Traversing ethical imperatives: Learning from stories from the field

In this chapter we integrate the lessons that are shared across this handbook through the rich, storied examples of ethics in critical research. We outline central themes to the handbook that cut across all of the sections. The notions of vulnerability and harm are pertinent in critical research not only as a duty to protect participants, but also as signifiers that are mobilised and can constrain what is achieved in critical research. The stories told in this handbook contribute to ongoing learning about ethics in critical research by drawing on ethically important moments in the unfolding research processes. We ask whether ethical critical research requires relational models of reciprocity between researchers and participants/co-researchers and appreciation of situated ethics in the bureaucratic review processes

Tree canopies facilitate invasion of communal savanna rangelands by Lantana camara

This study investigated pattern in the distribution of the alien invasive shrub, Lantana camara L., in communal versus conservation land-use in a lowveld savanna. Pattern was investigated relative to land-use type, and sub- or inter-canopy micro-sites. Lantana was significantly more prevalent on communal lands than in the conservation area, and in sub-canopy micro-sites than inter-canopy micro-sites. The communal lands had significantly lower herbaceous biomass than the conservation area, and Lantana prevalence was inversely related to herbaceous biomass. Higher prevalence of Lantana in communal areas was probably due to more intense disturbance of the herbaceous layer in this land-use type, although this was not conclusively demonstrated. The difference in the prevalence of Lantana between sub-canopy and inter-canopy micro-sites is most likely explained by either seed dispersal patterns imposed by avian dispersal agents and/or micro-site variation. An assessment of population size class structure of Lantana in the communal lands suggested that the population is stable and rapidly recruiting. Keywords: alien invasive; degradation; land-use; micro-site African Journal of Range & Forage Science 2002, 19(3): 131-13

Biomass Increases Go under Cover: Woody Vegetation Dynamics in South African Rangelands

<div><p>Woody biomass dynamics are an expression of ecosystem function, yet biomass estimates do not provide information on the spatial distribution of woody vegetation within the vertical vegetation subcanopy. We demonstrate the ability of airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) to measure aboveground biomass and subcanopy structure, as an explanatory tool to unravel vegetation dynamics in structurally heterogeneous landscapes. We sampled three communal rangelands in Bushbuckridge, South Africa, utilised by rural communities for fuelwood harvesting. Woody biomass estimates ranged between 9 Mg ha^-1 on gabbro geology sites to 27 Mg ha^-1 on granitic geology sites. Despite predictions of woodland depletion due to unsustainable fuelwood extraction in previous studies, biomass in all the communal rangelands increased between 2008 and 2012. Annual biomass productivity estimates (10–14% p.a.) were higher than previous estimates of 4% and likely a significant contributor to the previous underestimations of modelled biomass supply. We show that biomass increases are attributable to growth of vegetation <5 m in height, and that, in the high wood extraction rangeland, 79% of the changes in the vertical vegetation subcanopy are gains in the 1-3m height class. The higher the wood extraction pressure on the rangelands, the greater the biomass increases in the low height classes within the subcanopy, likely a strong resprouting response to intensive harvesting. Yet, fuelwood shortages are still occurring, as evidenced by the losses in the tall tree height class in the high extraction rangeland. Loss of large trees and gain in subcanopy shrubs could result in a structurally simple landscape with reduced functional capacity. This research demonstrates that intensive harvesting can, paradoxically, increase biomass and this has implications for the sustainability of ecosystem service provision. The structural implications of biomass increases in communal rangelands could be misinterpreted as woodland recovery in the absence of three-dimensional, subcanopy information.</p></div