An investigation of land-use practices on the Agulhas Plain (South Africa), with emphasis on socio-economic and conservation issues

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dc.contributor.advisorCowling, Richard Men_ZA
dc.contributor.advisorTurpie, Janeen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorHeydenrych, Barry Johnen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-11-20T19:45:59Z
dc.date.available2014-11-20T19:45:59Z
dc.date.issued1999en_ZA
dc.descriptionBiobliography : leaves 147-156.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractAn investigation of land-use practices was undertaken on the Agulhas Plain, a species-rich area at the southern tip of Africa. Data were collected from landowners and visitors using questionnaire surveys. Further information was obtained by means of a literature search and interviews with key informants. A historical background of land use in the area is given. Although the area has been utilized since the Earlier Stone Age (>200000 years BP), the most dramatic changes to the landscape have occurred post 1850, with the large transformation of indigenous veld into cultivated lands. Four categories of farms were identified: livestock farms, fynbos farms, mixed farms and conservation farms. Livestock farms covered the largest surface area. Cereal crops cultivated on these farms provided a net income of R 918 OOO/y. Grazing provided a net income of R 7.3 million/yon cultivated land and R 2.3 million/y was attributed to indigenous veld. This latter figure highlights the importance of natural veld for grazing, but for certain vegetation types, stocking rates were above the recommended norms. Fynbos flower farms had the second largest surface area of the four categories of farms. Fynbos wildflowers were found to be the largest single agricultural sector on the Agulhas Plain, yielding an estimated net income of R 8.55 million/y. Most harvesting from the wild takes place from Acid Sand Fynbos, which is relatively common, and there appears to be potential for wildflower harvesting to be compatible with biodiversity conservation, if managed correctly. Cultivated fynbos flowers yielded a net income of R 1.5 million/y. Cultivation of land for fynbos flowers is on the increase, and pristine fynbos is primarily being targeted for this practice, thereby threatening the biodiversity of these areas. Many landowners are involved with mixed farming practices and there are a small number of conservation farms, generally situated at the coast, which rely on outside funding for their management.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationHeydenrych, B. J. (1999). <i>An investigation of land-use practices on the Agulhas Plain (South Africa), with emphasis on socio-economic and conservation issues</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9755en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationHeydenrych, Barry John. <i>"An investigation of land-use practices on the Agulhas Plain (South Africa), with emphasis on socio-economic and conservation issues."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 1999. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9755en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationHeydenrych, B. 1999. An investigation of land-use practices on the Agulhas Plain (South Africa), with emphasis on socio-economic and conservation issues. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Heydenrych, Barry John AB - An investigation of land-use practices was undertaken on the Agulhas Plain, a species-rich area at the southern tip of Africa. Data were collected from landowners and visitors using questionnaire surveys. Further information was obtained by means of a literature search and interviews with key informants. A historical background of land use in the area is given. Although the area has been utilized since the Earlier Stone Age (>200000 years BP), the most dramatic changes to the landscape have occurred post 1850, with the large transformation of indigenous veld into cultivated lands. Four categories of farms were identified: livestock farms, fynbos farms, mixed farms and conservation farms. Livestock farms covered the largest surface area. Cereal crops cultivated on these farms provided a net income of R 918 OOO/y. Grazing provided a net income of R 7.3 million/yon cultivated land and R 2.3 million/y was attributed to indigenous veld. This latter figure highlights the importance of natural veld for grazing, but for certain vegetation types, stocking rates were above the recommended norms. Fynbos flower farms had the second largest surface area of the four categories of farms. Fynbos wildflowers were found to be the largest single agricultural sector on the Agulhas Plain, yielding an estimated net income of R 8.55 million/y. Most harvesting from the wild takes place from Acid Sand Fynbos, which is relatively common, and there appears to be potential for wildflower harvesting to be compatible with biodiversity conservation, if managed correctly. Cultivated fynbos flowers yielded a net income of R 1.5 million/y. Cultivation of land for fynbos flowers is on the increase, and pristine fynbos is primarily being targeted for this practice, thereby threatening the biodiversity of these areas. Many landowners are involved with mixed farming practices and there are a small number of conservation farms, generally situated at the coast, which rely on outside funding for their management. DA - 1999 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 1999 T1 - An investigation of land-use practices on the Agulhas Plain (South Africa), with emphasis on socio-economic and conservation issues TI - An investigation of land-use practices on the Agulhas Plain (South Africa), with emphasis on socio-economic and conservation issues UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9755 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/9755
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationHeydenrych BJ. An investigation of land-use practices on the Agulhas Plain (South Africa), with emphasis on socio-economic and conservation issues. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 1999 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9755en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciencesen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherBotanyen_ZA
dc.titleAn investigation of land-use practices on the Agulhas Plain (South Africa), with emphasis on socio-economic and conservation issuesen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
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