Nama-Karoo Veld Types Revisited: a Numerical Analysis of Original Acocks’ Field Data
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Physical Impact of Grazing by Sheep on the Dynamics of Nama Karoo Subshrub/Grass Vegetation in South Africa
South African Journal of Animal Science 2011, 41 (no. 3) Physical impact of sheep grazing on arid Karoo subshrub/grass rangeland, South Africa G.vanN. du Toit1, H.A. Snyman# & P.J. Malan Animal, Wildlife and Grassland Sciences, University of the Free State, P.O. Box 339, Bloemfontein 9300, South Africa Copyright resides with the authors in terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 South African Licence. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/za Condition of use: The user may copy, distribute, transmit and adapt the work, but must recognise the authors and the South African Journal of Animal Science. ________________________________________________________________________________ Abstract Grazing levels and rotational schemes need to be tailored to each individual farm or pasture, and more studies are needed on the resilience of rangelands and on separating the effects of grazing and climate. The direct short-term impact of three rates of stocking (4, 8 and 16 Small Stock Units-SSU/ha) was quantified in terms of composition and cover of arid Nama Karoo vegetation (subshrub/grass). Mature Merino wethers grazed in one hectare plots during May in 1995 and 1996 (the plots were not subjected to grazing at any other time). The basal cover of the Karoo bushes (shrubs) showed a decrease at the highest stocking rate only, with the species Phymaspermum parvifolium the most sensitive to intensive grazing. An increase in stocking rate caused a significant decrease in both canopy cover and canopy-spread cover. The canopy cover of palatable Karoo bushes such as Felicia muricata, Salsola calluna and Walafrida geniculata decreased most. -
Tulbagh Renosterveld Project Report
BP TULBAGH RENOSTERVELD PROJECT Introduction The Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is the smallest and richest floral kingdom of the world. In an area of approximately 90 000km² there are over 9 000 plant species found (Goldblatt & Manning 2000). The CFR is recognized as one of the 33 global biodiversity hotspots (Myers, 1990) and has recently received World Heritage Status. In 2002 the Cape Action Plan for the Environment (CAPE) programme identified the lowlands of the CFR as 100% irreplaceable, meaning that to achieve conservation targets all lowland fragments would have to be conserved and no further loss of habitat should be allowed. Renosterveld , an asteraceous shrubland that predominantly occurs in the lowland areas of the CFR, is the most threatened vegetation type in South Africa . Only five percent of this highly fragmented vegetation type still remains (Von Hase et al 2003). Most of these Renosterveld fragments occur on privately owned land making it the least represented vegetation type in the South African Protected Areas network. More importantly, because of the fragmented nature of Renosterveld it has a high proportion of plants that are threatened with extinction. The Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (CREW) project, which works with civil society groups in the CFR to update information on threatened plants, has identified the Tulbagh valley as a high priority for conservation action. This is due to the relatively large amount of Renosterveld that remains in the valley and the high amount of plant endemism. The CAPE program has also identified areas in need of fine scale plans and the Tulbagh area falls within one of these: The Upper Breede River planning domain. -
Comparison of Extent and Transformation of South Africa's
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) Research in Action South African Journal of Science 97, May/June 2001 179 remote sensing applications in South Comparison of extent and Africa. This is a hierarchical framework designed to suit South African conditions, transformation of South Africa’s and incorporates known land-cover types that can be identified in a consistent woodland biome from two national and repetitive manner from high- resolution satellite imagery such as Land- databases sat TM and SPOT.The ‘natural’vegetation classes are based on broad, structural M.W. Thompsona*, E.R. Vinka, D.H.K. Fairbanksb,c, A. Ballancea types only, and are not intended to be and C.M. Shackletona,d equivalent to a floristic or ecological vege- tation classification. It is important to understand that a HE RECENT COMPLETION OF THE SOUTH Fairbanks et al.5 combination of both the NLC database’s TAfrican National Land-Cover Database This paper compares the distribution ‘Woodland’ and ‘Thicket, Bushland, and the Vegetation Map of South Africa, and location of woodland and bushveld- Bush-Clump & Tall Fynbos’ land-cover Swaziland and Lesotho, allows for the first type vegetation categories defined within classes were used in the comparison with time a comparison to be made on a national scale between the current and potential the NLC data, and the equivalent the DEAT defined ‘Savanna Biome’. The distribution of ‘natural’ vegetation resources. ‘Savanna Biome’ class defined within the inclusion of the NLC’s ‘Thicket, Bushland This article compares the distribution and DEAT’s ‘VegetationMap’ data. -
National Forests Act: List of Protected Tree Species
6 No. 37037 GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 22 NOVEMBER 2013 GOVERNMENT NOTICES GOEWERMENTSKENNISGEWINGS DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FORESTRY AND FISHERIES DEPARTEMENT VAN LANDBOU, BOSBOU EN VISSERYE No. 877 22 November 2013 NOTICE OFOF THETHE LISTLIST OFOF PROTECTEDPROTECTED TREE TREE SPECIES SPECIES UNDER UNDER THE THE NATIONAL NATIONAL FORESTS ACT, 19981998 (ACT(ACT NO No. 84 84 OF OF 1998) 1998) By virtue of powers vested in me under Section 15(3) of the National Forests Act, 1998, I, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries hereby publish a list of all protected trees belonging to a particular species under Section 12(1) (d) set out in Schedule below. The effect of this declaration is that in terms of Section 15(1) of the National Forests Act, 1998, no person may cut, disturb, damage or destroy any protected tree or possess, collect, remove, transport, export, purchase, sell, donate or in any other manner acquire or dispose of any protected tree or any forest product derived from a protected tree, except under a licence or exemption granted by the Minister to an applicant and subject to such period and conditions as may be stipulated. Contravention of this declaration is regarded as a first category offence that may result in a person who is found guilty of being sentenced to a fine or imprisonment for a period up to three years, or to both a fine and imprisonment. SCHEDULE A / BYLAE A Botanical Name English Other Common Names National Common Afrikaans (A), Northern SothoTree Names (NS),SouthernSotho (S),Number Tswana (T), Venda (V), Xhosa (X), Zulu (Z) Acacia erioloba Camel thorn Kameeldoring (A) / Mogohlo (NS) / 168 Mogotlho (T) Acacia haematoxylon Grey camel thorn Vaalkameeldoring (A) / Mokholo (T) 169 Adansonia digitata Baobab Kremetart (A) /Seboi (NS)/ Mowana 467 (T) Afzelia quanzensis Pod mahogany Peulmahonie (A) / Mutokota (V) / 207 lnkehli (Z) Balanites subsp. -
CHAPTER 1: Introduction 1
University of Pretoria etd, Wilson K A (2006) Status and distribution of cheetah outside formal conservation areas in the Thabazimbi district, Limpopo province by Kelly-Anne Wilson Submitted in partial fulfilment for the requirements for the degree Magister Scientiae in Wildlife Management Centre for Wildlife Management Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences University of Pretoria Pretoria Supervisor: Prof. J. du P. Bothma Co-supervisor: Prof. G. H. Verdoorn February 2006 University of Pretoria etd, Wilson K A (2006) STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION OF CHEETAH OUTSIDE FORMAL CONSERVATION AREAS IN THE THABAZIMBI DISTRICT, LIMPOPO PROVINCE by Kelly-Anne Wilson Supervisor: Prof. Dr. J. du P. Bothma Co-supervisor: Prof. Dr. G. H. Verdoorn Centre for Wildlife Management Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences University of Pretoria Magister Scientiae (Wildlife Management) ABSTRACT The current status of the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus outside formal conservation areas in South Africa is undetermined. The largest part of the cheetah population in South Africa occurs on cattle and wildlife ranches. Conflict between cheetahs and landowners is common and cheetahs are often persecuted. Cheetah management and conservation efforts are hampered as little data are available on the free-roaming cheetah population. A questionnaire survey was done in the Thabazimbi district of the Limpopo province to collect data on the status and distribution of cheetahs in the district and on the ranching practices and attitudes of landowners. By using this method, a population estimate of 42 – 63 cheetahs was obtained. Camera trapping was done at a scent-marking post to investigate the marking behaviour of cheetahs. Seven different cheetahs were identified marking at one specific tree. -
Comparative Wood Anatomy of Afromontane and Bushveld Species from Swaziland, Southern Africa
IAWA Bulletin n.s., Vol. 11 (4), 1990: 319-336 COMPARATIVE WOOD ANATOMY OF AFROMONTANE AND BUSHVELD SPECIES FROM SWAZILAND, SOUTHERN AFRICA by J. A. B. Prior 1 and P. E. Gasson 2 1 Department of Biology, Imperial College of Science, Technology & Medicine, London SW7 2BB, U.K. and 2Jodrell Laboratory, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3DS, U.K. Summary The habit, specific gravity and wood anat of the archaeological research, uses all the omy of 43 Afromontane and 50 Bushveld well preserved, qualitative anatomical charac species from Swaziland are compared, using ters apparent in the charred modem samples qualitative features from SEM photographs in an anatomical comparison between the of charred samples. Woods with solitary ves two selected assemblages of trees and shrubs sels, scalariform perforation plates and fibres growing in areas of contrasting floristic com with distinctly bordered pits are more com position. Some of the woods are described in mon in the Afromontane species, whereas Kromhout (1975), others are of little com homocellular rays and prismatic crystals of mercial importance and have not previously calcium oxalate are more common in woods been investigated. Few ecological trends in from the Bushveld. wood anatomical features have previously Key words: Swaziland, Afromontane, Bush been published for southern Africa. veld, archaeological charcoal, SEM, eco The site of Sibebe Hill in northwest Swazi logical anatomy. land (26° 15' S, 31° 10' E) (Price Williams 1981), lies at an altitude of 1400 m, amidst a Introduction dramatic series of granite domes in the Afro Swaziland, one of the smallest African montane forest belt (White 1978). -
The Grassland Vegetation of the Low Drakensberg Escarpment in the North-Western Kwazulu-Natal and North-Eastern Orange Free State Border Area
S. Afr. J. Bot.. 1995.61(1): 9-17 9 The grassland vegetation of the Low Drakensberg escarpment in the north-western KwaZulu-Natal and north-eastern Orange Free State border area C.M. Smit, G.J. Bredenkamp' and N. van Rooyen Department of Botany, University of Pretoria, 0002 Pretoria. Republic of South Africa Received: 17 Augll.u /99-1; revised I J October 1994 This study of the grasslands of the Low Drakenberg escarpment in the Newcastle-Meme] area forms part of the Grassland Biome Project. The 44 releves compiled in the Fa land type which represents the escarpment. were numer ically classified (TWINSPAN), and the results were refined by Braun-Blanquet procedures. The analyses revealed nine plant communities. A hierarchical classification, description and ecological interpretation of the nine plant communities are presented. Hi erdie ondersoek van die grasvelde van die Lae Drakensberg platorand in die Newcastle-Memel gebied maak deel uit van die Grasveldbioomprojek. Die 44 rei eves wat saamgestel is in die Fa landtipe wat die platorand verleen woordig, is numeries geklassifiseer (TWINSPAN) en die resultate is met behulp van Braun-Blanquet prosedures verfyn. Nege plantgemeenskappe is onderskei. 'n Hierargiese klassifikasie, beskrywing en ekologiese interpretasie van die nege plantgemeenskappe word aangebied. Keywords: Braun-8lanquet procedures, eastern escarpment, ecological in terpretation, Fa land type, grassland, vegetation classification . • To whom correspondence should be addressed. Introduction have been completed in the north-eastern Transvaal by Deall ct The Drakensberg Range forms part of the Great Escarpmenl at al. (1989) and Matthews et al. (1991. 1992a & 1992b). in the the eastern edge of the interi or plateau of southern Africa (Par eastern Oran ge Free State by Du Preez and Bredenkamp (1991), tridge & Maud 1987). -
Phytosociology of the Upper Orange River Valley, South Africa
PHYTOSOCIOLOGY OF THE UPPER ORANGE RIVER VALLEY, SOUTH AFRICA A SYNTAXONOMICAL AND SYNECOLOGICAL STUDY M.J.A.WERGER PROMOTOR: Prof. Dr. V. WESTHOFF PHYTOSOCIOLOGY OF THE UPPER ORANGE RIVER VALLEY, SOUTH AFRICA A SYNTAXONOMICAL AND SYNECOLOGICAL STUDY PROEFSCHRIFT TER VERKRUGING VAN DE GRAAD VAN DOCTOR IN DE WISKUNDE EN NATUURWETENSCHAPPEN AAN DE KATHOLIEKE UNIVERSITEIT TE NIJMEGEN, OP GEZAG VAN DE RECTOR MAGNIFICUS PROF. MR. F J.F.M. DUYNSTEE VOLGENS BESLUIT VAN HET COLLEGE VAN DECANEN IN HET OPENBAAR TE VERDEDIGEN OP 10 MEI 1973 DES NAMIDDAGS TE 4.00 UUR. DOOR MARINUS JOHANNES ANTONIUS WERGER GEBOREN TE ENSCHEDE 1973 V&R PRETORIA aan mijn ouders Frontiepieae: Panorama drawn by R.J. GORDON when he discovered the Orange River at "De Fraaye Schoot" near the present Bethulie, probably on the 23rd December 1777. I. INTRODUCTION When the government of the Republic of South Africa in the early sixties decided to initiate a comprehensive water development scheme of its largest single water resource, the Orange River, this gave rise to a wide range of basic and applied scientific sur veys of that area. The reasons for these surveys were threefold: (1) The huge capital investment on such a water scheme can only be justified economically on a long term basis. Basic to this is that the waterworks be protected, over a long period of time, against inefficiency caused by for example silting. Therefore, management reports of the catchment area should.be produced. (2) In order to enable effective long term planning of the management and use of the natural resources in the area it is necessary to know the state of the local ecosystems before a major change is instituted. -
Vegetation of the Central Kavango Woodlands in Namibia: an Example from the Mile 46 Livestock Development Centre ⁎ B.J
South African Journal of Botany 73 (2007) 391–401 www.elsevier.com/locate/sajb Vegetation of the central Kavango woodlands in Namibia: An example from the Mile 46 Livestock Development Centre ⁎ B.J. Strohbach a, , A. Petersen b a National Botanical Research Institute, Private Bag 13184, Windhoek, Namibia b Institute for Soil Science, University of Hamburg, Allende-Platz 2, 20146 Hamburg, Germany Received 22 November 2006; accepted 7 March 2007 Abstract No detailed vegetation descriptions are available for the Kavango woodlands — recent descriptions have all been at the broad landscape level without describing any vegetation communities. With this paper the vegetation associations found at and around the Mile 46 Livestock Development Centre (LDC) are described. Two broad classes are recognised: the Acacietea are represented by three Acacia species-dominated associations on nutrient-richer eutric Arenosols, whilst the Burkeo–Pterocarpetea are represented by three associations dominated by broad-leafed phanerophytic species on dystri-ferralic Arenosols. The, for the Kavango woodlands typical, Pterocarpus angolensis–Guibourtia coleosperma bushlands and thickets are further divided into four variants. Fire has been found to be an important factor in determining the structure of the vegetation — exclusion of fire on the LDC itself seems to lead to an increase in shrub (understory) density. © 2007 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keywords: Arenosols; Fire; Kavango woodlands; Land-use impact; Namibia; Zambesian Baikiaea woodlands ecoregion 1. Introduction terms. Yet pressure on the land is increasing — Mendelsohn and el Obeid (2003) illustrate this very clearly in their profile on the Very few phytosociological studies have been undertaken in Kavango Region. -
The Ecology of Large Herbivores Native to the Coastal Lowlands of the Fynbos Biome in the Western Cape, South Africa
The ecology of large herbivores native to the coastal lowlands of the Fynbos Biome in the Western Cape, South Africa by Frans Gustav Theodor Radloff Dissertation presented for the degree of Doctor of Science (Botany) at Stellenbosh University Promoter: Prof. L. Mucina Co-Promoter: Prof. W. J. Bond December 2008 DECLARATION By submitting this dissertation electronically, I declare that the entirety of the work contained therein is my own, original work, that I am the owner of the copyright thereof (unless to the extent explicitly otherwise stated) and that I have not previously in its entirety or in part submitted it for obtaining any qualification. Date: 24 November 2008 Copyright © 2008 Stellenbosch University All rights reserved ii ABSTRACT The south-western Cape is a unique region of southern Africa with regards to generally low soil nutrient status, winter rainfall and unusually species-rich temperate vegetation. This region supported a diverse large herbivore (> 20 kg) assemblage at the time of permanent European settlement (1652). The lowlands to the west and east of the Kogelberg supported populations of African elephant, black rhino, hippopotamus, eland, Cape mountain and plain zebra, ostrich, red hartebeest, and grey rhebuck. The eastern lowlands also supported three additional ruminant grazer species - the African buffalo, bontebok, and blue antelope. The fate of these herbivores changed rapidly after European settlement. Today the few remaining species are restricted to a few reserves scattered across the lowlands. This is, however, changing with a rapid growth in the wildlife industry that is accompanied by the reintroduction of wild animals into endangered and fragmented lowland areas. -
Review of Existing Infrastructure in the Orange River Catchment
Study Name: Orange River Integrated Water Resources Management Plan Report Title: Review of Existing Infrastructure in the Orange River Catchment Submitted By: WRP Consulting Engineers, Jeffares and Green, Sechaba Consulting, WCE Pty Ltd, Water Surveys Botswana (Pty) Ltd Authors: A Jeleni, H Mare Date of Issue: November 2007 Distribution: Botswana: DWA: 2 copies (Katai, Setloboko) Lesotho: Commissioner of Water: 2 copies (Ramosoeu, Nthathakane) Namibia: MAWRD: 2 copies (Amakali) South Africa: DWAF: 2 copies (Pyke, van Niekerk) GTZ: 2 copies (Vogel, Mpho) Reports: Review of Existing Infrastructure in the Orange River Catchment Review of Surface Hydrology in the Orange River Catchment Flood Management Evaluation of the Orange River Review of Groundwater Resources in the Orange River Catchment Environmental Considerations Pertaining to the Orange River Summary of Water Requirements from the Orange River Water Quality in the Orange River Demographic and Economic Activity in the four Orange Basin States Current Analytical Methods and Technical Capacity of the four Orange Basin States Institutional Structures in the four Orange Basin States Legislation and Legal Issues Surrounding the Orange River Catchment Summary Report TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................... 6 1.1 General ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.2 Objective of the study ................................................................................................ -
Eskom Transmission Proposed Gamma Sub-Station
ESKOM TRANSMISSION PROPOSED GAMMA SUB-STATION EIA: 12/12/20/873 VEGETATION ASSESSMENT Report prepared for: Report prepared by: Eskom Transmission Centre for African Conservation Ecology PO Box 1091 Department of Botany Johannesburg P O Box 77000 0001 Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University 6031 and Port Elizabeth ACER (Africa) Environmental Management Consultants P O Box 503 Mtunzini 3867 June 2007 ESKOM TRANSMISSION PROPOSED GAMMA SUB-STATION SUMMARY The vegetation of the proposed Gamma Sub-station site on Uitvlugfontein falls in the Nama-Karoo Biome, more specifically in the Upper Karoo Bioregion. The Acocks (1988) Veld Type is Central Upper Karoo (Acocks Veld Type 27). White (1983) mapped the vegetation as Highveld/Karoo Transition in the Kalahari-Highveld Phytochorion while Low and Rebelo (1996) list the Vegetation Type to be Upper Nama- Karoo (Vegetation Type 50). The most recent vegetation map (Mucina et al., 2005) classifies it as Eastern Upper Karoo. The Eastern Upper Karoo Vegetation Type is Hardly Protected but it has an ecosystem status of Least Threatened (Mucina et al., 2005). The National Spatial Biodiversity Assessment (Rouget et al., 2004) classified the area proposed for the Sub-station as being poor in threatened plant species and moderate in endemics. The site has the lowest level of irreplaceability for vegetation (0.2 = lowest level of conservation importance) and it ranks in the lowest category for vulnerability (Rouget et al., 2004). Overall the Vegetation Type ranks low for conservation value (Rouget et al., 2004) and the use of less than 0.004% of the Eastern Upper Karoo for a Sub-station will not jeopardize any conservation plans for the Vegetation Type.