Veld Fires

Impact of Fire on Grazing and the Environment

Fire has historically been used as a management tool to regulate the structure and composition of vegetation, for hunting, and to recycle nutrient supplements locked in both life and dead biomass. Particularly in southern Africa’s remote rural areas and savanna ecosystems, the utilisations have been ongoing, even today.

Although carelessness or improper fire use frequently cause veld fires, which are explosions that escape control and destroy large areas of grasslands and woodlands and possibly cause the loss of lives and livelihood assets. With the longest history of human interaction with fire in the world, South Africa has vast expanses of subtropical and tropical forests, savannas, and forests that are prone to wildfires.

In the Karoo especially, the damage of a veld fire can be devastating. Most karoo bushes contain a certain oil which makes them highly flammable. It has been reported that burned karoo veld was still not fully repaired, even after four growth seasons. Despite all the bushes and grass destroyed in the fire, the seed in the ground is also damaged. Usually after a fire, the pioneer grass species take over due to little competition from the remaining bushes and climax grass species. The veld have a very low grazing capacity and a reduction in animal numbers is the only option.

Due to many of the bushes and grass that died, there is little ground cover left and the soil is exposed to natural elements like wind, high temperatures and rainfall runoff leading to erosion.

The growth points of grasses are located just above the ground, which makes them mostly resistant to fire. They will easily grow again after the first rain. The growth points of karoo bushes are located at the tip of the shoot. They are easily damaged in a fire, killing the whole bush. In the drier parts of the country, the veld takes a lot longer to recover from a fire, compared to the grassveld areas.

 
Veld fires have a huge impact on grazing.

 

Uncontrolled veld fires have long-term effects that include a decrease in bio-diversity due to the extinction of flora and fauna, a decrease in soil fertility, an increase in erosion rates, and a decrease in infiltration, which results in less water for people, livestock, irrigation, fish, and other wildlife.

Every year, thousands of hectares of land are burnt in Southern Africa, one of the world’s fire hotspots. A region with a reputation for a burning-friendly environment, distinct dry and wet seasons and sparse development, requires the use of fire in the management of land use. Due to inadequate institutional infrastructure for managing fires, there is a high risk of uncontrolled fires in South Africa. The results of uncontrolled fires are severe loss of life, property, and the environment The risk from unintentional veld fires that destroy property and the risk from ecologically inappropriate fires occurring in areas where fire has an ecological role are the two main components of the veld fire risk.

A. Vulnerable Economic Assets

The exposed economic assets are items of economic value that are vulnerable to fire damage in the event of veld fires and these assets include infrastructure such as power lines, fodder, livestock, homesteads, resorts and plantation forests.

Economically significant areas that struggle to recover economically in the event of a fire are categorised and classified as shown in the following Table.

The struggle to recover economically in the event of a fire is categorised and classified.

Serious financial loss, affecting a significant portion of the community; Requires external funding (such as from disaster management funds) to recover; Stock burnt.	4 Major
Localised damage to property; Short-term external assistance required to recover; Some replacement of fences needed.	3 Moderate
Minor financial loss; Short-term damage to individual assets; No external assistance required to recover.	2 Minor
No damage to property; No economic impact on business; No damage to fences and water articulation systems (plastic pipes).	1 Insignificant

B. Vulnerable Environmental Assets

Environmental vulnerability is the ecological and environmental impact that a veld fire can have on the area in case of a fire event. Some areas are ecologically or environmentally more sensitive than others. Fires can destroy certain ecosystems and species, but some biomes (such as grasslands) can quickly recover within a couple of months. A drought, for example, will impact natural capital and in turn, reduce crop yields.

In the longer term, a severe drought could impact a wide range of capitals, including social and human as people emigrate. Climate change as a longer-term trend is seen as an important factor that can affect such vulnerability for some populations and provide a framework to understand how people might adapt. This information on vegetation and environmental vulnerability contributed to the classification of the categories of environmental and ecological consequences as shown in the following Table.

Categories of environmental and ecological consequences.

Habitat destruction, temporary loss of species, or requiring several years to recover; Land degradation.	4 Major
Serious impact on the environment that will take a few years to recover; Burn scars still visible 5 years after burning; Stock losses.	3 Moderate
Discernible environmental impact; Assets or vegetation recovers rapidly; Vegetation is back to normal the following season.	2 Minor
Minor impact on the environment; Vegetation back to its previous condition within the same season provided normal precipitation.	1 Insignificant

 

Preparedness shows the level of communities to prevent and deal with veld fires. Fire risk can be decreased with proper preparedness arrangements. Preparedness refers to the ability of the community to stop the hazard from occurring or be prepared for it (pre-fire event).

 

Impact of Veld Fires on Human Health

The noticeable adverse effects of veld fires are the destruction of property. However, the hazardous chemicals released from the burning of land fuels, have a significant impact on human health.

 
Firefighters trying to contain a veld fire.

 

Veld fire smoke is composed of carbon dioxide and water vapour. The inhalation of smoke from a veld fire could be a health hazard. In addition, the principal health concern is the inhalation of particulate matter and carbon monoxide. The other widespread smoke components present in lower concentrations are carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and polyaromatic hydrocarbons. Furthermore, the small particulates that are suspended in the air and come in solid form are also present in smoke. Apart from carbon dioxides’ high concentration in smoke, it poses a low health risk due to its low toxicity. Carbon monoxide gas and fine particulate matter have been identified as the major health threats. However, other chemicals are considered to be significant hazards but are found in concentrations that are too low to cause detectable health effects.

 
Devastating fire in the Eastern Cape.

 

Veld fire smoke exposure to an individual depends on the length, severity, duration, and closeness of the fire. In addition, firefighters are at the greatest risk for intense and endless well-being impacts, resulting from veld fire smoke exposure. Due to the firefighter’s occupational duties, they are frequently exposed to hazardous chemicals in proximity for longer periods. The community surrounded by veld fires are exposed to lower concentrations of chemicals, but they are at a greater risk for indirect exposure through water or soil contamination. However, the exposure to residents is greatly dependent on individual susceptibility. Furthermore, vulnerable people such as children, the elderly, smokers, and pregnant women are at an increased risk due to already compromised body systems, even when the exposures are present at low chemical concentrations and for relatively short exposure periods.

Veld fires effect on natural capital:

Natural capital refers to those assets that abide in a location, including resources, amenities, and natural beauty. It might include parks, farmlands, and features of the landscape or nature. There is a wide variation in the resources that make up natural capital, from tangible private goods such as commercial timber plantations, sugarcane farms and land used directly for production. Within the sustainable livelihoods framework, many of the shocks that devastated the livelihoods of the poor were themselves or natural processes that destroyed natural capital (for example, veld fires that destroyed natural forests, timber plantations and grazing land).

Veld fires could also damage the seed bank, seedlings and saplings and this might hinder the recovery of the original species. Veld fires typically result in some mortality of individual seeds, stems and plants (Keeley & van Wilgen 2009: 94). Nevertheless, the scale of destruction depends on a huge number of factors including fire intensity and species involved. Although trees in savannas are often thick-barked, the regeneration of new plants was the main obstacle to maintaining populations as seedlings and saplings that face frequent and severe fire damage in savannas.

The surviving seeds might be stimulated to germinate after a fire and many woody plants in savannas produce multiple coppice shoots to replace those lost or damaged through veld fires. There were few studies on the effects of veld fires on forest biodiversity in South Africa. Natural capital is very important to those who derive all or part of their livelihoods from resource-based activities (farming, fishing, gathering in forests, mineral extraction, and so on). None of us would survive without the help of key environmental services and food produced from natural capital. Health (human capital) tended to suffer in areas where air quality is poor as a result of natural disasters (such as veld fires). Although our understanding of linkages between resources remains limited, we know that we are dependent, for health and well-being, upon the continued functioning of complex ecosystems (which were often undervalued until the adverse effects of disturbing them become apparent).

 

How to Prevent and Manage Veld Fires

How to prevent veld fires.

 

Some factors that cause veld fires in South Africa:

• Cigarette butts.
• Power-line arcs.
• Children playing with matches.
• Land clearing.
• Deliberate fire setting.

A. Tips on Preventing Veld Fires

The only way to prevent and control fires from happening is by knowing more about the danger they cause. Once you understand that being ignorant will put someone in danger, then you will excel in preventing the fire. Additionally, there are many ways you can prevent veld fires but here are the easiest tips:

• Prepare fire breaks on the side if there is a reasonable risk of veld fires. Have the necessary equipment, protective clothing, and trained personnel to extinguish these fires.
• Avoid throwing cigarette buds on the ground.
• Have grass beaters on hand to extinguish the fire.
• Always have the emergency numbers close by to call emergency services: 10177 on Telkom landlines or 112 on your cell phone.
• Sand can be a very effective method of veld fire control since water is not always readily available.

it is important to always be cautious during these seasons. People should learn how to be cautious and control the fire once it starts, especially farmers and those who are most affected.

B. Strategies for Managing Veld Fires (Runaway Fires)

Runaway veld fires move through landscapes at an astonishing pace – destroying property, natural habitat and sometimes even lives.

The National Veld and Forest Act 101 of 1998 states that as a landowner, you are in charge of controlling and preventing any fires that start on your property. It will be easier for you to adhere to these regulations if you and your neighbours establish a Fire Protection Association (FPA). An FPA is a group created by landowners to forecast, stop, control, and aid in the fight against wildfires in a specific region. Establish a solid plan for managing fires, identify the farm’s high-risk areas, and put protective measures in place.

Maintain your fire breaks as well as access roads and have an emergency procedure in place. Make sure it is communicated to all staff. Also, remove alien vegetation on the farm as alien-infested areas pose a higher fire risk than the indigenous fynbos. After a fire, in areas where there were heavy alien infestations, you have a window of opportunity to clear alien vegetation at a much lower cost.

Every property must have a system of firebreaks in place. The breaks must be on the boundary of the property unless there is an exemption granted by the minister or an agreement with the adjoining landowner that the firebreak can be located somewhere else within an FPA. Firebreaks must be located strategically to control the spread of wildfires, but they mainly serve as an access road from which to fight a fire. A sensible fire break width is no wider than 10m in most fynbos and “renosterveld” vegetation areas and must not be burnt during times when there is a high fire risk. “It is often preferable to simply have a ‘tracer belt’ of 2–3 meters to allow quick access and an opportunity to use a ‘back burn’.”

Owners should ensure that fire breaks are positioned and prepared in such a way as to cause the least disturbance to soil and biodiversity. “Fire belts should not be bulldozed or ploughed – this triggers the environmental impact assessment regulations in all critically endangered and endangered vegetation types. If brush-cut only, many of the indigenous species will survive and the risk of erosion will be decreased.”