RESTORATION OF THE CLANWILLIAM CEDAR WIDDRINGTONIA-CEDARBERGENSIS - THE IMPORTANCE OF MONITORING SEEDLINGS PLANTED IN THE CEDERBERG, SOUTH-AFRICA

A decline in numbers of the Clanwilliam cedar Widdringtonia cedarberge nsis, an endemic conifer in the fynbos vegetation of the Cederberg mou ntains, has led to the instigation of a restoration programme to reins tate the species. On the one hand the loss of fire-sensitive adult tre es is reduced by practising frequent, low-intensity burning which prec ludes the occurrence of intense wild fires. On the other hand large nu mbers of nursery-reared seedlings are planted out each year in newly b urnt ar eas of typical cedar habitat. This project investigated the ef fects of microhabitat factors (shade, aspect, competition from surroun ding plants, soil depth) on the survival of transplanted seedlings. Se edling survival was high (39.1-61.2%). It was found that increased sha de levels led to the gi eater probability of seedling survival of rece nt plantings (18 months prior to the study), but not in plantings perf ormed 5 years earlier. None of the other factors measured affected sur vival. Seedling transplantings were found to be more efficient than ea rlier reported seed sowing, since the former resulted in greater survi val of seedlings. It is recommended that monitoring is carried out to assess overall success of the programme and suggest future improvement .