Local farmers battling the spread of invasive plant species are looking to fire as a possible answer to eradicating these ever problematic species.
Local farmers battling the spread of invasive plant species are looking to fire as a possible answer to eradicating these ever problematic species.
Kevin Bates, assistant director of the Parks and Recreation Department, said fire can be used as a tool in managing the uncontrolled and prolific spread of "terrible" alien species including hakea, black wattle, green wattle, pine and gum trees.
"Fire can be a very effective means of controlling these species because it has certain effects on the plants which hinder their growth and make controlling them more manageable," he said.
Bates, who has worked in forestry in the Western and Eastern Cape, was speaking at a gathering of local farmers held on Gletwyn farm outside Grahamstown last week.
He said that if left unattended, certain types of invasive plants could cause "complete environmental degradation" and that it is essential for local farmers to team up and combat the problem.
Peter Wylie, a local dairy farmer who organised the event, said that the biggest problem with wattle is that it lowers the carrying capacity of the veld and rapidly depletes underground water reserves.
"This species is almost impossible to eradicate. If we are going to win out over this then it’s going to take a lot of effort," he said.
Bates said that pine trees and hakea are easier to manage than the gum and wattle varieties, which present "a real challenge" and require follow-up spraying with pesticides.
Bates said fire is an effective means of control because the smoke promotes the coordinated germination of seeds, which means the plants drop their seeds "all at once instead of intermittently over an extended period of time".
He added that this should then be followed by a thorough burning which should kill the trees. In some instances the trees should be felled prior to the burn and sprayed with herbicides.
In recent years farmers have exhausted other means of controlling wattle including debarking, spraying with herbicide, manual eradication, using bulldozers and bushcutting, but Wylie said none of these have been effective in the long term.
"As soon as you think you’re rid of these things they sprout up again like hair on a dog’s back. These plants are growing at a frightening rate," he said.
Wylie also said farmers need to learn how to manage fire in the area as he said locals suffer from "complacency and apathy" when it comes to environmental issues.
"Aside from helping control alien plants fire can be used to protect our land and assets in the form of fire breaks but we’ve got nothing in terms of fire protection here. We’re sitting ducks if anything unexpected happens," he said.
In order to perform organised burns, Bates said it is essential for farmers to equip themselves with information and equipment first.
"There are certain things you have to do before you even think of burning. You’ll actually find that most of the work is involved in planning, which has to be done way ahead of the planned burn. When you’re dealing with fire, planning really is crucial," he said.
Bates said it is imperative to have fire breaks in place which will provide protection against strong winds and runaway fires.
"These fire breaks are crucial and every farmer should have them but you can’t just think you’re going to burn a strip of land. You have to be clever about it and have a plan," he said.
Bates said regulations around burning involve alerting the fire department of your plans to burn; informing your neighbors; not burning before 10am because you can’t tell what the prevailing winds are doing yet and never to burn on a Saturday in case you need the assistance of staff who have left for the weekend.
He also said it is essential to have respect for staff who are involved with firefighting. “We can all sit here and talk about it but until you’re in it and your chest is on fire you don’t appreciate how dangerous it can be."
