Re-establishing vegetation on bare patches in the Nama Karoo, South Africa

Bare patches are found throughout the Nama Karoo. The development of bare patches is a degradation process that can be attributed to poor grazing practices such as overgrazing and patch selection, usually in combination with drought conditions. The restoration of vegetation in such degraded rangeland is seldom achieved through the withdrawal of livestock alone. Some form of intervention is usually necessary to promote a favourable environment for the establishment of plants. In this study various methods of re-establishing vegetation in bare patches were identified and tested, either alone or in combination. The treatments were: seeded, seeded+branches, tilled, tilled+seeded, tilled+seeded+branches and a control. The tilled+seeded+branches treatment was the most successful in providing a suitable environment for the establishment of desirable plant species, but the tilled treatment the most cost-effective.