Conservation of tree species richness in a traditional agroforestry landscape in the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, South Africa

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL : TABLE S1: Species list from species richness plots and nominated species derived from the FGD sessions.Tree species richness is a critical element concerning trees on farms, on communal land and in protected areas to support biodiversity and socio-economic livelihoods in traditional agroforestry landscapes. Tree species richness is directly linked to the use of provisioning ecosystem services and to management practices in traditional agroforestry landscapes. The study aimed to investigate the link between socio-ecological and conservation strategies regarding tree species richness in traditional agroforestry landscapes. The study was conducted in the Damani, Thenzheni, Tshiombo and Tshipako villages located in Thulamela Municipality of the Vhembe Biosphere Reserve, South Africa. The data were collected using a mixed method approach combining forestry inventory and focus group discussion. The study recorded a total number of 126 tree species: 83 communal-landhosted species, 68 species of trees on farms and 81 species in the protected areas. The indigenous species Englerophytum magalismontanum (Sond.) T.D.Penn. was the most cited (62%) by interviewees, with a primary use for wild fruits, followed by Pteleopsis myrtifolia (M.A. Lawson) Engl. & Diels. (57%) for fuelwood, Combretum molle R.Br. ex G.Don (36%) for traditional medicine and Albizia adianthifolia (Schumach.) W.F.Wight (12%) for fodder. Species richness was found to be commonly driven by provisioning ecosystem services with trees on farms and on communal land. Distance was found to be major driving factor of species richness in protected areas. This study found that the local people have no conservation strategy and practices targeting the enhancement of tree species richness in the traditional agroforestry landscape. This study advocates for the establishment of a conservation strategic framework for restoring tree species richness by targeting traditional agroforestry landscapes.A Short-Term Scientific Mission as part of the ASAP project (Agroforestry in Southern Africa: new pathways for innovative land-use systems under a changing climate) sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Research and Education (BMBF).https://www.mdpi.com/journal/forestsam2023Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Forest-based land reform partnerships in rural development and the sustenance of timber markets. Learning from two South African cases

In South Africa, although implementation of government and forestry industry's embraced forest-based land reform partnership governance models, rural development and community beneficiaries' access to timber or wood products markets independently remain a challenge. This study assessed the perception of community beneficiaries on the sales and leaseback and community managed enterprise forest-based land reform public-private partnership (FBLR PPP) models on the provision of wood product end-use alternative. Two communities (Amabomvini and Cata) were purposefully selected for the study, in which 140 and 175 household beneficiaries were randomly sampled, respectively. Focus group discussions were also conducted with key informants from both communities' registered legal entities. The chi-square results showed a significant (p ≤ 0.001) relationship between the household beneficiaries' responses regarding the recommendation of pulp and paper and fuelwood as preferred wood products end-use alternatives from both communities. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that household beneficiaries who are not educated are significantly less likely to influence wood usage for building material (p ≤ 0.038) and sawn timber (p ≤ 0.033) compared to those who are educated, respectively. Most household beneficiaries in Amabomvini recommended pulp and paper (63.6%), while those from Cata community (84.6%) recommended fuelwood. Additionally, the study shows that the provision of wood product market for the community-managed enterprises would be vital for the sustainability of their forest-based business. Furthermore, prioritizing access roads could assist in construction of new or nested markets for timber products trade and improving their well-being and socioeconomic status. This would ensure that community beneficiaries value the economic role forest, forest products and the significance of strengthening community governance structures in an endeavour to reduce conflicts amongst beneficiaries. Most importantly, government support towards strengthening of community beneficiaries' institutional arrangement or governance of the legal entities is critical to create an enabling environment for the community beneficiaries.The South African Forest Company Limited (SAFCOL) and National Research Foundation (NRF).https://www.elsevier.com/locate/forpol2023-05-11hj2022Plant Production and Soil Scienc

What benefit-sharing mechanisms can help forestry-based land restitution beneficiaries in South Africa? The case of Limpopo province forestry projects

The capture of the benefits by the elites due to the lack of a benefit-sharing mechanism is a serious threat to the development of forestry land restitution projects in South Africa. This study investigated the benefit-sharing mechanisms desirable to land claimant beneficiaries in forestry-based land restitution projects. A random sampling technique was used to select 351 and 170 households’ beneficiaries in Levubu and Tzaneen communities in Limpopo Province, respectively. Data were collected using a household questionnaire and focus group discussions. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse data. Findings revealed that there are still no benefit-sharing mechanisms in Levubu and Tzaneen communities, but the beneficiaries comprehend the significance of developing a benefit-sharing mechanism for fair and equal distribution of benefits. The results revealed that stakeholders’ meetings (58.7%) and open beneficiaries’ meetings (40.6%) were preferred mechanisms. In addition, beneficiaries in both Levubu (54.4%) and Tzaneen (68.9%) preferred to receive benefits monthly. This paper provides the first overview of a benefit-sharing model in forestry-based land restitution projects in South Africa. It concludes that there is a need to consider the early development of a benefit-sharing mechanism in land restitution projects in order to allow a greater equal share of the benefits.The South African Forestry Company Limited (SAFCOL).https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/tftl202023-06-27hj2023Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Evaluating the potential of introducing multipurpose tree species in the rural landscapes of Weza, Ugu district municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

In many African countries, trees are often a source of security for poor rural communities in providing food and energy. This study evaluated the potential of introducing multipurpose tree species in the rural landscapes of Weza, Ugu district municipality, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Structured questionnaire and focus group discussion interviews were used to collect data. Descriptive analysis including chi-square and Friedman tests were used to analyze the data. The study results showed that over 90% of the household respondents from Mkhoba and Ngubelanga have recognized that trees play an important role in their livelihoods compared to 88.9% from KwaBasa. In this case, the employment, collection of foods and fruits, fuel wood and grazing for livestock were benefits greatly received by household members from the surrounding forests. On average, 99.2% of household were also found to be interested in growing fruit trees with Citrus sinensis (4.96), Prunus persica (4.12), Persea americana (3.97) and Malus pumila (3.95) being the most preferred. However, giving the people their preferred tree species should be coupled with capacity building and extension support programmes in order to encourage them to effectively participate in tree planting and management. On this note, the government authorities and private sector would have to prioritize collaborative efforts in promoting or encouraging the growing of multipurpose trees and adoption of agroforestry practice strategy through development of tailor-made capacity building and awareness creation programmes.National Research Foundation (NRF) and Merensky Timber (PTY) Ltd.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/tfppm2022Plant Production and Soil Scienc