Ecological restoration - Giving back to SA's watercourses

Abstract

Ecological restoration A number of studies have shown that removal of alien trees increases streamflow, but concern has long been expressed that indigenous riparian vegetation cannot simply ‘self repair’ when river banks are left in a denuded state after clearing. Indeed, an external evaluation of WfW conducted in 2003 noted: “The WfW Programme has made no provision for routine project monitoring or evaluation in relation to ecological responses to alien clearing. Even research in this regard is scant. Currently performance is measured on alien-clearing efficiency (hectares cleared) rather than on degree of vegetation recovery. Without measuring the impacts of clearing, managers have no idea whether they are using the optimal approach, degrading or improving ecological integrity.

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