Wetland craft plants in KwaZulu-Natal : an ecological review of har vesting impacts and implications for sustainable utilization

In South Africa, wetland plants have been used for centuries and they continue to be harvested for subsistence and commercial purposes. Fibres for crafts are collected by cutting the aboveground parts. KwaZulu-Natal is one o f the major basket-producing regions in southern Africa and at least twenty-two species o f wetland plants are harvested for crafts. A literature rev iew o f the harvested species revealed that the impacts o f cutting have only been extensively investigated for Phragm ites australis (Cav.) Steud. and Juncus kraussii Hochst. The review suggested that, where plants display strong sea­ sonal aboveground productivity patterns, cutting should take place after shoot senescence and before new shoot emergence to m inim ize damage to plants. Cutting in the short term could increase the density o f green stems. However, in the long term in Phragm ites australis, it may deplete the rhizome reserves and reduce the density o f useable (longer and thicker) culms. The opportunity for sustainable harvests was investigated by considering the geographic distribution, whether species are habitat specific or not, and local population sizes o f the craft plants. Juncus kraussii is o f the greatest conservation concern. Ecologically sustainable wetland plant harv esting could contribute to the wise use o f wetlands, an approach promoted nation­ ally and internationally.


INTRO DUCTION
W etlands in South A frica are defined by the National Water A ct (No. 36 o f 1998) as 'land w hich is transitional betw een terrestrial and aquatic system s w here the water table is usually at or near the surface, or the land is peri odically covered with shallow water, and which land in normal circum stances supports or w ould support veg etation typically adapted to life in saturated soil' (RSA 1998).W etlands are valued as a habitat for rare flora and fauna, as part o f a m osaic o f ecosystem s that m aintain global diversity, for their provision o f w etland products, for their functional values (D enny 1994;Dixon 2002;Dixon & Wood 2003), and as sinks for greenhouse gasses (Brix et al. 2001).
W etlands in the northern hem isphere, have a long his tory o f use w hich has been relatively well docum ented (Sm art et al. 1986;Van W irdum 1993;Kiviat & H am ilton 2001).In Europe, m any w etlands have been m an aged for centuries and the plant and animal com m uni ties are dependent upon this m anagem ent (Haslam et at. 1998).Particular types o f w etlands such as reedbeds are m anaged socio-econom ically tor the reeds and sedges which are used com m ercially for thatching materials and also for nature conservation purposes (H aw ke & Jose 1996).The long history o f w etland utilization com bined with an academ ic tradition o f research concerning ecol ogy and the im pacts o f use, mean that many wetland system s in tem perate regions are relatively well under stood and m anagem ent is strongly influenced by science (H aw ke & Jose 1996;English N ature 2006).
In Africa, the history o f human disturbance and its effects upon ecosystems including wetlands is poorly understood (M acdonald 1989;Maclean et al. 2003).However, many African people 'depend inter alia upon wetlands for food, water, medicine, shelter, energy and waste disposal-wastewater treatm ent' (Denny 2001: 22).African wetlands provide a range o f services and goods, particularly to local people (Terer et al. 2004;Bernard & Moetapele 2005;Cooper et al. 2006).However, wet lands have tended to be taken for granted (Denny 1994), and regarded as wastelands and are therefore not for mally protected (Dovie 2003;Mmopelwa 2006).Some African wetlands have been modified (Richards 1995;Thenya 2001;Schuyt 2005) and in the past it was gov ernment policy to promote the drainage o f wetlands for agriculture (Denny & Turyatunga 1992;Gichuki et al. 2001).Overexploitation and unsustainable use threaten many wetlands (Diop et al. 1999;Dixon 2002;Uluocha & Okeke 2004).Documented ecological and environ mental knowledge o f African wetlands is fragmentary; some systems have been investigated intensively but large areas o f wetlands remain unrecorded.Furthermore, due to northern-driven global environmental activities, information tends to be within Europe and America rather than Africa itself (Denny 2001).
In South Africa, recovered artefacts show that wet land plants have been used for centuries; sedges were used during the Holocene Stone Age (Manhire et al. 1985), reeds by the Khoi San bushmen (Bassani 2000) and sedge mats to roof houses by the Khoi Khoi herd ers (Cunningham & Terry 2006).Use o f wetland plants by the Bantu population has also been recorded, par ticularly for the Xhosa (Kepe 2003), the Tembe-Tonga (Pooley 1980;Liengme 1981;Cunningham & Gwala 1986) and the Zulu (Bryant 1949;Grossert 1978;Jones 2001).Wetland plants continue to be harvested in South Africa both for subsistence and commercial purposes (Cunningham 1987;Kepe 2003;Shackleton & Shackleton 2004).In some African countries excessive reed cutting has resulted in local scarcity (Kgathi et al. 2005) and wetland degradation (Green et al. 2002).In South Africa, plant harvesting has been reported as a threat to grasslands (Cowling & Hilton-Taylor 1994).Within South Africa, investigations into the implications o f uti lization with regard to management and sustainability have tended to be species specific (McKean 2003) or site specific (Tarr et al. 2004;Dahlberg 2005).These inves tigations provide extremely useful information, but a broader understanding o f species utilized, the impacts of use and implications for management is lacking for wet land habitats.
The aim o f this paper is to consider wetland plants used for craftwork and to review the ecological impacts o f utilization on these species.The province o f Kwa Zulu-Natal in South Africa was selected as a case study area as it is one o f the three major basket-producing areas in southern Africa (Cunningham & Terry 2006).During plant harvesting for crafts, the leaves and stems o f wetland plants are typically removed by cutting.Therefore this paper will focus on the effects o f cut ting disturbance upon plants with reference to relevant aspects o f physiology, biology and ecology.The effects o f harvesting upon plant populations and the wetland habitat will also be elucidated.Finally, the implications o f the review for the management o f South African wet lands will be discussed with an emphasis on the ecologi cal sustainability o f these ecosystems.
Plants were classified using the wetland indicator sta tus system o f Reed (1988).This system assigns wetland plants to categories based upon their level o f occurrence in wetlands (Table 1).This was carried out with refer ence to published work (Gordon-Gray 1995; Kotze & O 'C onnor 2000;Glen et al. in prep.) and examination of the habitat descriptions o f specimens in the Univ ersity of KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium.The current study focused upon obligate wetland species.
The names o f the selected species were used in a lit erature search, the following general terms were also searched; craft plants, basketry, grasswork, wetland, reedbed, rush, sedge used in combination with manage ment, cutting, harvesting, and Africa.The species names were searched using the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Electronic Plant Information Centre (http://www.kew.org/epic/).The ISI database at http://wok.mimas.ac.uk and Google 'scholar' (http://scholar.google.com/)data bases were searched for manuscript references using the terms listed above.
The distribution o f species within KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) was determined using records from the Univer sity o f KwaZulu-Natal Herbarium (Pietermaritzburg Campus) and from the PRECIS species database o f the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), Pretoria.The locality references were assigned to 1:50 000 map series and their distribution plotted.

Wetland species used in Kw aZulu-Natal
The literature search o f species used for crafts revealed 27 plants, 13 o f these were obligate wetland species, and eight facultative wetland species (Table 2).
The species used belong to four plant families, Cyperaceae, Poaceae, Junceae and Typhaceae.Within South Africa, species within other plant families do provide a source o f fibres for basketry, the most important of which are: Hyphaene coriacea and Phoenix reclinata of the Arecaceae family (Moll 1972;Cunningham 1988;Van Wyk & Gericke 2003), and the forest climber, Flagellaria guineesis o f the Flagellariaceae family (Cawe & Ntloko 1997).However, these species are not classi fied as obligate or facultative wetland species and were, therefore, excluded from the current study.
The obligate and facultative wetland species listed in Table 2 provide plant fibres with characteristics suitable for crafts.These include tough fibres that can be twisted and bent without breaking; resilient fibres that can be dried and stored but that can also re-absorb moisture and retain flexibility for weaving; and sufficient length, so fewer "ends' are produced during weaving; silica crys tals or chemicals that reduce insect attack (Letsela et al. 2003;Cunningham & Terry 2006).

Individual plant response to harvesting
Plant physiology is an important factor that deter mines a plant's response to defoliation.The harvesting  of leaves can be considered a low -im pact harvesting activity, but the opportunity for sustainable harvesting is partially dependent upon plant physiology.C haracteris tics such as a rapid grow th rate and asexual reproduction (clonal resprouters) produce high opportunities for sus tainable harvesting (C unningham 2001).Published infor mation relating to the im pacts o f cutting was generally limited to the grass P hragm ites australis (Cav.)Steud.and the rush Juncus kraussii Hochst.Therefore, these species are used to illustrate the relationship between plant physiology and response to cutting.
Phragm ites australis, which is one o f the most widely distributed plants on earth (Soetaert et al. 2004), is a rhizom atous and perennial grass, with annual shoots.In undisturbed reedbeds, the perennial rhizome pro duces shoots in spring, w hich grow in sum m er and die in autum n producing litter which can persist for several years (Schm idt et al. 2005)  Harvesting impacts vary according to the frequency and intensity o f harvesting; frequent and/or intense har vesting o f the vegetative parts, such as leaves, will deplete the carbohydrate reserves or disrupt water and nutrient flows (Cunningham 2001).In terms o f management, the rationale behind cutting the aboveground parts o f Phrag mites australis is that it w ill retard subsequent growth and development o f the stand because reserves produced during that season are exported from the system (Asaeda et at. 2003).Cutting also decreases oxygen transport to the root zone, which inhibits shoot regrowth (Weisner & Graneli 1989).Continuous nutrient removal could theo retically result in nutrient limitation.However Schroder (1987 cited in Ostendorp 1995) argued that harvesting dead aboveground material was beneficial because it lim ited the build-up o f organic matter that could lead to oxy gen depletion within the water body.Schmidt et al. (2005) suggested that cutting may reduce the natural silting-up process in P. australis reedbeds and therefore slow veg etation succession to scrub and woodland.
The harvesting time o f Phragmites australis strongly affects regrowth (Karunaratne et al. 2004).In the United Kingdom, in mixed species stands, a summer cut is used to suppress the dominant, taller species and so promote plant species diversity and benefits to wildlife (Hawke & Jose 1996).The competitiveness o f P. australis is reduced through removing the photosynthesizing parts and so the rhizome is deprived o f energy.Summer cut ting reduces shading, decreases competition for nutrients and creates space for other plant species to grow.Sum mer cutting is generally not used for commercial reed beds but is commonly used for nature conservation pur poses (Hawke & Jose 1996).Karunaratne et al. (2004) reported that summer cutting o f P. australis decreased shoot height, increased leaf production and reduced the stem diameter and storage accumulation capacity of older rhizomes.Asaeda et al. (2006b) compared cutting in Japan and its effect upon Phragmites australis growth in the sub sequent year.They investigated two time periods: when shoot growth was rapid and rhizome reserve storage was near the seasonal minimum (June) against slower shoot growth and recharging rhizomes (July).They observed that cutting when shoot growth was rapid and rhizome reserve storage levels low, significantly reduced the aboveground biomass and it also reduced annual resource allocation compared to uncut stands.However, cutting when shoot growth was slower had less impact (Asaeda et al. 2006b).Karunaratne et al. (2004) also found that cutting when rhizomes were at their low est storage level had the greatest effect on suppressing subsequent P. australis growth.They stated that the rhizome storage level at the time o f cutting determines the response o f shoots and rhizomes to disturbance.In these studies, the rhizome reserves were at their lowest 7-10 weeks after shoot emergence.Therefore, the tim ing o f spring shoot formation can be used to determine the least appropriate disturbance time-the exact timing would depend upon local conditions.
Winter cutting in the United Kingdom removed dead stems, thus reducing litter-producing build-up and hence succession.It also promoted a better reed quality in terms o f producing tall, w ide-diameter, dense stems.Winter cutting favours Phragmites australis dominance, reduces plant species diversity (Wheeler & Giller 1982a, b), increases ground level temperature fluctuations and radi ation, and may benefit wildlife by sustaining the habitat (Hawke & Jose 1996).Annual cutting removes the over wintering microhabitat for most invertebrates and can therefore be an efficient control method for insect pests o f P. australis.However, certain species o f reed-dwell ing moths may not survive annual cutting (Hawke & Jose 1996).Biennial cutting allows reedbeds to 'rest*, it provides uncut reeds for reed-dwelling wildlife, and ena bles biennial and perennial herbs to flower and set seed (Hawke & Jose 1996).Cow ie et al. (1992) surveyed com mercial reedbeds that had been regularly cut for twenty years in the United Kingdom.They reported that plant species richness and diversity were significantly greater and reed density was double that o f uncut sites.In French Mediterranean reedbeds, Mauchamp (1998 cited in Pou lin & Lefebvre 2002) reported that cut reedbeds had a higher density o f green stems than uncut reedbeds (238± 45 vs 137± 12, P = 0.02); additionally, above a green reed density of 200 stems n r2 species richness declined.Van der Toom & Mook (1982) stated that regardless of the cause o f injury to P. australis (e.g.cutting, burning or frost damage) the most important factor determining the plant's response is whether the apical meristem of the shoot is killed.They found if treatments were applied before new shoots emerged, damage was minimal.How ever, killing o f the shoot-growing point during harvesting resulted in replacement by several thinner shoots.
In South Africa, the effects o f harvesting Phragmites australis were investigated in the Thembe Elephant Park, KZN.Reed harvesting typically occurred in winter (April to September) after the flowering period and once the reeds were mature (Cunningham 1985).Reed diam eter was positively correlated with time since harvest, such that uncut reedbeds had a significantly larger diam eter than cut reeds, which may indicate a larger rootstock and improved shoot production (Tarr et al. 2004).The long-term effects o f winter cutting were investigated at Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park in KZN where McKean (2001) compared annual cutting, biennial cutting and control treatments.He found that harvested treatments had higher total shoot densities than the control (uncut) treatment.As such, cutting appeared to stimulate new growth, a finding in agreement with Van der Toom & Mook (1982).However, harvesting altered the reed size structure over time, and annual and biennial harvested areas showed reduced density o f useable culms (length > 2.5 m and diameter > 10 mm) compared to uncut areas (McKean 2001).
Experimental cutting trials with perennial grass spe cies in South Africa showed that regular cutting altered species composition through a shift in competitive hier archy (Fynn et al. 2005b).Experiments demonstrated that summer mowing tended to decrease the abundance o f taller species such as Aristida junciform is and increase the abundance o f smaller species such as Themeda triandra.Annual mowing during the dormant period favoured medium to tall grass species such as Aristida junciform is (Fynn et al. 2005a).
The rush Juncus kraussii is a perennial, rhizomatous herb.In Australia, Congdon & McComb (1980) reported a lack o f seasonality in standing crop as culms were pro duced in every month and reached their maximum length in two to five months.The highest nitrogen and phospho rus concentrations occurred several months before the peak standing crop, which was during the warm season.Nutrients may be translocated to rhizomes on senescence o f the culms, which occurs throughout the year (Cong don & McComb 1980).
Juncus kraussii has similar morphology and occupies comparable positions in marshes as J. geradii in Europe and J. roemerianus in the United States o f America (Congdon & McComb 1980).In the w armer parts o f the USA, the standing crop o f J. roemerianus was reported to be seasonally constant (Williams & Murdoch 1972;Giurgevich & Dunn 1982).In South Africa, Heinsohn (1990) reported that during the rhizome lifetime o f J. kraussii there is continuous culm production.An experi mental field study indicated that annual and biennial cut treatments stimulated the growth o f individual culms (M cK ean 2002).In the related species J. roem arianus, prim ary net productivity increased by 2 1 -4 8 % in the year follow ing harvesting in the USA (De la Cruz & H ackney cited in O zesm i 2003).However, other stud ies in South A trica have suggested that in the long term, annual cutting resulted in a reduction in yield and plant vigour (H einsohn 1991).
In K /N , cutting o f Juncus kraussii within many pro tected areas is perm itted from May each year.During April to July, the useable m aterial as a percentage o f total live m aterial is the greatest (H einsohn 1991).Culms are harvested through plucking or cutting with a sickle.Plucking has been observed in the north o f KZN at Kosi Bay and may be possible due to the longer, more robust culm s in this area (Taylor 1996).Plucking is regarded as the traditional method o f harvesting J. kraussii but this m ethod m ay dam age the underground rhizomes (H einsohn 1990).The sickle-cut m ethod has been criti cised for being w asteful as only 25 % o f the cut culms are selected (H einsohn 1990) and the unselected stems may be discarded and form a thick mat o f litter, which im pedes new grow th by blocking sunlight reaching new shoots.Juncus kraussii rush harvesters tend to favour rem oval o f all stem s as it allow s the new culm s to grow uniform ly (C hristiansen 2000).
All w etland plant species harvested for crafts have a perennial life cycle.The m orphology differs between fam ilies: the Juncaceae and Typhaceae are herbs, the Poaceae are gram inoids and the Cyperaceae are grass like herbs.M any o f the species are rhizom atous such as C yperus p a p yru s, C. textilis, C. sexangularis, Schoeno plectus hrachyceras, S. scirpiodes, A ristida junciform is and P hragm ites m auritianus.A lthough the response o f plants to cutting is likely to be species specific, m orpho logical characteristics are an important factor influencing responses (Li e t al. 2004).Thus, shared characteristics may increase the likelihood o f sim ilar responses.
Investigations o f the response o f plants to harvesting have largely been undertaken for only two plant species that are used for craft production in South Africa, namely Juncus krausii and Phragmites australis.An important question to address is: how applicable are the findings o f these studies to other species that are harvested for craft production?Given that all o f the other species, together with J. krausii and P. australis, are vigorously growing rhizomatous perennials, in a general sense they are all likely to respond in a similar way.However, some dif ferences are likely to be exhibited given that there is considerable morphological diversity amongst the spe cies.In an attempt to account for this diversity, the spe cies can be grouped according to shared morphological characteristics, and these groups o f species will prob ably respond in a similar way to harvesting, although this requires further investigation.From Table 3 it can be seen that whereas some taxa, such as Phragmites and Schoenoplectus, are confined to one particular morphol ogy, other taxa, notably Cyperus, have a diverse range of morphological characteristics.

H arvested plant populations: abundance, distribution and landscape level factors
The response o f a species to cutting disturbance at the population level is determined by factors such as geo graphic distribution, whether species are habitat specific or not, and local population sizes.Species with a wide geographic distribution are not habitat specific and large local population sizes have a high potential for sustaina ble harvests (Cunningham 2001).Some o f the landscape scale factors that influence a plant's population response to cutting disturbance are shown in Table 4. Species with a restricted geographic distribution that are habitat spe cific and with small local population sizes, have a low potential for sustainable harvesting.Cyperus papyrus, C. textilis and Juncus kraussii all have a restricted geo graphic distribution within KZN (Figure 1).However, they also all have large local populations at specific sites which increase their opportunity for sustainable harvests.Most o f the wetland plant species are habitat specific as they tend to occur along rivers and streams, in pools,

Implications o f the findings
Most research concerning the biology and physiology of Phragmites australis was conducted in northern tem perate regions (e.g.Mook & Van der Tom 1982;Karu naratne et al. 2004;Soetaert et al. 2004).The applicabil ity o f these findings to populations in South Africa needs to be considered.Experiments have suggested that P. australis displays differentiation o f genotypes adapted to local geographical conditions, and that latitude can affect growth dynamics and biomass allocation patterns (Bastlova et al. 2004).High phenotypic variation in morphol ogy and life-history traits have also been reported (Clevering & Lissner 1999;Clevering et al. 2001).Although P. australis from different locations displays different growth rates in experimental cultures (Daniels 1991), the build-up o f reserves in the rhizomes is a 'strongly deter mined mechanism' (Muachamp et al. 2001: 161).
In South Africa, as in the northern temperate regions, Phragmites australis shows a well-defined growing sea son in spring and summer with a pronounced senescence of aboveground parts in autumn/winter.Thus, the gen eral trends in plant growth and resource mobilization outlined for the temperate regions are probably highly applicable to South Africa.Studies suggest that to main tain plant vigour, cutting should take place when rhizome storage levels are high and when shoot growth rates are slow.Cutting should not take place when new' shoots are emerging, and should not remove the apical meristem, as this can lead to replacement by several smaller shoots.Therefore, cutting in autumn/winter is recommended.In fact, in South Africa, the timing of harv esting of P. austra lis occurs after flowering, once the shoots and leaves have begun to senesce.This timing is acceptable because the main uses in South Africa are for walls, screens (Van Wyk & Gericke 2003) and thatching (Cunningham 1985) as the stems do not have to be very flexible because they are not woven.The split stems can be used in basketry (Van Wyk & Gericke 2003), but this has not been widely reported in South Africa.Thus, in terms o f the timing o f cutting, current harvesting practices are in general agreement with recommendations from the published literature.
In contrast to Phragmites australis, the shoots and leaves o f species used for weav ing and basketry such as Aristida junciformis, Eragrostis plana, Festuca cos tat a and Sporobolus africanus, m ust retain their flexibility.Therefore, the availability o f these species is restricted to the spring and sum m er seasons (C unningham & Terry 2006) as they are harvested before senescence in autum n/ winter.A lthough their response to cutting disturbance has not been w idely researched, the sharing o f some key plant physiological traits suggests that these species may display a response sim ilar to that docum ented for P. australis.Studies on G lvceria maxima, a perennial, rhizom atous aquatic species that belongs to the Poaceae family, show ed that the am ount o f non-structural carbo hydrates stored in rhizom es in autum n, has a strong rela tionship with the num ber o f large-diam eter shoots pro duced the follow ing spring (Sundblad 1990).
Species w ithin the Juncaceae may show a strong sea sonality in grow th at high latitudes but limited seasonality at low er latitudes w here less extrem e w inter conditions exist (C ongdon & M cCom b 1980).In Juncus kraus sii, the m ain grow th period is during the warm season.However, new culm s are produced throughout the year in Australia (C ongdon &M cCom b 1980), andSouth Africa (H einsohn 1991).Thus, in South Africa, culms suitable for w eaving and basketry arc available during the entire year (C unningham & Terry 2006).In term s o f obtain ing useable fibres for basketry and weaving, the timing o f harvesting for the Juncaceae is less restrictive than for the Poaceae.Heinsohn (1991) investigated the tim ing o f J. kraussii harvesting iti South Africa, recom m ending that the period betw een April and July was best to obtain fibres for crafts, as the percentage o f useable material (long, green, non-flowering culms with limited signs o f senescence) in relation to total live material, was great est during this period.Juncus kraussii culms produced at any time o f year, display an initial rapid growth, followed by a stationary phase with slow growth rate and slow senescence rate, and then finally a negative growth rate and increased senescence (Heinsohn 1991).The patterns o f mineral nutrient and non-structural carbohydrate stor age and movement between rhizomes and aboveground parts are unlikely to display seasonal trends as there is no single flush o f growth.Rather, storage should be specific to the developmental stage o f a particular plant.Thus, the timing o f cutting disturbance, if it aims to maximize plant vigour, rhizome storage levels and culm diameter, will be determined by the developmental stage o f the plant.As individual plant developmental stages vary throughout the year, no specific time o f the year can be recommended for cutting from an ecological perspective.Investigations into the standing crop o f J. kraussii in South Africa show that the amount of dead material peaks during August and September (Heinsohn 1991).Therefore, ecologically, this may be the most appropriate time for cutting disturbance.
The frequency o f cutting has an impact on plant growth, and in the short term, cutting o f Phragmites aus tralis and species o f Juncus may stimulate aboveground production (e.g.Cowie et al. 1992;McKean 2002).However, in P. australis, cutting in the long term may reduce the number o f longer-length and large-diameter culms (McKean 2001;Tarr et al. 2004).Unfortunately, investigations o f the long-term impacts o f cutting upon species such as J. kraussii are limited.Crafters seek longer-length culms as it means there are fewer 'ends' produced in items.Additionally, culm length determines the width o f sleeping mats, so long culms produce wide mats.Large-diameter culms have advantages over thin diam eter culms in crafts, as it reduces the time required to construct items such as mats, as fewer culms are required.Furthermore, large culms are easier to handle.To obtain culms with these characteristics, biennial cut ting has been suggested for both P. australis (Tarr et al. 2004) andJ. kraussii (Heinsohn 1991;McKean 2002).Limited information exists concerning the other species harvested for crafts, but the precautionary principle and the above recommendations could be applied until fur ther information is available.
From a resource management and conservation per spective, species with restricted distributions are impor tant, especially if demand for their fibres is high.The results from this study suggest that Juncus kraussii and Schoenoplectus scirpoides are particularly important because o f their restricted distribution and specific habi tat requirements.Within KZN, demand for./,kraussii is extremely high.Although many species can be used to make sleeping mats.J. kraussii is the only species that is culturally acceptable for the production o f bridal sleep ing mats (Hennessy & Koopman 2000).Crafters have travelled up to 200 km to obtain supplies (Traynor 2008) and it was one o f only two craft species where trade in unprocessed fibres away from the source was recorded (Cunningham 1985).Field studies within KZN have suggested that demand is greater than supply (Traynor & Kotze 2007b).Cultivation programmes have been established in KZN to meet the demand from crafts men (Traynor & Kotze 2007a).Information concerning S. scirpoides is limited, but this species does not have the same strong cultural associations as J. kraussii and it is used to produce fewer types o f craft items (Kotze & Traynor in prep.).Thus, from a resource management perspective, J. kraussii is o f primary importance.
For conservation purposes, it has been recommended that reedbeds are cut so that a mosaic o f different-aged cut and uncut stands are produced within the landscape.These recommendations are applicable to South Africa.In fact, in many communal areas, wetland harvesting takes place on an ad hoc basis and individuals often walk to sites and harv est one bundle o f fibres.Thus, cutting is often on a micro-landscape scale with small recently cut patches interspersed with regenerating patches and uncut patches.In some o f KZN's nature reserves, the harvest ing o f Juncus kraussii is managed on a rotational basis (C.Beattie, Umlalazi, pers.comm.; S. Kyle, Kosi Bay, pers.comm.).Approaches such as these should be main tained as they are beneficial from a conservation per spective.
Wetland plant harvesting that is ecologically sustaina ble can contribute towards the wise use o f wetlands.This requires maintenance o f wetland ecological character and is achieved through the implementation o f ecosys tem approaches within the context o f sustainable devel opment (Ramsar 2006).The wise use concept is being globally promoted by international organizations such as Ramsar and Wetlands International.Within South Africa, local organizations such as Working for Wetlands and the Mondi Wetlands Project are developing wise use programmes for wetlands.These initiatives aim to sup port local livelihoods and increase economic empow erment o f communities living near wetlands.Wetland plant crafting activities, if appropriately managed, could play an important role in such endeav ours.Furthermore, support for harvesting and crafting may assist to enhance the perceived value o f wetlands in their natural state and thereby reduce the pressure to convert the wetlands for alternative uses such as agriculture.
.B. 2003.Detaining livelihoods and disputing biodiversity: w hose dilem m a? Ethics, p la c e a n d environm ent 6: 27-41.ENGLISH NATURE.2006.Habitat Action Plan: reedbed.Internet site: http://www.ukbap.org.uk(accessed 15-09-2006).FY N N , R.W .S., M ORRIS, C.D. & EDW ARDS, T.J. 2005a.Long-term com positional responses o f a South African m esic grassland to burning and m ow ing.A p p lied Vegetation Science 8: 5-1 2 .F Y N N , R.W .S., M ORRIS, C.D. & KIRKM AN, K.P. 2005b.Plant strat eg ies and trait trade-offs influence trends in com petitive ability along gradients o f soil fertility and disturbance., W" W EISNER, S.E.B. & SY TSM A , M.D. 1992.Rhizome dynam ics and resource storage in P hragm ites australis.Wetlands E co lo g y a n d M anagem ent 1The potential for cultivation o f Juncus kraussii and other wetland species used for craftwork in Natal/KwaZulu.Report published by the Department o f Development Aid, Pretoria.H EIN SO H N , R-D. & C U N N IN G H A M , A.B. 1991.Utilization and potential cultivation o f the saltmarsh rush Juncus kraussii.South A frican J ou rn al o f Botanv 57:1-5.H ENNESEY, E. & K O OPM AN , A. 2000.O f rushes, resources and riots.Palm nut P o st 3: 4-8.IONES, M .A. 2001.A discussion o f the historical influences on the production, presen tation a n d prom otion o f Zulu basketry an d re la te d g ra ssw o rk '.M.A. thesis, School o f Language, Culture and C om m unication, University o f Natal, Pietermaritzburg.

TABLE 2 .-Wetland plant sp ecies used for craft in South Africa and their wetland indicator status Scientific name Family Wetland indi cator status A ristida ju n cifo rm is Trin. & Rupr. Poaceae F D igit a ria erianth a Steud. Poaceae FD F ragrostis p la n a N ees Poaceae F Festuca cos tat a N ees Poaceae FD M iscanthus capen sis (N ees) Andersson Poaceae F M. ju n ceu s (StapO Pilg. Poaceae FW M erxm uellera m acow an ii (StapO Conert Poaceae F P hragm ites a u stralis (Cav.) Steud. Poaceae OW P m auritianus Kunth Poaceae FW S porobolus africanus (Poir.) Robyns & Tournay Poaceae F C ladium m ariscu s (L.) Pohl C yperaceae OW C yperus escu len t us L. Cyperaceae FD C f a s tig ia tu s Rottb. Cyperaceae OW latifoliu s Poir. Cyperaceae OW ( m arginatus Thunb. Cyperaceae OW C. n atalen sis Hochst. Cyperaceae F ( papyrus L. Cyperaceae OW C. sexangu laris N ees Cyperaceae FW C. solidu s Kunth ( M ariscus solid u s (Kunth) Vorster) Cyperaceae OW C. text His Thunb. Cyperaceae OW Schoenoplectus h rach yceras (A . Rich.) Lye* Cyperaceae OW S. scirp o id es (Schrad.) J.Brown m gt Cyperaceae OW Juncus krau sii Hochst. Jiincaceae OW
Asaeda et al. (2006a)Chapin et al. in GKarunaratne et al. 2004)naratne et al. 2004).Rhizome biomass and rhi zome standing stocks o f nonstructural carbohydrates and mineral nutrients have been shown to decrease early in the growing season and to increase later in the year.This seasonal pattern is attributed to mobilization o f rhizome carbohydrate and mineral nutrient stores to support spring shoot growth, that takes place before any foliar structure has developed.Once the foliar structure has been estab lished, basipetal transport o f nonstructural carbohydrates and mineral nutrients occurs immediately(Graneli et al.  1992).The rhizomes can persist for several years, andAsaeda et al. (2006a)reported a clear variation between rhizome age-class in seasonal belowground resource translocation patterns; in late summer and autumn, trans location from shoots to rhizomes was concentrated in young rhizomes and older rhizomes shrank in size due to metabolic loss.In P. australis, the increase in above ground biomass is a combination o f new production, ./. pu n cto riu s L.l.Juncaceae OW H vphaene co ria cea Ciaertn.Arecaceac F Phoenix reclin a ta Jacq.Arecaccae F T^pha ca p en sis (Rohrb.)N.L.Br.Typhaceae OW * Schoenoplectus h rach yceras was previously known as Scirpus corymhosus (Sm ith 1966).tS choenoplectus scirp o id es was previously known as Scirpus lito ra lis (Schrad.)Palla.Reclassification o f Scirpus litoral is identified tw o distinct species Schoenoplectus scirpoides and S. suhulatus ( Valil) K lye.F, facultative; FD, facultative dryland; FW facultative wetland; OW, obligate wetland.andregenerated production and dissimilatory processes (Soe taert et al. 2004).The carbon budget for total reed growth was estimated to be 78-80 % photosynthesis, 17-19 % remobilization from rhizomes, and 3 % resorption o f car bon from leaves.H alf o f all assimilates were transported belowground (Soetaert et al. 2004).In late summer and autumn and again in late winter and spring, the rhizomes produce buds from which shoots develop (Haslam 1969).The number and size o f buds may be dependent upon the size and amount o f new ly formed rhizomes, which them selves may be affected by the reserves available (Mook & Van der Toom 1982).The basal diameter o f the bud is an important property, as once it is known early in the season, it can be used to predict the length and weight o f the reed (Van der Toorn & Mook 1982).Phragmites australis stands are extremely productive communities and figures for peak aboveground biomass lie between 587-2 659 g DW m'2 (Soetaert et al. 2004; Bedford & Powell 2005); belowground biomass values are larger with typical values between 2 806-3 346 g DW n r2 (Soe taert et al. 2004).In natural reed stands, the dead leaves and stems accumulate at the end o f the growing season.Stands are detritus-based ecosystems with litter accumu lation and eventual drying out o f the reedbed (Cowie et al. 1992; Bedford & Powell 2005).

TABLE 3 . O bligate wetland species used for craft production in KwaZulu-Natal, grouped according to shared morphological characteristics. All sp ecies listed are rhizomatous and perennial M orphogical characteristic Leaves basal, terete basal, with blades terete several sheathing full length o f each tall culm, with blades single sheathing lower portion o f each terete photosynthetic culm reduced to small bracts Culms terete, photosynthetic with very many terminal photosynthetic prophylls with many terminal photosynthetic leaf-like bracts
Schoenoplectus scirpoides and J. kraussii display more specific habitat requirements.Sch oenoplectus scirpoides occurs mainly in estuarine areas and Juncus kraussii is most abundant in intertidal mud flats.Although J. kraussii can grow in freshwater condi tions, it may be out-competed, and it is more competitive in saline environments where it can form monodominant stands (Heinsohn 1991).