141 



V.— Economic Applications. 



Ill the course of the above study of the plant succession 

 in the grassland of South Africa, many economic questions 

 have been touched upon, particularly those concerned with 

 grass-burning', stock grazing, feeding value of natural grasses, 

 the cultivation of grasses, and soil erosion. It may be well 

 in this short concluding section to summarize the main con- 

 clusions. 



Grass burning. It is important to remember that the 

 effect of grass burning depends on the type of grassland con- 

 cerned, the stage at which the plant succession has arrived, 

 and the time of year at which the burning is carried out. 



1. If the Grassveld is of a primitive or semi-open type 

 with species of Aristida (Steek gras, wire grass, uniGongoni), 

 or Eragrostis (umBrepuRrepu, umTshiki), or Sporobolus 

 (umSingisan) dominant, grass burning prevents the plant suc- 

 cession going any further, and makes the primitive type the 

 final type. Since the grasses named are not so good as others 

 which appear later, the veld remains less nutritious than it 

 might be. On the other hand the young shoots of those 

 pioneer grasses, which appear after burning, are more pala- 

 table, being softer, than the same grasses when older and 

 coarser, and many of them cattle refuse to eat them, except 

 after burning. Species of Eragrostis, Sporobolus, and even 

 Aristida are not without value as grazing grasses, and many 

 farmers seem to prefer to continue burning so as to obtain 

 the young growth as early as possible in Spring, rather than 

 to allow the Grassveld a chance of progressing towards a better 

 type, by refraining from burning. Of course in the drier 

 regions, the climate itself may prevent the plant succession 

 from progressing be^-ond the initial stages. 



2. If the Grassveld has developed further, and a more 

 stable type has been produced with Anthistiria (Red grass, 

 Eooi gras, inSinde, or in the Low Yeld Blue grass) dominant, 

 and species of Andropogon and many others sub-dominant, 

 the grasses should be grazed down, but not burnt, unless the 

 .succession shows signs of proceeding still further and coarse, 

 tall Andropogons, together with various shrubs, take posses- 

 sion, i.e., unless the succession progresses towards Scrub and 

 Forest. Anthistiria is admittedly a very good grass, both for 



