KNYSNA NEWS - Since February 2018 quite a few fires have been burning and smouldering to the northwest, and north of Knysna. These were, and still are, controlled burns done by SANParks and stack-burning by forestry company MTO.

The community rightfully worries as smoke has been seen continuously since February when the first block burn was started in Millwood (Goudveld), and again from April when the second ecological block burn was done.

Managing 'exit areas'
SANParks/Garden Route National Park (GRNP) is in the process of receiving clear-felled plantation land back from MTO, which manages state forest land that has been under pine plantations for close to 90 years. Many of the areas that are handed over to SANParks were never planted and are mostly old fynbos. The first was land transferred to the GRNP in 2012. SANParks refers to these areas as "exit areas".

The majority of the land is rehabilitated back to fynbos, but some forest areas are received back and a small percentage of the land naturally reverts to forest. Forest often "invades" fynbos, but natural fire patterns will ultimately reclaim the land for fynbos. This means that fynbos areas cannot realistically be converted to forest. Fynbos is a fire driven biome – fire rejuvenates fynbos and mountain fynbos is fully adapted to burn on an optimal cycle of nine to 25 years old.

Adapted for fire
Fynbos’ reproduction system is adapted for fire in that many species rejuvenate by coppicing and others regrow from seed that may be stored on the plant and released after fire, or in the soil, and even carried by ants and stored in soil to germinate after fire.

SANParks received the clear-felled areas in large "geo-units", often in excess of 1 000ha. This may consist of recently cleared plantation and natural, and often old, fynbos. The "exit areas’" rehabilitate spontaneously to fynbos and exceeds expectations, to an extent we could not imagine. 

Two "immediate’" actions in the rehabilitation process are, however, needed. The first is alien plant control and the second is to burn areas where fynbos is too old, or where burning is needed for access to control aliens, or to kill young pine infestation or where large areas of the indigenous, but invasive coral fern (kystervaring, Gleichenia polypodioides) occur. These are the areas that are currently burned.

Joint operation
The controlled burns are a joint operation between SANParks, Southern Cape Fire Protection Association and Working on Fire. Although National Park land, the area may not be burnt without a permit from the Knysna Municipality fire chief, who can retract the permit if weather is not suitable, i.e. dangerous, in his opinion.

All possible precautionary measures are in place prior to the burn. This includes aerial support and ground crew. Numerous institutions are placed on standby to assist when needed.

Fynbos burns naturally when it has accumulated enough fuel to burn, when it is dry enough and when the temperature is hot enough. Wind greatly assists in burning. The first block burn (Millwood, 160ha) got under way on 27 February after a very long planning period to get legal and procurement issues in place (contracts and payment) as well as the logistics that go into burning, including synchronising three partners and preparing fire belts. 

The fire was only lit after 10:00 when the fynbos dried off somewhat from the previous night’s dew. The burn went well but some areas did not burn clean due to the vegetation being too wet and the weather not hot enough.

Smouldering poses no threat
Fynbos can occasionally burn too hot and mostly only occurs when it is infested by aliens or when cleared aliens are stacked before burning, etc. The second block burn was started on 18 April in cooler weather. Many areas burnt well, but in some areas it did not achieve its ecological objectives. 

As the weather conditions were too cool for complete consumption of the fuel (fynbos vegetation) and the Southern Cape being in a dry spell, i.e. not receiving much rain lately, the fires keep smouldering in deep vegetation that is impenetrable and unsafe to eradicate a fire in. Due to cost and no threat to anyone’s immediate safety, the fire will only be eradicated by rain.

The status of the fire is contained and is between the Lawnwood forest and Van Loggerenbergbos, in Goudveld. Indigenous forests form a natural fire break between mountain fynbos and farms south of the GRNP that replaced lowland fynbos. 

By burning blocks, which reduces fynbos’ fuel load and therefore flammability, large firebreaks are formed that will potentially protect communities from inevitable lightning-induced fires in the Outeniqua mountains, while managing fynbos in a way nature intended. 

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