Mammals, Reptiles, Frogs and Habitat Conservation Bravo 4 May 2016 Page 1
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CONSTRUCTION OF 2 X 400 KV LINES FROM KENDAL POWER STATION TO ZEUS SUBSTATION AND BRAVO POWER STATION TO ZEUS SUBSTATION (Bravo 4) DEA Ref No - 12/12/20/1095 by I.L. RAUTENBACH, A.E. and J.C.P. VAN WYK Commissioned by Limosella Consulting [email protected] Eco-Agent CC PO Box 25533 Monument Park 0105 0825767046 012 3463180 Fax 012 4602525 March 2010 Copyright in all text and other matter is the exclusive property of the authors. It is a criminal offence to reproduce and/or use, without written consent, any matter, technical procedure and/or technique contained in this document. Criminal and civil proceedings will be taken as a matter of strict routine against any person and/or institution infringing the copyright of the author and/or proprietors. This document may not be modified other than by the author and when incorporated into overarching studies, it should be included in its entirety as an appendix to the main report. Mammals, reptiles, frogs and habitat conservation Bravo 4 May 2016 Page 1 CONTENTS Declaration of Professional Standing and Independence: ......................................................................... 4 Disclaimer: .................................................................................................................................................. 4 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................ 6 1. ASSIGNMENT – Eco-Agent Protocol ............................................................................................. 7 1.1 Initial preparations: .................................................................................................................. 7 1.2 Fauna assessment: ................................................................................................................. 7 1.3 General .................................................................................................................................... 7 2. RATIONALE .................................................................................................................................... 7 2. PROJECT DESCRIPTION .............................................................................................................. 8 3. SCOPE AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY ................................................................................ 9 4. STUDY AREA ............................................................................................................................. 9 4.1 General .................................................................................................................................... 9 4.2 Conservation Status .............................................................................................................. 11 4.3 Vegetation Types .................................................................................................................. 12 4.3 Regional Hydrology ............................................................................................................... 13 5. METHODS .................................................................................................................................... 22 5.1 Mammal, Reptile and Frog Survey........................................................................................ 22 5.2 Field Survey .......................................................................................................................... 22 5.3 Desktop Survey ..................................................................................................................... 22 5.4 Specific Requirements .......................................................................................................... 23 5.5 Assessment criteria ............................................................................................................................ 23 5.6 Significance (Consequence) Rankings ................................................................................. 24 6. RESULTS ...................................................................................................................................... 25 6.1 MAMMALS ............................................................................................................................ 25 6.1.1 Mammal Habitat Assessment ....................................................................................... 25 6.1.2 Observed and Expected Mammal Species Richness ................................................... 25 6.1.3 Red Listed Mammal Species Identified: ........................................................................ 28 -By the Biodiversity Act No 10 of 2004 ..................................................................................................... 29 -By the Mpumalanga Nature Conservation Act no. 10 of 1998 ................................................................ 29 -Endemism: .............................................................................................................................................. 29 None of the species purported to be residents of the study site and surrounding areas are endemic to Mpumalanga. ............................................................................................................................................ 29 6.2 HERPETOFAUNA ................................................................................................................. 30 6.2.1. Herpetofauna Habitat Assessment ............................................................................... 30 6.2.2. Observed and Expected Herpetofauna Species Richness ........................................... 30 6.2.3. Red Data Listed Herpetofauna identified ...................................................................... 33 7. FINDINGS AND POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS ............................................................................. 34 7.1 Impact Impressions ............................................................................................................... 34 7.2 Assessment criteria ................................................................................................................... 34 7.3 Impacts on mammals and herpetofauna ............................................................................................ 35 8. LIMITATIONS, ASSUMPTIONS AND GAPS IN INFORMATION ................................................. 37 9. CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................ 38 10. LITERATURE SOURCES ......................................................................................................... 39 RÉSUMÉ .................................................................................................................................................. 42 FIGURES Figure 1: The location of the Bravo 4 powerline...................................................................................... 10 Figure 2: A satellite view of the route investigated, courtesy of Google Earth. The 15 yellow pins indicate sampling points, and numbering refers to Figures 7 – 20 where environmental conditions and spatial orientation at that location are presented. ................................................................................................ 10 Figure 3: Conservation status of areas traversed by the proposed powerline as classified in the Mpumalanga regional dataset. ................................................................................................................. 11 Figure 4: Threatened ecosystems as classified by the 2011 SANBI National Biodiversity Assessment.12 Figure 5: The vegetation classification along the proposed powerline. .................................................. 13 Figure 6: A hydrology map of the site and water features in the proximity of the powerline route. ........ 14 Figure 7: The Kendall power station on the Mpumalanga Highveld Grassland biome between Delmas and Ogies. ....................................................................................................................................................... 14 Mammals, reptiles, frogs and habitat conservation Bravo 4 May 2016 Page 2 Figure 8: Grassland directly east of the Kendal Power Station compound. ............................................ 15 Figure 9: A westerly view over the major cause for environmental displacement – extensive maize production on all arable land, in this sandy loam on Karoo sediments. To terrestrial vertebrates maize fields are akin to sterile desert. .......................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 10: The valley floors of the undulating landscape form a network of drainage lines that flow into each other to form perennial streams supporting rank wetland vegetation, which in turn provide prerequisite habitat to discerning small mammals and amphibians. ........................................................................... 16 Figure 11: The two predominant agricultural products of farmland along the Bravo 4 line. Tilling is responsible for environmental displacement and grazing could result in change and decline. However, managing range land often avoids fires that are conducive to ongoing habitat protection. ..................... 16 Figure 12: Grazing managed for optimal year-round beef production.