Winning the war on invasive plants

Friends of Alberts Farm Conservancy is working to ensure the conservation of the park.

This is thanks to the organisation’s conservation team of long-term employee Robert Mabuda who works alongside nine workers who fall under the Johannesburg City Parks Cooperative programme.

Their work in the park has seen them remove invasive plants from the grasslands, ridges, and wetland areas.

Why is removing invasive plants so important?

Alberts Farm Conservancy has natural rocky grassland and ridge areas, and large wetland areas which include seepage, marsh, a spring and a stream. These habitats together form a complex ecosystem with food webs that support a rich diversity of animals, birds and plants.

The park’s stream (Montgomery Spruit) rises in Albertskroon and flows through the open space green belt of Montgomery Park to join the Westdene Spruit and onto the Braamfontein Spruit. The wetlands of the park feed into the stream which connects the park with the green belt river corridor of the larger area and supports all biodiversity living in the area.

Protecting the natural ecosystem is vital in protecting the biodiversity.
Invasive plants are a threat to the natural ecosystem because:

• They invade and displace the natural plants, upset the natural balance and food chain and subsequently displace the animals, birds and insects in the park ecosystem
• They invade the precious waterways and wetlands, displace the natural plants and animals, and change flow and water quality – essentially choking the natural food chain and ecosystem.
• They increase the fuel load so fires are hotter and larger, do more damage to soil and natural plants/trees, and increase erosion.

The conservation team is said to be an integral part in assisting the Friends of Alberts Farm Conservancy committee to control invasive plant species and in so doing, keep the precious ecosystems functioning naturally.

Related article:

Let’s find out about Alberts Farm Conservancy’s biodiversity