Projects

Ecological Restoration of Leopard Mountain

Healthy and diverse indigenous riverine bush

The Red Tiger Ranch lies along the Southern Border of the Baviaanskloof wilderness complex north east of Kareedouw, stretching from the Kouga Forest Reserve in the east to the Kouga River in the west. It encompasses 11 previously separate farms, now joined into one, forming the biggest privately owned border wilderness farm in the Kouga. Known as Rietfontein on the 3324CD Kareedouw 1-50 000 map it includes the following farms: Witteklip, Die Poort, Agterberg, Boy’s Kraal, Verkeerdedraafontein, Trek Kloof, Baviaansrivier, Paarden Berg and Graslaagte. These patches of farmland join together to form the LPM Leopard Mountain and host a number of buildings and infrastructure providing accommodation possibilities for volunteers and study groups involved in rehabilitation projects.

For 150 years this land has been fenced, farmed, frequently burned and grazed by domestic cattle and sheep. This relentless demand on already poor soil has made it susceptible to invasion by faster growing more aggressive exotic pioneers like Black Wattle and other acacia species blown over from the heavily infested Langkloof area. Frequent burning of fynbos by farmers to allow the dominance of grass for grazing removes organic matter and bakes the earth into clay that holds no water and harbours no seed. With a high PH level of soil know as ‘Suurveldt’ the compacting of the soil by cattle and the erosion along fence lines causes valuable soil to be washed into rivers. The soil, already impoverished by wattle, is lost to the land in desperate need of organic recovery. This further lack of water retention slows down the decomposition of old wood material and a higher surface temperature causes a further loss of moisture needed for potential germination of vegetation to bind the soil. To fight Acacia Mearnsi (Black Wattle) we need all the help we can get to stem the onslaught on the land, and this includes a sound resource development programme and favourable environmental approaches.

Riverbed overrun with Black Wattle

Black Wattle is by far the worst invader in the Eastern Cape and impoverishes the soil by dropping the water table out of reach of any other tree around it, killing off indiscriminately all that grow under or next to it. Preferring river courses and wet areas, it chokes up rivers stopping their flow and even drying them up completely while dropping thick banks of seed of up to 80 000 seeds per square meter under each mature tree. These seeds are then either wind blown or mechanically transported to areas where they drop, forming at first single-standing trees that later colonise from a central point. With no natural enemies in the country, and a superior deep reaching root system, this fast grower colonises rapidly, has a short lifespan and is germinated by fire, making fynbos and suurveldt land ideal for mass invasion. When the mature tree dies, saplings will take its place as soon as the water table has briefly returned, only to spread laterally creating impregnable stands of fast growing wattle saplings. It takes up to 6 years for a sapling to start seeding in which time it is most economically viable to harvest. If left to seed, the problem starts all over again. Follow up and wattle harvesting however can have positive impacts as numbers decrease considerably after correct harvesting and stump treatment.

To many the problem of black wattle seems insurmountable as it slowly chokes the land and dries up its rivers. In a few years from now, our wilderness area will become invaded and under threat of environmental collapse as is the southern reaches of the Baviaanskloof. You only have to drive along the countryside to realise that this problem is not going to go away if we rely on government programmes to eradicate it. The onslaught of the wattle from the southern reaches of the Kouga will threaten the catchment area of the Baviaans and ultimately the Gamtoos irrigation system.

Our Plan for Sustainable Development of Leopard Mountain

Riverbed after wattle clearance, ready for
revegetation with indigenous plants

Bordering an international heritage site, it is paramount for the conservation of wilderness that bordering farms proactively buffer the invasion of exotics by aggressive invader control programmes and habitat rehabilitation in order to minimise the chances of cleared areas becoming re-infested and removed invaders returning. The economy of the land needs to change in order for the soil to rest, and ecologically sound methods exist to accelerate rehabilitation, once the process has started.

The secret will be to utilize the wood from the wattle as already existing resources and convert or utilize these resources into economically viable alternatives to commercial livestock farming. Mushrooms, charcoal, furniture, fencing posts, thatch supports, construction timber and firewood only form a part of what we could use wattle for. Livestock has already been removed in order for the game to flourish. The establishment of a working rehabilitation process will act as an educational tool for the eradication of the Eastern Cape's biggest environmental threat.

We will be able to put something back into the land that has given its inhabitants life, land that is now in desperate need of our care.

We have identified the following projects that have the potential to create a vibrant economy for area residents, in an environmentally sustainable way. Projects we will be working on this summer include:

Projects we would like to develop in future years include:

Usefull Links

5050 website