A compensatory forestry approach to clearing alien invasive vegetation from riparian zones in a South African basin

In South Africa, it is accepted that widespread invasive alien vegetation is impacting negatively on biodiversity and water resources. Water resource management now includes consideration of invasive alien plant management. It has been suggested that in some areas of the country, the clearing of alien vegetation in riparian zones may be compensated for by the establishment of commercial plantations elsewhere in a basin, and still result in an improvement of the water supply and an economic benefit to the grower. A case study in KwaZulu-Natal province in which hydrological impacts of possible land-use changes associated with this so-called compensatory forestry are simulated with the use of the ACRU agrohydrological model, and the results then linked to an economic analysis is presented. Results indicate that clearing of alien invasive vegetation in the riparian zones and the establishment of commercial timber plantations in optimal areas of the basins will have both hydrological and economic benefits.