Marloth Park Management Plan. - Nkomazi Local Municipality
Marloth Park Management Plan. - Nkomazi Local Municipality Marloth Park Management Plan. - Nkomazi Local Municipality
The firebreak need be wide enough to contain the flames during the application of the back fire. When the head fire is applied, its flames are blown away from the firebreak into the areas to be burned. It is proposed that a firebreak of 4 to 8 m wide be maintain around the property boundary. The existing road infrastructure can be used as efficient firebreaks and should be sufficient in stopping a fire. No additional firebreaks are required. BURNING PROCEDURE The National Act on veld and forest fires (Act no 101 of 1998) has in mind that government bodies, property owners, institutions and association be collectively held responsible for the prevention and management of fires. It is thus, in the interest of individual property owners that they or a representative be actively involved with a local fire prevention association. It is recommended that the local fire prevention unit be informed before implementing a burn and their co-operation obtained in controlling the fire. The following rules should be kept in mind to prevent a fire from getting out of control: Make and maintain effective firebreaks on the borders of the area. Inform residents and neighbours before burning a boundary firebreak. It is preferable to plan and burn boundary firebreaks in co-operation with neighbours. The neighbours’ presence must be insisted upon when burning on the boundary. Wait for suitable weather. On a windy day fires can easily get out of control. Burn the firebreaks before the grass becomes so dry that it becomes a fire hazard. Never light a fire where it cannot be controlled. Do everything possible to prevent a fire from spreading. Never leave a fire unattended before it is fully extinguished. Any burning operation should start along a firebreak as a back burn. The back burn should be allowed to burn for a sufficient distance to ensure the safety of the area downwind of the fire. Once this have been done, a fire line is set along the upwind margin of the paddock, so that the greater proportion of the area is burned out by a head fire. A dip torch is a useful tool for setting such fire lines. Recommendations for Marloth Park A mosaic pattern of veld burning is often applied on farms to maintain a sound species and habitat diversity in the vegetation. The main reason for burning on any property is for the removal of unacceptable material. The type of fire, which is therefore required, is a low intensity fire. © Ecological Associates/ Marloth Park 107
A low intensity fire will be achieved by burning when the following environmental conditions are present in the area to burn: the air temperature should be below 20 ºC, the relative humidity above 50 percent and the soil moist. This means that burning must preferably take place during the morning before 11h00. The fuel load must also be at least 2000 kg/ha for the fire to be carried. Fuel loads for each management unit must be determined annually before implementing a burn. All plant communities, with exception of the Dichrostachys cinerea – Tragus berteronianus Low bushland has sufficient biomass to sustain a burn. However, burning in Marloth Park is not recommended due to the high risk of property damage. As fire is only recommended to reduce biomass and remove moribund plant material, it is recommended that an alternative method be applied to simulate the same action. Although the Leitner box method can be used, this method is labour intensive. The box consists of a rectangular structure that can be manually moved from section to section, after burning the vegetation inside the box. The best alternative is to slash the vegetation manually. It is recommended that herbaceous biomass production be measured annually and priority areas identified that require a slashing programme. Property owners must be convinced of the necessity of removing the excess material, not only for the health of the vegetation but to reduce the risk of natural or accidental fires that can damage or destroy their residence. As property owners generally do not have the equipment, labour or time to implement such a programme, it is recommended that an independent consultant be contracted to achieve the desired results. Although burning of Marloth Park during the 2006 season will not be required, it is recommended that a proactive system be implemented that will be able to deal with excessive biomass production. Based on the high rainfall experienced in the 2005/2006 seasons it can be expected that the effects on the vegetation will be most noticeable in the next 2 years, pending seasonal follow-up. SOIL EROSION Degraded ranch land is highly susceptible to soil erosion because of their low basal grass cover and their slow recovery rate in terms of grass cover. Especially those wildlife areas that start as a trampled livestock ranch face problems of soil erosion. Soil erosion leads to the loss of fertile soil, depositing of unproductive soil on fertile land, desiccation of soil in the vicinity of gullies due to excessive drainage and the undermining of infrastructure facilities and roads. Furthermore, erosion ditches disturb the pristine appearance of the landscape, reducing the areas tourism potential. Soil erosion is a natural process and cannot be prevented. © Ecological Associates/ Marloth Park 108
- Page 63 and 64: The resulting Large Stock Units are
- Page 65 and 66: INTRODUCTION GAME MANAGEMENT ON MAR
- Page 67 and 68: STOCKING RATES Current stocking The
- Page 69 and 70: Table 10: The current stocking dens
- Page 71 and 72: Recommendations on stocking rates C
- Page 73 and 74: High selectivity grazers Blue wilde
- Page 75 and 76: Waterbuck Kobus ellipsiprymnus Ogil
- Page 77 and 78: Space requirements: Kudu have range
- Page 79 and 80: Recommendation: The range requireme
- Page 81 and 82: Food preference: Steenbok utilise A
- Page 83 and 84: Table 12: The potential stocking de
- Page 85 and 86: Table 14: The potential stocking de
- Page 87 and 88: Table 15: The recommended stocking
- Page 89 and 90: The proteins may be less available
- Page 91 and 92: When urea is incorporated into a ph
- Page 93 and 94: Recommended intake for game is 150
- Page 95 and 96: Ticks The main parasite of concern
- Page 97 and 98: Figure 12: Sketch of Cyphostemma /C
- Page 99 and 100: NOXIOUS AND INVASIVE WEEDS An invas
- Page 101 and 102: Management plans need to be reviewe
- Page 103 and 104: Ricinus communis, Solanum sisymbrii
- Page 105 and 106: Although soil treatment with chemic
- Page 107 and 108: Planning errors must be expected, a
- Page 109 and 110: To further reduce grazing pressure
- Page 111 and 112: Lightning induced fires can also ca
- Page 113: TIME OF BURNING Least damage is cau
- Page 117 and 118: Recommendations for Marloth Park Ma
- Page 119 and 120: Surface erosion will reduce water i
- Page 121 and 122: Several different types of waterhol
- Page 123 and 124: Stones Ground level Reinforced conc
- Page 125 and 126: For safety reasons these requiremen
- Page 127 and 128: Adaptive management Applying adapti
- Page 129 and 130: Figure 15: Location of the monitori
- Page 131 and 132: Appendix 1 (Continue) A list of tre
- Page 133 and 134: Appendix 2 (Continue) A list of gra
- Page 135 and 136: Appendix 3 (Continue) A list of for
- Page 137 and 138: Appendix 3 (Continue) A list of for
- Page 139 and 140: Appendix 4: Alien invaders found on
- Page 141 and 142: Appendix 5: Frequency occurrence of
- Page 143 and 144: Appendix 5: Frequency occurrence of
- Page 145 and 146: Appendix 5: Frequency occurrence of
- Page 147 and 148: Appendix 5: Frequency occurrence of
- Page 149 and 150: Appendix 5: Frequency occurrence of
- Page 151 and 152: Appendix 5: Frequency occurrence of
- Page 153 and 154: Appendix 5: Frequency occurrence of
- Page 155 and 156: Appendix 6: Photographs of each veg
- Page 157 and 158: Appendix 6: Photographs of each veg
A low intensity fire will be achieved by burning when the following environmental conditions<br />
are present in the area to burn: the air temperature should be below 20 ºC, the relative<br />
humidity above 50 percent and the soil moist. This means that burning must preferably take<br />
place during the morning before 11h00. The fuel load must also be at least 2000 kg/ha for the<br />
fire to be carried. Fuel loads for each management unit must be determined annually before<br />
implementing a burn. All plant communities, with exception of the Dichrostachys cinerea –<br />
Tragus berteronianus Low bushland has sufficient biomass to sustain a burn. However,<br />
burning in <strong>Marloth</strong> <strong>Park</strong> is not recommended due to the high risk of property damage.<br />
As fire is only recommended to reduce biomass and remove moribund plant material, it is<br />
recommended that an alternative method be applied to simulate the same action. Although the<br />
Leitner box method can be used, this method is labour intensive. The box consists of a<br />
rectangular structure that can be manually moved from section to section, after burning the<br />
vegetation inside the box. The best alternative is to slash the vegetation manually. It is<br />
recommended that herbaceous biomass production be measured annually and priority areas<br />
identified that require a slashing programme. Property owners must be convinced of the<br />
necessity of removing the excess material, not only for the health of the vegetation but to<br />
reduce the risk of natural or accidental fires that can damage or destroy their residence. As<br />
property owners generally do not have the equipment, labour or time to implement such a<br />
programme, it is recommended that an independent consultant be contracted to achieve the<br />
desired results.<br />
Although burning of <strong>Marloth</strong> <strong>Park</strong> during the 2006 season will not be required, it is<br />
recommended that a proactive system be implemented that will be able to deal with excessive<br />
biomass production. Based on the high rainfall experienced in the 2005/2006 seasons it can be<br />
expected that the effects on the vegetation will be most noticeable in the next 2 years, pending<br />
seasonal follow-up.<br />
SOIL EROSION<br />
Degraded ranch land is highly susceptible to soil erosion because of their low basal grass<br />
cover and their slow recovery rate in terms of grass cover. Especially those wildlife areas that<br />
start as a trampled livestock ranch face problems of soil erosion. Soil erosion leads to the loss<br />
of fertile soil, depositing of unproductive soil on fertile land, desiccation of soil in the vicinity<br />
of gullies due to excessive drainage and the undermining of infrastructure facilities and roads.<br />
Furthermore, erosion ditches disturb the pristine appearance of the landscape, reducing the<br />
areas tourism potential. Soil erosion is a natural process and cannot be prevented.<br />
© Ecological Associates/ <strong>Marloth</strong> <strong>Park</strong> 108
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