Effects of alien plant management and fire on soil seed banks and regeneration in the Cape Peninsula National Park, South Africa

Cilliers, Charl; Esler, Karen J.; Boucher, C.; Brown, N.A.C.

doi:10.1016/s0254-6299(15)30169-1

Cited by 10 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…; Cilliers et al. ). The ‘ cut, remove, burn’ technique used in this study can offset cutting cost due to subsequent removal of wood by contractors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In fynbos, 'clearing and burning' of cut exotics has a greater impact on species richness than the 'burn standing, cut, remove' approach, although managers often have few options (Britton & Jackelman 1995;Holmes et al 2000;Cilliers et al 2004). The 'cut, remove, burn' technique used in this study can offset cutting cost due to subsequent removal of wood by contractors.…”

Section: Restoration Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soil seed banks of remnant and degraded Swartland Shale Renosterveld

Heelemann

Krug

Esler

et al. 2013

Applied Vegetation Science

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Questions What are the characteristics of soil seed banks in highly endangered renosterveld vegetation and adjacent degraded sites? What is the contribution of the soil seed bank to restoring renosterveld vegetation after degradation through agriculture or afforestation? Location Tygerberg Nature Reserve – one of the largest remaining fragments of Swartland Shale Renosterveld, Cape Floristic Region, South Africa. Methods Assessment of vegetation, soil parameters and soil seed banks in three renosterveld sites, two adjacent abandoned fields, one pine plantation and one pine plantation clear‐cut site. Smoke primer (i.e. fire surrogate) was applied to soil seed bank samples to evaluate fire as a possible management and restoration tool. Results Abandoned agricultural fields adjacent to renosterveld remnants are characterized by alien grass cover, nutrient enrichment of the soil and depletion of the indigenous soil seed bank. In contrast, pine plantations show less alien species infestation, soil nutrient alteration and have a viable soil seed bank as well as re‐development of indigenous renosterveld vegetation after clearance. Seedling recruitment was not significantly influenced by application of a smoke primer compared to the magnitude of fire response in fynbos. Conclusion Abandoned agricultural fields (previously renosterveld) at Tygerberg have a very low restoration potential. In contrast, pine plantation sites should be given priority in restoration, because soil chemistry is less significantly altered and a viable indigenous soil seed bank is still present, which can be successfully activated through clearance management.

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“…; Cilliers et al. ). The ‘ cut, remove, burn’ technique used in this study can offset cutting cost due to subsequent removal of wood by contractors.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Restoration Experimentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soil seed banks of remnant and degraded Swartland Shale Renosterveld

Heelemann

Krug

Esler

et al. 2013

Applied Vegetation Science

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“…The use of fire for managing invasive trees and shrubs is controversial because unnaturally intense fires, resulting from the combustion of unnaturally large, alien plant biomass (Milton and Siegfried, 1981;Van Wilgen and Richardson, 1985), can destroy regenerative subterranean organs (Breytenbach, 1989) and indigenous seed banks (Holmes and Cowling, 1997) up to a depth of 0.15 m (Cilliers et al, 2004), destroy soil structure and sterilise soil for as long as 3 years (Campbell et al, 1999). Alien legume seeds, with the exception of A. cyclops, may be better at surviving high fire intensities than their indigenous counterparts (Jeffery et al, 1988).…”

Section: Firementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Euston-Brown et al (2002) concluded that because of the negative effect of severe fires on the diversity and recovery of indigenous vegetation, such intense fires should be avoided whenever possible. Cilliers et al (2004) called for an urgent review of the current practice of stacking and burning in fynbos.…”

Section: Firementioning

confidence: 99%

Seed banks of invasive Australian Acacia species in South Africa: Role in invasiveness and options for management

Richardson

Kluge

2008

Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics

200

229

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Despite impressive efforts at clearing stands of invasive Australian Acacia species in South Africa, insufficient attention has been given to understanding the role of seed banks in the invasiveness and long-term persistence of populations. We review information on seeds of these species, considering seed production, seed rain, and the dynamics of seeds in three layers: leaf litter, and upper and lower seed banks in the soil. Many factors affect the accumulation and susceptibility to destruction of seed banks and thus the opportunities for intervention to reduce seed numbers for each of these components. Reduction of seed banks is crucial for the overall success of the multi-million dollar management initiatives against these species. Classical biological control of buds, flower and young pods has reduced the seed production of many Australian acacias in South Africa. Fire can be applied to reduce seed numbers in the leaf litter and upper seed bank in some cases, although there are serious problems associated with high fire intensities in dense acacia stands. Other options, e.g. soil inversion and solarisation, exist to exercise limited reduction of seed numbers in some situations. There is little prospect of meaningful reduction of seed numbers in the lower seed bank. Preventing the accumulation of seed banks by limiting seed production through biological control is by far the most effective means, and in almost all cases the only practical means, of reducing seed numbers. This must be an integral part of management strategies. Several invasive Australian acacias are already under effective biological control, and further work to identify additional potential agents for all the currently invasive species and potentially invasive alien species is the top priority for improving the efficiency of management programmes.

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“…Holmes (2002) concluded that in the case of A. saligna invading lands in the sand plain fynbos, the seed bank is not sufficient for successful re-establishment of the natural vegetation cover after clearance. Chilliers et al (2004) indicated that fires that burn stacks at high temperatures have a negative impact upon postwildfire seed bank, which affects the recruitment of the natural fynbos vegetation. Therefore, the possibility that management tools might cause undesirable ecological and economic side effects should be taken into consideration.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Persistent Seed Banks of Invasive Plants by Soil Solarization—The Case of Acacia saligna

et al. 2008

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An important factor in controlling invasive plant infestations is frequently the acceleration of the deterioration of their persistent seed bank, which is often associated with physical dormancy mechanisms. We hypothesized that breaking dormancy by heat would enhance the vulnerability of the nondormant seeds to hydrothermal stresses. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of soil solarization treatments (heating the soil by means of polyethylene mulching) on buried Australian Acacia seeds, with emphasis on Acacia saligna L. The results of three field experiments indicate that soil solarization treatments caused an almost complete eradication of buried seeds of Acacia saligna and two other Australian Acacia species, Acacia murrayana and Acacia sclerosperma. The killing mechanism of solarization was further studied in laboratory experiments. We observed two phases of the heat-induced deterioration of seed persistence: breaking the dormancy of the seeds and exposing the “weakened seeds” to lethal temperatures. From an ecological perspective of conservation, the present study shows for the first time the possible utilization of solar energy, by means of soil solarization, for reducing persistent seed banks of invasive woody plants.

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Effects of alien plant management and fire on soil seed banks and regeneration in the Cape Peninsula National Park, South Africa

Cited by 10 publications

References 22 publications

Soil seed banks of remnant and degraded Swartland Shale Renosterveld

Soil seed banks of remnant and degraded Swartland Shale Renosterveld

Seed banks of invasive Australian Acacia species in South Africa: Role in invasiveness and options for management

Reducing Persistent Seed Banks of Invasive Plants by Soil Solarization—The Case of Acacia saligna

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