Centre for World Environmental History

Site identification and selection

At a meeting of the Senior Field Research staff, the decision was made to concentrate on the lowlands and foothills area of Lesotho because this is where most of the tree planting activities are taking place today and where most have occurred in the past. Lesotho Woodlot Project sites (now Forest Reserves) were divided into arbitrary size categories - small, medium, and large - and sorted by type of land allocated for tree planting. Research sites were then selected in Leribe (Thaba Phatsoa, ha Rakoro, Tsikoane) and Maseru Districts (ha Ralejoe and Morija). The original site of tree planting in Lesotho, Morija, was included for historical reasons.

Field Work Sites

Thaba Phatsoa
Woodlot: Thaba Phatsoa
District: Leribe
Size: medium
Site Type: escarpment

ha Rakoro
Woodlot: ha Rakoro
District: Leribe
Size: small
Site Type: gully/donga

Tsikoane
Woodlot: Tsikoane
District: Leribe
Size: large
Site Type: Plateau top

:ha Ralejoe
Woodlot: ha Ralejoe
District: Maseru
Size: small
Site Type: Hillside