Herbivory and misidentification of target habitat constrain region-wide restoration success of spekboom (Portulacaria afra) in South African subtropical succulent thicket.

ABSTRACT: Restoration of degraded subtropical succulent thicket, via the planting of Portulacaria afra (spekboom) truncheons, is the focus of a public works programme funded by the South African government. The goals of the programme, which started in 2004, are to create jobs, sequester carbon, restore biodiversity, reduce erosion, improve soil water holding capacity and catalyse private sector investment for upscaling of restoration. Here we report on a region-wide experiment to identify factors that can improve project success. Measures of success were survivorship and annual aboveground biomass carbon sequestration (ABCsr) of spekboom truncheons some 33-57 months after planting-starting in March 2008-into 173 fenced plots (0.25 ha) located throughout the global extent of spekboom thicket v

SUBMITTER: van der Vyver ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8364318 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature