Wetland loss & erosion: cracking the code

Western Baviaanskloof (SA): In what is now becoming a tradition, another group of Rhodes University Honors students visited the Baviaanskloof during late January. The purpose of their trip was to carry out further assessment of the geo/hydro/biophysical characteristics of the area. These students were from the Geography and Environmental Sciences Department and were guided by Professors Kate Rowntree and Fred Ellery.

Some new observations which emerged from the trip:

1. Some parts of the valley in the Baviaanskloof have evidence of what used to be wetlands. A widely taken position is that the disappearance of those wetlands was primarily a result of poor land management. However, a revelation to the contrary emerged that the process of wetlands drying up and reforming may well have been going on long before humans inhabited this area.

2. Prof. Ellery put forth an unconfirmed hypothesis that donga erosion (gullies) does not primarily form as a direct consequence of lack of vegetation – which is often traced back to overgrazing – but that these commonly assumed causes are actually a catalyst that speeds a process which would have happen eventually over time anyway.

To an outsider, to was highly interesting to observe the various methodologies used in collecting such an array of information!