Spekboom Planting

What is spekboom?

Spekboom is a plant that is local to South Africa. It is a semi-desert plant that can grow up to 5 metres tall. It has small, circular green leaves, similar to those of some cacti. Spekboom used to cover large portions of South Africa, but overgrazing by farm animals has led to its loss as they can eat the plant. Now, government programs and charities are looking into growing spekboom as a way to fight climate change. 

The advantages of planting spekboom

Spekboom grows quickly and has a similar carbon capture rate to rainforests. Carbon capture is where CO2 (carbon dioxide) is sucked out of the atmosphere and stored by plants. This helps fight the cause of climate change. In fact, planting spekboom is a cheaper way to suck CO2 out of the atmosphere than planting trees in rainforests. The carbon capture ability of spekboom would cool down the local climate. This would help fight drought, as the ground would be less dry. 

Spekboom is a resilient plant, and once it has grown it can survive in both rain and drought. Spekboom is easy to grow, and doesn’t need to be kept in greenhouses when it is young. Once spekboom has grown, it casts large shadows which can help other plants grow underneath it. The shade also makes the land more suitable for supporting grazing animals. Additionally, spekboom roots help store water in the ground. This improves soil quality and increases rainfall because there is more water in the ground that can evaporate. This leads to cloud formation. 

Spekboom grows best in rural areas, where they can get lots of sunlight. However, it is also able to grow in cities. Cape Town is currently aiming to grow 5000 spekboom to increase the number of trees in the city.

The disadvantages of planting spekboom

Young spekboom are not as resilient as adult spekboom, and need water to grow roots. They do not survive as well in difficult weather conditions. This means that they are difficult to plant in times of drought. Spekboom also must be planted on slopes to avoid frost, which can kill them when they are young. Farmers must also take their livestock off the land while the spekboom are young, as they can be eaten by animals. This can make planting it costly for farmers. 

How is spekboom planting happening in South Africa?

The South African government has a program and budget for spekboom planting. They aim to restore 1 million hectares (roughly the size of 1 million sports fields) of spekboom to the country. Some small farms are also giving up areas of their land to plant spekboom to improve their soil quality and contribute to the cause. The government and charities are creating jobs through their spekboom planting schemes. This also helps fight local poverty. 

SASHA MILLS

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