Plantation Forestry in South Africa and its Impact on Biodiversity

SYNOPSIS Empirical studies and other evidence indicate that tree farming has had a marked impact on biodiversity in some areas of South Africa, Plant and animal species have been made extinct or are threatened by afforestation, and afforestation is largely responsible for the endangered status of one Veld Type, in KwaZulu-Natal. This information does not support the contention by Pott (1997) that “…much of the criticism of plantation forestry as a form of land use is based on emotional bias rather than on hard evidence.” The call by Pott (1997) for research and monitoring in the context of the impacts that various land uses, including timber farming, have on biodiversity, and for the management of components of biodiversity on timber farms is strongly supported.