Habitat Evaluation and Bush Encroachment Restoration Recommendations

Year:
2022

Summary:
Apex Conservation Services was contracted to undertake a habitat assessment on Askival Game Reserve (AGR) and to provide recommendations to address the current bush encroachment challenges on the property.

Historically Askival farm was used for cattle grazing between the 1940’s and 1980’s and overgrazing led to the dominance of woody plants and a widespread loss of healthy grasses. When Askival was converted to game farming, the number of grazing animals were permitted to increase beyond the sustainable ecological capacity, which resulted in a further decline in the condition of the grass cover and encouraged bush encroachment across the property.

The scope of the project entailed the following:

• Undertake a habitat assessment with specific focus on the bush encroached areas
• Establish short term objectives to improve the current hunting product
• Establish long term objectives to improve the ecological condition of the reserve and to promote an improve the natural grass and bush balance
• Provide bush encroachment treatment guidelines

Apex undertook a thorough habitat assessment of the reserve, with a total of 22 sample sites being identified and assessed. Site description, species composition, age class, bush encroachment severity, and proposed restoration information was captured at each site. Historic and current game numbers, population representation and dynamics were evaluated. The true ecological capacity of the habitat was established.

The bush encroached areas on the property were classified, mapped, graded for severity of encroachment and a practical treatment priority assigned to each area.

Key restoration recommendations were provided. These included the following:

• The alignment of game numbers to the ecological capacity of the game farm
• Game management system
• Selective bush encroachment control with a combination of heavy and light machinery
• Extensive mulching with processed material
• Use of selective herbicide on treated areas to prevent resprouting
• Development of a structured monitoring programme