scholarly journals Emerging Ornamental Plant Invaders in Urban Areas—Centranthus ruber in Cape Town, South Africa as a Case Study

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 322-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sjirk Geerts ◽  
Taryn Rossenrode ◽  
Ulrike M. Irlich ◽  
Vernon Visser
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Species Distribution Model ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Ornamental Species

Plant species that receive significant human introduction effort and assistance generally are the most problematic invaders. Despite this, invasive ornamental species in urban settings have received relatively little attention if not invading natural areas. Here we consider Centranthus ruber in an urban setting in South Africa as a case study and explore when emerging invaders are able to cross the urban–wildland interface and what hinders early eradication in urban environments. Centranthus ruber was introduced into Cape Town, South Africa, more than a century ago as a garden ornamental, but until recently was not considered invasive. We determine the current and potential future distribution in South Africa, evaluate current management activities, and provide recommendations for control and legislation. By August 2013, we had found 64 populations, of which 31 were casual, 27 naturalized, and 6 invasive. This increased to more than 530 identified populations by the end of 2015, due to both spread and increased awareness. Centranthus ruber can invade near-pristine areas, with one population found in natural vegetation in the Table Mountain National Park. However, with only one slowly spreading population, the threat might be limited. We found no difference in plant mortality between chemical and mechanical clearing, but with mechanical clearing stimulating the soil seedbank, we recommend chemical methods. Using a species distribution model, we found large parts of South Africa, including the southwestern Cape where we conducted our surveys, to be climatically suitable for this species. Consequently, the category 1b regional listing in NEM:BA in the Western Cape is justified, but a listing in other parts of the country also might be appropriate. Based on our findings, we suggest that the extirpation of C. ruber in South Africa is possible, but without buy-in from residents in urban environments, reinvasion will render this impossible. This study stresses the importance of managing and legislating emerging invaders at the urban–wildland interface and the monitoring of common ornamental species with invasive traits.

Opposition Growth in Dominant Party Systems: Coalitions in South Africa

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 290-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Langfield
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Party System ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Party Systems ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Western Cape Province ◽  
Dominant Party ◽  
Party Strategies ◽  
Party Elites ◽  
Dominant Parties

What is responsible for the decline of democratically dominant parties and the corresponding growth of competitive party systems? This article argues that, despite a ruling party's dominance, opposition forces can gain by winning important subnational offices and then creating a governance record that they can use to win new supporters. It focuses on South Africa as a paradigmatic dominant party system, tracing the increased competitiveness of elections in Cape Town and the surrounding Western Cape province between 1999 and 2010. These events show how party strategies may evolve, reflecting how party elites can learn from forming coalitions.

Community-Centred Infrastructure Design Process for Resilience Building in South African Informal Settlements: The “Genius of Space” Solid Waste and Greywater Infrastructure Project

2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Lauren Hermanus ◽  
Sean Andrew
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Informal Settlements ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Wastewater Management ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Water And Sanitation ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Due to a lack of adequate water and sanitation infrastructure, growing, unplanned urban settlements in South Africa and elsewhere have been linked to pollution of critical river systems. The same dynamics undermine local resilience, understood as the capacity to adapt and develop in response to changes, persistent social and ecological risks, and disasters. Water and sanitation challenges undermine resilience by causing and compounding risks to individuals, and to household and community health and livelihoods, in a complex context in which communities and local governments have limited capacity and resources to respond appropriately. Household and community resilience in informal settlements is drawing increasing policy focus, given the persistence of these kinds of neighbourhoods in cities and towns in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Africa, in particular. This case considers whether bottom-up responses that combine public and private sector resources, including community participation, and use an interdisciplinary approach can support the production of novel resilience-fostering solutions. This article presents an analysis of the case of Genius of Space waste and wastewater management infrastructure in the Western Cape, South Africa. While the process has been imperfect and slow to show results, this analysis reflects on the gains, lessons and potential for replication that this work has produced. The Genius of Space approach adds to a growing area of practice-based experimentation focussed on incrementalism and adaptive development practices in urban environments, particularly in developing countries.

scholarly journals A Path Dependency Approach to Governance Practices at a Public University of the Western Cape, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Tom Mark Brown
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Path Dependency ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Governance Structures ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
Governance Practices ◽  
Student Unrest

This paper investigates the governance practices embedded within governance structures at the disposal of students at a public tertiary education institution, and student unrest as a mechanism to sway decision-making and reform policy at the case study institution of higher learning. In particular, the study is guided by a qualitative research paradigm using a structured interview tool to gather primary data using the University of the Western Cape (UWC) situated in Cape Town, South Africa, as a bounded case study, against the backdrop of the 2015-2016 #FeesMustFall (FMF) protests. It is suggested in this paper that student unrest is not the main reason, but rather a symptom of the broader inadequacies of the current participatory mechanisms available in university governance structures in general, and at the UWC. Employing a Path Dependency Theoretical (PDT) Approach. The article concludes by analyzing the findings of the empirical research, by identifying several themes and sub-themes.

Formation of disjunct plant distributions in Northeast Asia: a case study of Betula davurica using a species distribution model

Plant Ecology ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 219 (9) ◽  
pp. 1105-1115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takuto Shitara ◽  
Yukito Nakamura ◽  
Tetsuya Matsui ◽  
Ikutaro Tsuyama ◽  
Haruka Ohashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Distribution ◽  
Species Distribution Model ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Distribution Model ◽  
Plant Distributions

Large Summer Rainfall Events and Their Importance in Mitigating Droughts over the South Western Cape, South Africa

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 587-599
Author(s):  
W. M. De Kock ◽  
R. C. Blamey ◽  
C. J. C. Reason
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Summer Rainfall ◽  
Western Cape ◽  
The South ◽  
African Region ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Atmospheric Rivers ◽  
Piped Water ◽  
Almost All

AbstractAlthough the south Western Cape receives most of its rainfall between May and September, there are substantial rainfall events in some summers. These events are of interest in themselves as well as for their possible role in mitigating the frequent winter droughts that the region suffers from. Most recently, greater Cape Town suffered a devastating drought during 2015–18 known as the Day Zero drought due to the high risk of urban areas running out of piped water supply. Estimated data from the city show that major dam levels in the south Western Cape increased more than 1% in some cases after large rainfall events (LREs) in the summer of 2018/19. This increase is significant as dam levels often decrease by several percent per month during the hot summer. In this study, LREs over the south Western Cape during the summer (October–March) are investigated together with dam level data. Most summer LREs result from atmospheric rivers (ARs) or cutoff lows (COLs). ARs have not been previously studied in the South African region except for one study for winter that showed they are responsible for almost all the heavy rainfall events in the Western Cape. Although COLs are most common in the transition months, they can also occur in midwinter and summer. COLs tend to last longer and cover larger areas than ARs, which typically yield relatively short bursts of intense rainfall mostly concentrated around greater Cape Town. After each summer LRE, average dam levels increase by up to 5%, suggesting they are very important for drought recovery. In particular, summer LREs following the anomalously dry winters of 1980, 1984, 2003, 2004, and 2015–18 played an important role in mitigating those droughts.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document