Market demand for the fynbos-derived honeybush (Cyclopia spp.) tea is on the rise, and there is an urgent need for better conservation of wild Cyclopia populations and for a shift to sustainable cultivation. Rooibos is another popular fynbos product that underwent exponential market growth over the last two decades but this resulted in large-scale conversion of pristine mountain fynbos to intensively-used crop lands. Adopting a conservation agriculture approach in expanding indigenous products will help in conserving biodiversity and ecosystem processes in this global biodiversity hotspot. Conservation agriculture of indigenous fynbos products grown in the Cape Floristic Region (CFR) should follow five main principles in order to maximise biodiversity conservation alongside agriculture. These principles are: 1) maintain high diversity at all levels, 2) conserve soil structure and processes, 3) conserve and restore natural ecosystem processes, 4) promote ecosystem stability and self-perpetuation, and 5) maintain natural areas as sources of ecosystem components. Given the negative ecological consequences of the industrialisation of the rooibos industry, it would be in the interest of biodiversity conservation, and even of agriculture, to apply these principles to honeybush cultivation. In order to prevent further fynbos habitat loss, cultivation of honeybush could be catalysed on old fields rather than in ploughed or cleared fynbos. Here I compare germination, growth and survival of two species (Cyclopia intermedia E.Mey. and C. subternata Vogel) between different land use types (ploughed lands, old fields and intact fynbos) and treatments (cleared and uncleared) in the Langkloof, Eastern Cape, over one year. Plots of each land use type were subject to each of these two treatments, although the ploughed plot constituted only a cleared treatment. Growth was highest on ploughed land, while survival and growth were lowest in uncleared fynbos. Cleared fynbos had the lowest germination success in both species, with the other sites and treatments coming out roughly the same. These results show that although ploughed lands give highest yields, growth and survival on old fields without ploughing is comparable with that on ploughed lands and is therefore a feasible alternative. Understanding the recruitment dynamics of honeybush is imperative for adequate conservation of wild populations. Furthermore, understanding this ecological aspect of the genus will help in developing the honeybush industry as a sustainable, agroecological market that uses semi-natural populations for production. Although Cyclopia species are early-successional species that germinate after fire, recruitment of Cyclopia pubescens Eckl. & Zeyh. continues throughout the inter-fire period. Cyclopia pubescens populations near Port Elizabeth were described according to their age structure and plant densities to discern possible density-dependent recruitment effects. Results showed that dense stands for the most part do not support high post-fire recruitment. This gives insight into suitable planting densities for new or restore populations and into management guidelines for remnant populations of threatened species. This thesis highlights important issues facing the honeybush industry. Mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into honeybush production is achievable, given that the industry is still relatively young, but this will require further research and strong market leadership.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:20975 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Beyers, Andrea |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Science |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Masters, MSc |
| Format | xi, 78 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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