Contents I. Introduction
Indigenous forests span across different parts of Africa with relatively more existence in the southern and eastern parts of the continent [1]. In South Africa, indigenous forests consist of many small, fragmenting, and largely scattered patches and cover approximately 0.1% of the country’s land surface [2]–[4]. Apart from their ecological, economic, livelihood security, and well-being, indigenous forests in the country provide some medicinal products to the communities in the rural areas and contribute to the concept of “ecosystem services” [5]–[7]. One such indigenous forest in South Africa is the Dukuduku forest that is located in KwaZulu-Natal Province. Dukuduku forest provides varied products and usable materials for human needs that include construction and fence poles, raw material for craft work, livestock browse, and medicine to the poor rural communities [3], [6]–[9]. Different tree species in the forest play a vital role in providing such useful needs. It is interesting to note that local communities in Zululand, South Africa use some of these tree species to treat human diseases such as fever, stomachache, dysentery, snake and scorpion bites, malaria, inflammations, backache, and facilitating childbirth [6], [9]–[12]. Therefore, some tree species in the Dukuduku indigenous forest have become endangered and threatened because of the rapid harvesting rate and removal [2], [13]. These activities have resulted in over-exploitation of natural resources and caused severe forest fragmentation and serious threats to the conservation of tree species diversity in the indigenous Dukuduku forest ecosystem [3], [14]–[16].
