Skip to main content

Impact of Prosopis invasion on a keystone tree species in the Kalahari Desert

Plant Ecology volume 214, pages 597–605 (2013)Cite this article

Abstract

Several Prosopis species were introduced into South Africa in the last century. Since then two species, Prosopis glandulosa var. torreyana and Prosopis velutina have invaded large parts of arid southern Africa. Here, we examine the extent to which increased mortality of Acacia erioloba, a keystone species in the Kalahari Desert, can be attributed to competition for water with Prosopis. We do this for A. erioloba and Prosopis sp. at invaded, as well as cleared sites through a determination of species abundance, canopy vitality, plant water stress and plant water source. Our stable isotope results show that in the riparian zone both A. erioloba and Prosopis are using the same water source. Our results also show that there is a 50 % increase in canopy dieback of A. erioloba in the invaded river plots relative to the cleared river plots. This dieback cannot be related to changes in rainfall and temperature as there were no adverse fluctuations (drought) in the weather in the 10 years preceding our study. We speculate that because A. erioloba is more water stressed in the invaded river plot this increase in mortality and dieback is related to plant moisture stress that is not related to climate but to competition for water with Prosopis. Our study gives strong support for the eradication of Prosopis from rivers in arid parts of Southern Africa.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6

References

  • ACITS (1997) Repeated measured ANOVA using SPSS Manova. University of Texas at Austin. http://www.utexas.edu/cc/docs/stat38.html. Accessed 12 Mar 2007

  • Bromilow C (2010) Problem plants and alien weeds of South Africa. Briza Publications, Pretoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown JR, Archer S (1989) Woody plant invasion of grasslands: establishment of honey mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa var. glandulosa) on sites differing in herbaceous biomass and grazing history. Oecologia 80:19–26

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burkhart A (1976) A monograph of the genus Prosopis (Leguminoseae subfamily Mimisoideae). J Arnold Arbor 57:217–525

    Google Scholar 

  • Busch DE, Ingraham NL, Smith SD (1992) Water uptake in woody riparian phreatophytes of the Southwestern United States: a stable isotope study. Ecol Appl 2(4):450–459

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canadell J, Jackson RB, Ehleringer JR, Mooney HA, Sala OE, Schulze ED (1996) Maximum rooting depth of vegetation types at the global scale. Oecologia 108:583–595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coates PK, Coates PM (2002) Trees of southern Africa. Struik, Cape Town

    Google Scholar 

  • Coleman ML, Shepherd TJ, Durham JJ, Rouse JE, Moore GR (1982) Reduction of water with zinc for hydrogen isotope analysis. Anal Chem 54:993–995

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Craig H (1961) Isotopic variations in meteoric waters. Science 133:1702–1703

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ehleringer JR (1993) Variation in leaf carbon isotope discrimination in Encelia farinosa: implications for growth, competition, and drought survival. Oecologia 95:340–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellsworth PZ, Williams DG (2007) Hydrogen isotope fractionation during water uptake by woody xerophytes. Plant Soil 291:93–107

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • February EC, Higgins SI, Newton R, West AG (2007a) Tree distribution on a steep environmental gradient in an arid savanna. J Biogeogr 34:270–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • February EC, West AG, Newton R (2007b) The relationship between rainfall, water source and growth for an endangered tree. Austral Ecol 32(4):397–402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gile LH, Gibbens RP, Lenz JM (1997) The near-ubiquitous pedogenic world of mesquite roots in an arid basin floor. J Arid Environ 35:39–58

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harding GB (1987) The status of Prosopis as a weed. Appl Plant Sci 1(1):43–48

    Google Scholar 

  • Jennings CMH (1974) The geohydrology of Botswana. PhD Thesis, University of Natal

  • Meyer R, Duvenhage AWA, de Beer JH, Huyssen RMJ (1985) A geophysicalgeohydrological study along the Kuruman River in the Kuruman and Gordonia districts. South Afr J Geol 88:501–515

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller JM, Miller PC (1984) Leaf conductances and xylem pressure potentials in fynbos plants species. S Afr J Sci 80(88):381–385

    Google Scholar 

  • Milton SJ, Dean WRJ (1995) How useful is the keystone species concept, and can it be applied to Acacia erioloba in the Kalahari Desert? Zeitschrift für Ökologie und Naturschutz 4:147–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Mucina L, Rutherford MC (2006) The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. SANBI, Pretoria, pp 525–527

    Google Scholar 

  • Mwangi E, Swallow B (2005) Invasion of Prosopis juliflora and local livelihoods: case study from the Lake Baringo area of Kenya. ICRAF working paper—no. 3. World Agroforestry Centre, Nairobi

  • Nilsen ET, Sharifi MR, Rundell PW (1991) Quantitative phenology of warm desert legumes: seasonal growth of six Prosopis species at the same time. J Arid Environ 20:299–311

    Google Scholar 

  • Obakeng OT (2007) Soil moisture dynamics and evapotranspiration at the fringe of the Botswana Kalahari, with emphasis on deep rooting vegetation, PhD Dissertation, Dissertation No. 141, ITC, Enschede

  • Pockman WT, Sperry JS (2000) Vulnerability to xylem cavitation and the distribution of Sonoran desert vegetation. Am J Bot 87:1287–1299

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Powell E (2005) What is happening to the camel thorns of Kathu? Veld and Flora, Cape Town, pp 34–35

    Google Scholar 

  • Poynton RJ (1990) The genus Prosopis in southern Africa. S Afr For J 152:62–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Robertson I, Woodborne S (2002) Carbon isotopes confirm the competitive advantages of Prosopis over Acacia erioloba. Study of environmental change using isotope techniques. International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna IAEA-CSP-13/P

    Google Scholar 

  • Sankaran M, Hanan NP, Scholes RJ et al (2005) Determinants of woody cover in African savannas. Nature 438(8):846–849

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sankaran M, Ratnam J, Hanan N (2008) Woody cover in African Savannas: the role of resources, fire and herbivory. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 17(2):236–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scholander PF, Hammel HT, Bradstreet ED, Hemmingsen EA (1965) Sap pressure in vascular plants. Science 148:339–346

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Seibt U, Rajabi A, Griffiths H, Berry JA (2008) Carbon isotopes and water use efficiency: sense and sensitivity. Oecologia 155:441–454

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sekhwela and Yates (2007) A phenological study of dominant acacia tree species in areas with different rainfall regimes in the Kalahari of Botswana. J Arid Environ 70(1):1–17

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seymour CL, Huyser O (2008) Fire and the demography of camelthorn (Acacia erioloba Meyer) in the southern Kalahari—evidence for a bonfire effect? Afr J Ecol 46:594–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smit N (1999) Guide to the Acacias of South Africa. Briza, Pretoria

    Google Scholar 

  • Socki RA, Karlsson HR, Gibson EK (1992) Extraction technique for the determination of Oxygen—18 in water using preevacuated glass vials. Anal Chem 64:829–831

    PubMed  Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Stromberg JC, Tress JA, Wilkins SD, Clark S (1992) Response of velvet mesquite to groundwater decline. J Arid Environ 23:45–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas DSG, Leason HC (2005) Dunefield activity response to climate variability in the southwest Kalahari. Geomorphology 64:117–132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Auken OW (2000) Shrub invasion of North American semiarid grasslands. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 31:197–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van der Walt P, le Riche E (1999) The Kalahari and its plants. Published by authors, South Africa

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Rooyen N, Bezuidenhout H, de Kock E (2001) Flowering plants of the Kalahari Dunes. Ekotrust, South Africa

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Wilgen BW, Le Maitre DC, Cowling RM (1998) Ecosystem services, efficiency, sustainability and equity: South Africa’s working for water programme. Trends Ecol Evol 13:378

    PubMed  Article  Google Scholar 

  • White JWC, Cook ER, Lawrence JR, Broecker WS (1985) The D/H ratios of sap in trees: implications for water sources and tree ring D/H ratios. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 49:237–246

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wise R, Van Wilgen BW, Le Maitre DC (2012) Costs, benefits and management options for an invasive alien tree species: the case of mesquite in the Northern Cape, South Africa. J Arid Environ 84:80–90

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zachariades C, Hoffman JH, Roberts AP (2011) Biological control of Mesquite (Prosopis species) (Fabaceae) in South Africa. Afr Entomol 19(2):402–415

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmermann HG (1991) Biological control of mesquite, Prosopis spp. (Fabaceae), in South Africa. Agric Ecosyst Environ 37(1–3):175–186

Download references

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the National Research Foundation of South Africa for partial funding of this project. S. Davids and E. Zitha provided laboratory assistance. Prof. T. Clutton Brock’s team (especially T. Flower and A. Ross-Gillesby) of the Meerkat Project for access to the study site and their assistance in data collection. Mr. Masela of van Zylsrus gave us access to a borehole.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botany Department, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X, Rondebosch, Cape Town, 7701, South Africa

    Klaudia Schachtschneider & Edmund C. February

  2. CSIR Natural Resources and the Environment, P.O. Box 320, Stellenbosch, 7599, South Africa

    Klaudia Schachtschneider

Authors
  1. Klaudia Schachtschneider
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Edmund C. February
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Klaudia Schachtschneider.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Schachtschneider, K., February, E.C. Impact of Prosopis invasion on a keystone tree species in the Kalahari Desert. Plant Ecol 214, 597–605 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-013-0192-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-013-0192-z

Keywords

  • Kalahari Desert
  • Water
  • Alien invasive
  • Keystone species
  • Acacia erioloba
  • Prosopis