Naturally recovery of old crop fields in a South African Grassland biome

Abstract

Abstract Changing land-use practices has led to an increased rate of cropland abandonment in South Africa. Several soil quality studies have been conducted in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, mainly focusing on the impact of different cropping strategies on soil quality or the effect of different grazing practices on soil quality, only a few focusing on the effect of cropland abandonment and soil quality. We, therefore, aimed to assess the change in soil quality of differently aged, recovering old crop fields compared to the surrounding natural veld. The study site is located in the Winterberg Mountains of the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Standard soil characteristics were assessed for three recovering old crop fields. Samples from the surrounding natural habitat were also included for comparison. Significant positive change in soil water-holding capacity and carbon and nitrogen characteristics were observed with increased age since abandonment. Soil recovery is clearly taking place. It will, however, still take a significant amount of time for total recovery to be achieved. Continuous monitoring of old crop fields in agricultural, as well as, formally protected areas is needed to fully understand the long-term effects of cropping on soil quality in this region.