The benefits and costs of clearing invasive alien plants in northern Zululand, South Africa

Nkambule, Nonophile; Blignaut, James Nelson; Vundla, Thulile; Morokong, Tshepo; Mudavanhu, Shepherd

doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2017.04.011

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Therefore, the aforesaid eradication strategy was not found environmentally suitable. However, the eradication of Lantana camara and Chromolaena odorata in South Africa was found economically suitable as predicted through the cost-benefit models on ecosystem services (Nkambule et al, 2017).…”

Section: Whether All Iaps Are Nuisance? Quest Of Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive alien plant species: Their impact on environment, ecosystem services and human health

Kumar

Singh

2020

Ecological Indicators

273

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Ecological perturbations caused by biotic invasion have been identified as a growing threat to global sustainability. Invasive alien plants species (IAPS) are considered to be one of the major drivers of biodiversity loss and thereby altering the ecosystem services and socio-economic conditions through different mechanisms. Although the ecological impacts of IAPS are well documented, there is a dearth of studies regarding their economic quantification, livelihood considerations, biotechnological prospects (phytoremediation, bioenergy, phytosynthesis of nanoparticles, biomedical, industrial applications etc.) and human health risk assessments of IAPS. In this context, the current panoramic review aimed to investigate the environmental, socio-ecological and health risks posed by IAPS as well as the compounded impact of IAPS with habitat fragmentation, climate and land use changes. To this end, the need of an integrated trans-disciplinary research is emphasized for the sustainable management of IAPS. The management prospects can be further strengthened through their linkage with geo-spatial technologies (remote sensing and GIS) by mapping and monitoring the IAPS spread. Further, the horizon of IAPS management is expanded to ecological indicator perspectives of IAPS, biosecurity, and risk assessment protocols with critical discussion. Moreover, positive as well as negative implications of the IAPS on environment, health, ecosystem services and socio-economy (livelihood) are listed so that a judicious policy framework could be developed for the IAPS management in order to mitigate the human health implications.

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Section: Whether All Iaps Are Nuisance? Quest Of Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Invasive alien plant species: Their impact on environment, ecosystem services and human health

Kumar

Singh

2020

Ecological Indicators

273

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“…It is within this context that the current research was undertaken, aimed at evaluating perceptions of local communities in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa regarding contributions of alien plant species to the livelihood needs of the local community. The study contributes to research literature on public perceptions of alien plant species and attitudes toward the current management protocols and strategies on different biodiversity components [14,42,[44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53]. Results of this study will also provide the baseline data required for evaluating alien plant species diversity, utilization, existing perceptions and attitudes of laypersons in South Africa towards alien plant species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…In 1995, the Republic of South Africa launched the Working for Water programme aimed at removing high water-consuming exotic plants throughout the country with pro-poor rural employment opportunities [74,75]. Through an integrated clearing programme that includes mechanical, chemical and biological control, the Working for Water programme has cleared several hectares previously occupied by alien plant species, provided jobs and training to thousands people from the most marginalized sectors of society, with the majority of them being women [53,[75][76][77]. Legislations such as CARA and NEMBA and the creation of the national framework for invasive exotic plants through the Working for Water Programme significantly increased public awareness about alien plant species in South Africa [75].…”

Section: Perceptions Towards Alien Plantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alien Plants in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa: Perceptions of Their Contributions to Livelihoods of Local Communities

2019

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Invasive alien plant species are plant species that establish themselves outside their native distributional range. The current study documented utilization of alien plant species in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa. Information about utilization of alien plant species was gathered through interviews conducted with 120 participants, which included 13 traditional healers, 27 herbalists, ten farmers and 70 laypeople. Ethnobotanical importance of documented species was assessed through evaluation of use value (UV), fidelity level (FL) and relative frequency citation (RFC). A third of the participants (33.3%) perceived alien plant species as undesirable, while 71.1% of the participants argued that alien plant species had beneficial effects. A total of 26 alien plant species were recorded, seven species being fruit trees, followed by ornamental plants (five species), fodder and herbal medicines (four species each), construction materials, erosion control and vegetables (two species each). The popular alien plant species with UV > 0.1, RFC > 0.4 and FL > 4.0% included Amaranthus spinosus, Cannabis sativa, Cereus jamaracu, Harrisia balansae, Opuntia engelmannii, Opuntia ficus-indica, Opuntia monocantha and Prunus persica. Information on perceptions of local communities in the Eastern Cape province on the contributions of alien plant species to livelihood needs is an important stage of initiating a management protocol that incorporates public perceptions and values associated with alien plant species.

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“…This has generally been done using the unit reference value, which provides an estimate of the unit cost of supplying a cubic meter of water at the required assurance over the portion of the water management or augmentation project's lifespan during which it produces economic benefits for society (van Niekerk 2013). It has been used to show that clearing invasive alien plants can be more cost-effective than other water supply options such as building a dam (van Wilgen et al 1997;Larsen et al 2001;Hosking and Preez 2002;Marais and Wannenburgh 2008;Blignaut et al 2010;DWS 2014;Preston 2015;Vundla et al 2016;Morokong et al 2016;Mander et al 2017;Nkambule et al 2017). None of these studies assessed the financial impacts of impacts on yields (Table 15.2) so this is an opportunity for further research.…”

Section: Financial and Economic Impacts Of Water Lost Through Invasionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impacts of Plant Invasions on Terrestrial Water Flows in South Africa

Maitre

Blignaut

Clulow

et al. 2020

Biological Invasions in South Africa

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Considerable advances have been made since the first estimates of the impacts of invasive alien plants on water resources in the early 1990s. A large body of evidence shows that invasive alien plants can increase transpiration and evaporation losses and thus reduce river flows and mean annual runoff. Riparian invasions, and those in areas where groundwater is accessible, have 1.2-2 times the impact of invasions in dryland areas. The magnitude of the impacts is directly related to differences between the invading species and the dominant native species in size, rooting depth and leaf phenology. Information on the impacts has been successfully used to compare the water use of invasive plants and different land cover classes, to quantify the water resource benefits of control measures, and to prioritise areas for control operations. Nationally, the impacts of invasive alien plants on surface water runoff are estimated at 1.44-2.44 billion m 3 per year. The most affected primary catchments (>5% reduction in mean annual runoff) are located in the Western and Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. If no remedial action is taken, reductions in surface water runoff could increase to 2.59-3.15 billion m 3 per year, about 50%

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The benefits and costs of clearing invasive alien plants in northern Zululand, South Africa

Cited by 26 publications

References 25 publications

Invasive alien plant species: Their impact on environment, ecosystem services and human health

Invasive alien plant species: Their impact on environment, ecosystem services and human health

Alien Plants in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa: Perceptions of Their Contributions to Livelihoods of Local Communities

Impacts of Plant Invasions on Terrestrial Water Flows in South Africa

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