Conservation Of Agricultural Resources Research Articles

Developing a Strategy For Efficient Environmental Authorisation of Activities Affecting Wetlands in South Africa: Towards a Wise-Use Approach

South Africa is a party to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat of 1971 (also referred to as the Ramsar Convention). Article 3(1) of the Ramsar Convention makes provision for the wise use of wetlands, which is defined as the “maintenance of the ecological character, achieved through the implementation of ecosystem approaches, within the context of sustainable development”. The Conference of the Parties has agreed on inherent weaknesses that could lead to the hampering of wise use. These weaknesses include, but are not limited to, authorities working in isolation; and the lack of communication between public and private sectors or technical personnel (environmental impact assessment specialists). Within the enabling provisions of South Africa’s EIA regulations, reference is made to “water source”, “water resource”, “wetland” and “ecosystem”. All these terms are read to include a wetland. However, whereas the terms “water source”, “water resource” and “wetland” are defined in the National Water Act 36 of 1998 (NWA), an “ecosystem” is defined in the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004 (NEMBA), and “water source” is defined in the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act 43 of 1983 (CARA). Furthermore, the administration of the NWA is with the Department of Water and Sanitation, while NEMBA is with the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, and CARA is with the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. This multiplicity, combined with the application of the various specific environmental management acts (SEMAs), complicates the manner in which an EIA application is considered. This is so in that the national environmental framework casts the net wide in identifying the competent authority, but also in its effect on wise use decision making on activities pertaining to wetlands. In light of the aforementioned, this article aims to address the shortfalls and make recommendations that promote wise use.

Andropogon virginicus L.

<i>Andropogon virginicus</i> L.

Roosting requirements of Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris on Highveld grain and livestock farms with alien tree groves, Gauteng province, South Africa

This study describes the relationship between Helmeted Guineafowl Numida meleagris and invasive alien trees on livestock and maize farms south-east of Johannesburg, Gauteng province, South Africa. The dependence of the birds on alien trees affects strategies for the removal of these trees. During June to December 2014, Helmeted Guineafowl were recorded weekly on maps along a 42 km transect. Since Helmeted Guineafowl live in cohesive social groups of 15–20 birds, they roost communally in one or two trees during winter rather than spreading across an entire tree grove. The distribution of alien trees across the landscape in patches has enabled Helmeted Guineafowl flocks to reach new feeding patches near to roosting trees, as old feeding patches are depleted. One Helmeted Guineafowl flock of 15–20 birds requires ∼0.09 ha covered with mature alien trees for roosting. Suggestions are presented relating to the reduction of alien trees in compliance with the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act 43 of 1983 and conservation of Helmeted Guineafowl.

Cardiospermum grandiflorum

Cardiospermum grandiflorum

Salvinia molesta D.S. Mitch.

<i>Salvinia molesta</i> D.S. Mitch.

Railway side mapping of alien plant distributions in Mpumalanga, South Africa

Background: Alien plant invasions are among the major threats to natural and semi-natural ecosystems in South Africa on approximately 18 million hectares of land. Much of the available data are not suitable for planning of local scale management because it is presented at a quarter degree grid square scale, which makes accurate location and estimates of invaded areas difficult.Objectives: The aim was to identify the dominant alien plant species and quantify their areal extent along a 479 km railway corridor in the Mpumalanga province.Method: The extent of the invaded area was obtained by manual digitising of alien plant distribution and density from Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre 5 imagery and by further applying an Iterative Self-Organising Data Analysis technique of the unsupervised classification method. Species’ occurrences were located and identified in the field using a Global Positioning System.Results: The most dominant invaders in terms of the number of individual polygons and the infested area were Eucalyptus spp., Acacia spp., Populus alba L., Pinus patula Schltdl Cham., Salix babylonica L. and Caesalpinia decapetala (Roth) Alston. These species have also been previously classified as major invaders, although the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act regulations permit their planting provided spreading to adjacent areas is avoided except for C. decapetala, which must be cleared under all circumstances.Conclusion: Knowledge of the species’ occurrence and their extent will assist landowners and relevant authorities to control the spread of alien plants, which impact rail safety, agricultural production, water availability and biodiversity.

Protecting Ecosystems by way of Biological Control: Cursory Reflections on the Main Regulatory Instruments for Biological Control Agents, Present and Future

Although there are numerous threats to ecosystems and the resultant ecosystem services, alien and invasive plants (AIP) have been identified as being one of the major causes of ecosystem destruction. In addressing the threat of alien and invasive plants through the use of various mechanisms, the regulatory framework imposed by legislation is key in ensuring that that controlling AIPs does in fact not do more harm than good. One such control mechanism, which has the potential to do wonders or wreak havoc if not adroitly implemented, is that of using biological control agents. This contribution provides a brief overview on the three main regulatory instruments used to control biological control agents in South Africa, namely the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act 43 of 1983, the Agricultural Pests Act 36 of 1983 and the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act 10 of 2004. It also considers possible future developments on the regulation of biological control agents.&#x0D;

Russian

The main problems of the conflict of the biosphere and agricultural sphere were analyzed. The causes and directions of land use changes were discussed. Data on indirect land-use change caused by competition for agricultural lands, international trade in agriculture, agronomic innovations that facilitate it obtaining were presented. The globalization of markets for agricultural products and production were undermining international efforts to stabilization of the biosphere. It was emphasized that chaotic land-use changes required the development of methods for their simulation and investigation, since without detailed studies which could predict such changes it were impossible to working out the approaches to resolving of the problems of sustainable development of agro-ecosystems and, consequently, the conservation of agricultural resources. As one of the ways to mitigate the conflict between the biosphere and the agricultural sector in developed countries was an increasing emphasis on biotechnology. The ways to reduce environmental threats to agricultural production on the basis of use of modern biotechnology were discussed.

Field Guide to California Agriculture by Paul F. Starrs and Peter Goin (review)

Reviewed by: Field Guide to California Agriculture by Paul F. Starrs and Peter Goin Ron Davidson (bio) Field Guide to California Agriculture Paul F. Starrs and Peter Goin University of California Press, 2010 Paul F. Starrs and Peter Goin have written a lavishly informative, almost 500-page Field Guide to California Agriculture hoping to connect the state’s metropolites with its working agricultural landscapes. Their cause is noble, given the economic, culinary, and ecological importance of local agriculture to Californians and the fact that, indeed, the $37 billion agro-industry (in 2007) occupying a quarter of the state’s surface area absorbs all too little of a typical resident’s attention. Geographer James J. Parsons may find the Central Valley “the most interesting place in the world” (394), but that shows a refined intelligence indeed. For the ninety-four percent of Californians who live in urban areas, the Valley more likely seems the opposite, a plain of almost derangement-inducing monotony broken by pit stops at boisterous, air-conditioned caravanserai. Outside these havens, the Valley may seem rich in strange odors and windshield-spattering micro-life, but little of abiding interest. The Field Guide seeks to turn things around. Travelers equipped with a copy on the dashboard may begin to see the Valley—along with the state’s other agricultural regions and landscapes—as a place worthy of “exploration and discovery” (xx). To encourage this about-face, the authors provide an informative text that is brisk, enthusiastic in tone, and entertaining to read. “Peppers have a justly earned fame for their varying hotness,” they note in typical style, “judged by Scoville heat units, which range from zero (for the bell pepper) to an exotic pepper from Assam, India, that clocked in at a million SHUs” (295). To get things going, the Guide offers a seventy-page crash course on the background and context of California agriculture. Topics include climate, water issues, agricultural technologies, and economics. This introductory [End Page 179] material, along with a later chapter on agricultural regions, makes the Guide something of a stealth geography textbook. (The book is sprinkled with references to and encouragements to read Yi-Fu Tuan, John Fraser Hart, James Parsons, Paul Starrs, and other geographers). As a textbook, perhaps its most notable accomplishment is offering a geographic vision of California’s agricultural regions. This vision has the Bay Area as the state’s core, with Marin County and UC Berkeley at center stage. Citing the Marin Agricultural Land Trust, which preserves dairies and other agricultural landscapes on the county’s west side, the authors note that Marin has had a widespread influence on consumer attitudes relating to “environmental quality, philosophy, and the conservation of agricultural resources” (373). UC Berkeley, near the Oakland terminus of the nation’s first transcontinental railroad and the Golden Gate—and hence at a national and world distribution hub for the state’s agricultural products—historically led the state in innovations in soil science, equipment design, plant breeding, labor management, innovative financing, and other components of the agro-industry. The Bay Area is also ground zero of “foodie” culture and a wine-tasting mecca. By its nature, the Guide is celebratory rather than critical of its subject. It does not challenge the dominant paradigm of large-scale, fossil-fuel-intensive agriculture or the exploitation of agricultural laborers. On the contrary, the Guide was conceived to enhance appreciation of this among other working agricultural models. In addition, readers should be apprised that the text occasionally misreports information and, because of its breakneck pace, sometimes refers to material so fleetingly that it risks misrepresenting it. (The Salton Sea was not created by mistake “in the 1910s” [409], but in 1905–06; the Great Flood of 1862 was not caused solely by “weather,” as the authors imply [29], but also by erosion resulting from hydraulic mining operations in the Sierras. As for questionable representations, the authors cite Julie Guthman, a trenchant critic of how the state’s organic agricultural sector has mimicked its industrial twin, when noting almost triumphantly that “even the organic sector in California is industrializing and attaining a global reach” [13]; Donald Worster’s devastating...

Conservation of Agricultural Resources by Revitalization in Rural Areas

Conservation of Agricultural Resources by Revitalization in Rural Areas

THE USE OF A 60-YEAR SERIES OF AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS TO ASSESS LOCAL AGRICULTURAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF WEST COAST RENOSTERVELD, AN ENDANGERED SOUTH AFRICAN VEGETATION TYPE

ABSTRACT Four West Coast Renosterveld sites (the Kapokberg and the Contreberg, the Koringberg-Swartberg complex and the Elandsberg Private Nature Reserve (PNR)) were examined by means of a series of aerial photographs taken at approximately ten-year intervals since 1938. Except for the Elandsberg PNR, which showed a slight increase, the area covered by natural vegetation at the other sites in 2000 was between 19.5% and 47.6% less than in 1938. On slopes of less than eight degrees, between 13.7% and 33.8% of the 1938 extent remained, while on slopes between eight and twelve degrees the amount remaining ranged between 38.0% and 74.7%. The greatest transformation was seen on the Kapokberg, while the Koringberg-Swartberg was the least affected of the agricultural sites. Most of these transformations occurred before 1988, suggesting that the Conservation of Agricultural Resources Act (Act 43 of 1983) had been effective in limiting the expansion of agriculture onto the steeper slopes. The limitations of using aerial photographs to assess the quantity and quality of West Coast Renosterveld are discussed.

Management of an Agroecosystem

Agroecosystems (AESs) are autotrophic ecosystems managed by man. The goal of the management is to obtain the maximum possible amount of high-quality agricultural products while preserving agricultural resources, primarily the soils and biodiversity. The main components of the management of AES structures and functions, including primary and secondary biological production, the ratio between the energy flows in the plant–man and plant–livestock–man food chains, the efficiency of energy transfer in the plant–livestock link, and conservation of agricultural resources, are considered.

Sustainable development—Food security—Agroecology

Basic scenarios of sustainable development for the world community and approaches to the problem of ensuring food security are discussed. The conservation of agricultural resources is the key element of food security. The structure and main objectives of agroecology are characterized in brief.

The national grazing strategy of the Republic of South Africa Objectives, achievements and future challenges

Over the past few years various measures have been applied to address the problem of the retrogression of southern African rangelands. However, it has become apparent that many of these measures were ad hoc and not part of a long‐term strategy aimed at fostering effective management of the rangeland resources. The White Paper on Agricultural Policy, tabled in May 1984, made reference to the alarming deterioration of natural rangelands and led to the drawing up of the National Grazing Strategy (NGS), released to Parliament in May 1985, which was endorsed by the Department of Agriculture and accepted in its entirety by the Government. The NGS committed authorities to reassess approaches to rangeland utilization in South Africa and to achieve a number of clearly‐defined goals within a specified time frame. The implementation of the NGS has been carefully monitored. Despite some progress, few of the goals set have actually been achieved. However, various problems have arisen such as the need to: encourage the cooperation of all range users, develop informed public opinion, increase manpower and establish priorities, all of which must be taken into account when future rangeland strategies are devised. These strategies also need to recognize the dichotomy that exists between programmes aimed at the development of certain industries and those aimed at resource conservation. It is proposed that future implementation of the NGS should be augmented by some of the following important second phase actions: (i) The strategy should be converted into a policy to be applied to all Departmental institutions, (ii) policy makers and politicians must accept liability and must take the lead in the application of stringent measures aimed at agricultural resource conservation and utilization.

Recent Developments in the Field of Federal-State Cooperation in Agriculture

Until a few years ago the agricultural policy of the federal government was very largely one of indirect aid to agriculture through the medium of research and education. The method was in part federal action alone undertaken by the Department of Agriculture and in part federal-state cooperation through an experiment stationi and an extension service in each state administered jointly by the Department of Agriculture and the land-grant colleges. Within recent years, however, the older policy of the federal government has been supplemented by one of direct action. As a result, the Department of Agriculture has, in addition to its other duties, been given the responsibility for administering vast programs having for their purpose the adjustment of agricultural production, the rehabilitation of agricultural life and the conservation of agricultural resources. In the carrying out of these programs it has had to act alone except in so far as state agencies have placed at its disposal their already developed facilities for research and education. One of the principal problems with which the Department of Agriculture has been faced is that of planning the various action programs which it has been required to undertake. In doing so it has recognized the fact that planning is a two-way process and so must come not only from the top down but also from the bottom up. It has accordingly fostered planning on the part of the farmers themselves. During the years 1935-1937 approximately 2,500 county committees were organized in fortyfive states for the purpose of appraising local agricultural problems and estimating the changes which would be necessary to substitute soil-conserving for soil-depleting crops.1 The various Extension Services cooperated with the local committees in a number of ways. In many instances they helped to organize the committees and their representatives met with them in a consultative capacity. They also prepared in cooperation with state and national research agencies informational material such as