De-bushing and the soil system

Predicted how clearing invasive bush and pesticide use changed soil carbon and water across Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

Invasive bush is spreading across Southern African rangelands, choking grazing land and water. Clearing it can restore land, livelihoods and can be used as a source of biofuel for cooking or energy; however, what does it do to the ecosystem we cannot see?

Shade is scarce in encroached bushveld, for people and wildlife alike.

As a research consultant to SLU (the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences) on SteamBioAfrica, an EU Horizon 2020 project turning invasive woody biomass into products that benefit local communities, we modelled soil carbon dynamics during and after de-bushing and pesticide use in Namibia, Botswana and South Africa.

Crop residue left on bare soil after clearing: what stays on the surface shapes whats underneath your feet.