Bush encroachment and veld management in south-central Africa: the need for a reappraisal

Abstract

The environment of the highveld of south-central Africa is such that most grasslands are only temporary and the spread of trees into grassland—‘bush encroachment’—is only checked by periodic burning. Fire, the commonest tool for bush control, is inefficient, manual control is excessively demanding of labour, mechanical control methods are too costly, and chemical treatment has not yet proved to be satisfactory. Only biological control, using goats, appears promising but nevertheless is unpopular. It is suggested that game-ranching, using the natural mixed herds of grazers and browsers, would be a more ecologically-appropriate means of producing edible protein than burning and grazing. The proposition merits detailed re-examination.