Impact of cutting and collecting of firewood associated with informal settlement in the south-eastern Cape coastal zone

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of wood cutting and collecting on vegetation around informal settlements in the south-eastern Cape coastal zone. Thicket and Afromontane forest vegetation were selectively sampled at Kenton-on-Sea, Port Elizabeth, Plettenberg Bay and Knysna, using a fence-line approach, in combination with transects. The floristic data were then ordinated using Detrended Correspondence Analysis (DCA). Certain notable changes in vegetation structure and floristics were evident. Wood cutting and collecting increased species richness, diversity and heterogeneity in thicket vegetation and it would appear that thicket tolerates current levels of utilisation. On the other hand, both species richness, diversity and heterogeneity decreased in forest near informal settlements, suggesting that forest is not adapted to cope with such impacts.