OUR REFORESTATION & REHABILITATION PROJECTS ALONG THE MALGAS RIVER

Welcome to Respect the River's reforestation projects page. Here, we showcase our ongoing efforts, from the last 3 years, towards riverine corridor restoration and conservation. One of our focus points is the rehabilitation of river banks, after big exotic or invasive trees are felled, to reduce soil erosion and bring back indigenous diversity. We have a multi - facetted approach towards restoring the Malgas river bank and re -introducing indigenous species back into the system is just one of them .

Why is there focus being put on conserving our natural corridors along riverine ecosystems in the Garden Route?

Ecosystems within the Garden Route are threatened by invasive & exotic species - especially after the big fires of 2017. The exotic plant species such as bluegum, wattle and pine spread fast when they are not controlled and when they are in high numbers they pose a fire risk to the city & citizens of George. When these exotics burn they also burn at a higher temperature than our indigenous vegetation and these hot fires deplete our soils of indigenous seeds which are unable of handling such high temperatures. The Garden Route biomes and vegetation types that we are focusing on managing include Southern Afrotemperate Forest and Southern Outeniqua Sandstone Fynbos.

It is crucial for the riverbanks and water catchment zones that still have indigenous/endemic flora and fauna to be conserved, preserved and cared for through exotic clearing.

Background info on our planting sites:

Our planting sites of focus are parts of the river bank that had blue gum trees growing on the river bank for decades. The soils of these planting sites are degraded by the blue gums and the indigenous seed bank has depleted as blue gums are allelopathic which negatively affects indigenous seed germination & growth. It is these sites that require planting back of endemic species cultivated from, and within, our area in order to stabilize the river banks and restore the indigenous seed bank. The trees planted will act as mother trees & nursery environments for seed dispersal to continue through birds and natures way.

How are we working towards strengthening the diversity of these

ecosystems through planting?

Most of the sites along the river would have been Southern Afrotemperate Forest, and we focus on planting a mix of endemic & indigenous trees & pioneer species that form a part of the Southern Afrotemperate Forest biome back where the seed bank is depleted or weak. Planting happens through tree planting events with citizens of the Garden Route that volunteer, focusing on the communities and children that reside along the Malgas river.

After planting events, we conduct specialised exotic clearing with low impact techniques that ensures better success rates of planted trees and speed up the rehabilitation process.

Reforestation through tree planting events

Planting site 1: Photos taken at a planting event hosted in April 2022

This site is situated by one of the oldest Milkwood trees in the George, and is one of the only indigenous trees that we have found growing naturally at the site.

Planting site 2: Photos taken at a planting event hosted in October 2022
This site has a rock situated under the planting site that is used by kingfishers to eat crabs from the river. Observations of planting site 1 was done on this day too.

WHAT ARE OUR CHALLENGES WITH REGARDING REHABILITATION THROUGH EXOTIC CLEARING ?

The exotic Eucalyptus trees have reached enormous sizes, requiring specialist tree fellers and expensive machinery to remove from the river. When the large stumps are dragged out of the river they damage the banks tremendously. The river banks then require extensive rehabilitation that needs to be led by specialists in order for the rehab to be effective and responsible. The budget required for operations like these are excessive. The organisations that have sponsored the project thus far have been more interested in sponsoring tree planting events which can really only take place after exotic clearing. There is a need for more involvement through funding the clearing of exotic trees - this can still be quantified in order for the figures to be used in reports/ social media posts ect.

There are areas of the Malgas River, upstream from the Outeniqua pass, where the exotics are of manageable size with many smaller indigenous trees (Southern Afrotemperate Forest's species) and fynbos species (Southern Outeniqua Sandstone Fynbos) amongst them that could thrive if the exotic/invasive trees were dealt with in time. When the exotic trees are not dealt with, they take over habitat and the endemic species become vulnerable to extinction. As exotic trees grow in size they become more difficult & thus also more expensive to deal with. The fynbos biome of South Africa is the most diverse plant kingdom in the world & Outeniqua Sandstone Fynbos is a threatened vegetation type.

Exotic Clearing

Exotic clearing is vital for the succession of planted and self sprouting local species.

EXOTIC CLEARING - EXOTIC SPECIES THAT REQUIRE MANAGEMENT AFTER BIG BLUE GUM TREES ARE CLEARED WITH MACHINERY

The blue gum forests suppress the growth of other plant species in their understory as they are allelopathic, meaning that they produce biochemicals which suppress seed germination. When the blue gum trees are felled there is an explosion of all sorts of exotic plant germination and these plants require management by skilled workers.

Please see a list of exotic plants we have dealt with along the river thus far :

Wattle Acacia mearnsii
Lantana camara
Sombucus canadensis
Anreda cordifolia
Solanum mauritianum
Cortoderia selloana
Rubus fruticosus
Oenothera brennis
Celtis sinensis
Cyothea australis
Eucaluptus spp.
Syzigium australis
Bidens pilosa
Araujia sericifera
Impomoea indico
Cenchrus clandesbinus
SIda poeppigiana
Verbena bonariensis
Vinca major
Yukka
Bamboo
Camphor officianarum