The N2 Wild Coast Toll Road project traverses the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism which forms part of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany biodiversity hotspot. A biodiversity hotspot can be defined as an area on earth that has very high biological richness and highly valuable and endangered ecosystems.
By Mpati Makoa
The Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany region is the second richest floristic region in Africa, with the Cape Floristic Region holding the first place. Vegetation types of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany region include, amongst others, subtropical thicket, grassland and scarp forest.
SANRAL is committed to ensuring that the construction of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road project complies with the conditions and requirements of the project Record of Decision and approved Environmental Management Programme so as to ensure that adverse impacts on the biodiversity of the Maputaland-Pondoland-Abany region are avoided or, where avoidance is not possible, minimised as far as possible.
In pursuance of the above, plant search and rescue activities at the Mtentu River Bridge and the associated haul roads started in November 2016, with the majority of the grassland plants being rescued from November 2016 to July 2017. Forest plants were rescued from March 2018 to September 2018.
The rescued plants were kept in plant holding facilities at the bridge site camps from November 2016 to January 2022 in two holding areas established on the southern and northern banks of the Mtentu River Bridge.
The rescued plants were originally earmarked for use during the rehabilitation of areas disturbed during the construction phase of the N2 Wild Coast road and bridge areas. Delays in construction activities resulted in the rescued plants showing signs of distress due to being inside plant bags for a prolonged period and, as a result, there were concerns about the survival rate of the rescued plants in the plant holding facilities.
To improve the potential for survival of the rescued plants, they were thus replanted into suitable no-go areas at the bridge sites, where no planned construction activities would take place. The rescued plants were planted back into similar habitats from where they were originally rescued from and were planted in random patterns and clusters to blend into the natural vegetation. The replanting timeframe was scheduled to coincide with the major rainfall months to aid with the water requirements of the newly replanted plants.
The replanting service provider commenced with the replanting process in late January 2022 and a total of approximately 25 700 plants kept in the plant holding areas were replanted. Planting activities started in the forest areas and subsequently progressed to the grassland areas. The planting operation was concluded in March 2022.
A total of about 16 300 grassland plants were replanted into designated areas. These constituted 98 different grassland species, with a large portion being afforded formal protection, either at national or provincial level. A breakdown of the conservation status of the grassland species is provided in the table below:
| GRASSLAND SPECIES – CONSERVATION STATUS | NUMBER OF SPECIES |
| National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (No. 10 of 2004): Protected | 1 |
| Transkei Environmental Conservation Decree (No. 9 of 1992): Endangered | 3 |
| Transkei Environmental Conservation Decree (No. 9 of 1992): Protected | 15 |
| Pondoland Centre of Endemism: Endemic | 8 |
| Species of Special Concern | 15 |
The only nationally protected grassland species rescued, which was prevalent within the grassland rocky outcrops at the Mtentu sites, is Stangeria eriopus (Natal grass cycad). This fern-like dwarf cycad plant is highly adaptable in terms of its preferred habitat, with plants found thriving on the shaded forest floor, as well as the exposed grassland hillsides. Stangeria eriopus is classified as “Vulnerable” in terms of the SA Red List of Plants.
On a more regional scale, the flora protected provincially under Section 23 of the Transkei Environmental Conservation Decree (No. 9 of 1992), are either listed as Endangered or Protected, under Schedule 5 and Schedule 6, respectively. Stangeria eriopus is also listed as Protected under the Transkei Decree. Examples of other provincially protected grassland species that were rescued and replanted during the process include the following: Aristea ecklonii (Blue stars), Boophone disticha (Century plant), Cyrtanthus (Fire lily) spp., Watsonia pillansii (Knolpypie) and Watsonia densiflora (Natal watsonia).
Endemic plants are those that are naturally restricted in range, in this instance the area in question is roughly a 50 km wide corridor lying between Port St. Johns in the south to Port Shepstone in the north, i.e. the Pondoland Centre of Endemism (PCE). Noteworthy PCE endemics encountered during the search and rescue process include the following plant species: Canthium vanwykii (Pondo Turkey-berry), Eriosemopsis subanisophylla, Searsia pondoensis (Many-veined currant), Tarchonanthus trilobus (Broad-leaved camphor) and Tridactyle bicaudata subsp. rupestris.
Species of Special Concern refer to plant species which do not meet the criteria of an Endangered or Threatened species but are particularly vulnerable, and could easily become, an Endangered, Threatened, or extirpated species due to restricted distribution, low or declining numbers, or specialized habitat requirements.
In addition to the grassland and rocky outcrop habitats, a total of about 9 400 forest plants were replanted into the designated forest areas where no future construction activities would take place. There were 37 different forest plant species replanted with the following conservation status:
| FOREST SPECIES – CONSERVATON STATUS | NUMBER OF SPECIES |
| National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act (No. 10 of 2004): Protected | 1 |
| Transkei Environmental Conservation Decree (No. 9 of 1992): Endangered | 1 |
| Transkei Environmental Conservation Decree (No. 9 of 1992): Protected | 5 |
Of the 37 species, Encephalartos villosus (Poor man’s cycad) was one of the valuable nationally Protected forest species relocated. Plants of different phenological stages were rescued from the bridge footprint areas and replanted into adjacent no-go areas. Encephalartos villosus is also listed as Endangered in the Transkei Decree.
| CULTURAL ASPECTS OF RESCUED PLANTS IN PONDOLAND Many rescued plants are known to be medicinal or charm plants and are used to treat a wide range of illnesses. Examples of these species, which are dominant on site, include Bulbine latifolia (Broad-leaved bulbine), Watsonia densiflora (Natal watsonia), Morella serrata (Lance-leaf waxberry), Maesa lanceolata (False assegai), Boophone disticha (Century plant) and Stangeria eriopus (Natal grass cycad). Bulbine latifolia – Broad-leaved bulbine Used for cleansing “dirty blood” caused by a poor diet and excessive alcohol consumption. It is also used to remove powerful herbal medicines from the body by using the roots in an emetic or drunk as a tea. Watsonia densiflora – Natal watsonia The corms are crushed to make a dough-like substance that is heated as glue.This glue is used to fasten spear blades to their wooden handles. Once the glue has set it is further strengthened with a covering of hide taken from the tail of a cow. Stangeria eriopus – Natal grass cycad The underground stem/tuber is cut into slices, dried in the sun and then ground into powder. The dry powder is given to animals as a preventative against disease and sickness. |
The survival rate of the replanted plants was monitored throughout August 2023. The observations can be summarised as follows:
- The forest plants were growing very well with the majority of the protected plants such as Encephalartos villosus (Poor man’s cycad) and Clivia miniata (Bush lily) flourishing in their habitats. Smaller saplings showed some signs of distress, and some die-offs were visible. The rescued forest mulch that was placed around the dripline of the replanted forest plants helped to reduce water loss through evaporation. Trees that were planted on the fringes were affected by external factors such as veld fires and were damaged but were coppicing after the fire event.
- Grassland plants, especially the protected plants such as Stangeria eriopus (Natal grass cycad) (see picture below) and Watsonia densiflora (Natal watsonia), were found to be well-established in their habitats. Some of the small succulent plants such as Delosperma lineare (Ice plant) were not detectible at the time of monitoring – this may be attributed to a large veld fire event that swept through the replanting area. Bulbous and wetland plants displayed a high survival rate and are expected to continue to thrive.
- External factors influencing the survival rates are more prevalent among the grassland areas than in the forest areas. These events are primarily veld fires, grazing cattle/wildlife and local community activities.
The replanting of the rescued plants into the designated areas at the bridge sites is thus considered to be successful overall, albeit that some losses of plants were experienced.
Lessons learnt from this process are being applied in plant search and rescue activities being planned for further construction works to be undertaken as part of the N2 Wild Coast Toll Road project to ensure the best possible outcomes are achieved in future.