15,45]. However, the rate may vary at landscape and even plot scales due to differences in the biophysical context and the use of, or disturbance to, the former field through processes such as harvesting, herbivory, fire or invasive species [46][47][48].…”

“…This is because most smallholder, rural communities and households are often highly dependent on the local landscapes and are tied to primary sector activities such as agriculture, forestry and the harvest of wild resources [1]. However, in many regions of the world increasing numbers of small-scale farming households are disengaging from arable production [2][3][4][5], including southern Africa [6][7][8][9]. For example, the amount of agricultural land that has been abandoned globally increased by over 150 million hectares from the 1940s to 1990s [2].…”

“…This dynamic is increasingly referred to as 'deagrarianisation' [10], which describes a general shift of rural livelihoods in a community or region away from being mostly agrarian to embrace increasing contributions of non-agrarian incomes, and, over time, a shift in identity away from agrarian. The underlying reasons for this land abandonment are multiple, complex and vary spatially, temporally and in relation to the scale of analysis [9,11,12]. Irrespective of the underlying reasons, this dynamic poses implications, as yet The area was chosen because of the prevalence of abandoned agricultural fields, forests and woodlands regenerating on the former fields and the use of NTFPs by the local people as reported in previous studies conducted in the area [15,36].…”

“…NTFPs used for craft were most abundant in the oldest sites. inadequately explored [9], for the livelihoods of those disengaging from agriculture, as well as the land and ecosystem goods and services the 'abandoned' land supplies or are in demand.The ecosystem goods and services provided by abandoned fields vary according to the prevailing climate, soils and disturbance regimens as well as the post-abandonment trajectory. In some settings there is a turnover of plant and animal species and communities on the old lands, typically, but not always, characterised by increasing species richness, functional diversity, complexity, soil nutrients and vegetative biomass and carbon storage [13][14][15][16].…”

“…NTFPs used for craft were most abundant in the oldest sites. inadequately explored [9], for the livelihoods of those disengaging from agriculture, as well as the land and ecosystem goods and services the 'abandoned' land supplies or are in demand.…”