A Preliminary Check List of Lichens Occuring in the Sperrgebiet 1993.Pdf
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
D.R.F.N. ,-ill;~!'LL__ REFERENCE'_S:l _ liBRARY '-WJi.."'-- _ " Or~ Re~erve5 Jept. \- I 8Di'1 :;f;:y) Lcd Be:·: ":,5::' o ,-'.8..-. V 2'":.,~:.G I 1)''/3 Abstract :-7:' t ! i. - ". chsc::·~-list is appended. Due to under~ollec:ting, this list o-!S'U Id '~:-:P E: -.::;: tC:Jccur :c.r1 the I;: trcd'..lct i'::!!1 During research work on the vegetation of the Sperrg~biet carried out between 1978 and 1994 lichen species were collected and sen t to the British Museum of Natural History, London (8M) and to the Botanical Research Institut.e (presently the National Botan 1C Institute) :111 Pretoria (PRE). This preliminary check-list has been drawn up from these gatherings. According to Wessels 1992 (unpublished paper on aspects of "Sperrgebiet" 1ichens .1, approximately 13500 lichen species J ',,:t1:i:1 60C 6.50 ~'. -~'--._---~ " s~ries of b~seline studies commissioned by COX (Pty)Ltd with a Vl~~1 t,c cf h S;::e~-rg~b_i2:. 2_ c: the sou thern portion of the Namib Desert. It lS roughly rect~~gular in sh~pe with ~ north-south length ,)f about 250 km and east-west width fr~m 7.5 to 55 km. is a short spur ai?proximately 65 km long running up the coast rlorthwards from Li.id~ritz. The Spercg~tiet falls wi th::'rlthe west C:Qast winter rainfall zone but with certain areas on the eastern border falling in the intermediate zone between winter and summer rainfall. The area is administered jointly by CDM (Pty) Ltd and the Ministry of Conservation and Tourism. Entry is by permit issued by COM and the Diamond Branch of the Namibian Police. Distribution The distribution of the lichen flora is directly related to 6 <.::li!!lCltic e:-:iste~'1(;e of Hind-sa.::d t.he CO:lst e:sti7!2ted .,:r, :.:::; tGW~rjs a low ~~e2s~~e zone si~uatej mainly ~o ~he east and north-east oz the over the Pomona area (specifically th.& Idatal - pel'S. camm. Dr. ~. .. Lnese Wl~as J ong shc,r"· '=urrent to car~y northwards. S~ild deposited by the Orange beaches lS then blown over the whole Sperrgebiet !<1i th the strongest concentrations movi~g In through wind corridors. The all'. movemer. "'- fogs which clothe the whole Sperrgebiet but are most effective close to the C03.st and on the summits of inselbergs. These fogs are very dense in winter. The published rainfall pattern of the Sperrgebiet predicts an average rainfall of 11-88 mm 90 per cent of the time in the southern two-thirds and 3 - 38 mm in the northern third. The lower density and biodiversity of the vegetation towards the north is reflected in this graded pattern of rainfall., 2) Geomorphology The land grades in steps from the west coast to the eastern border comprising sand gravel-pebbly plains with a mosalC of moving sand-dunes, permanent dunes and 7 inselber&s of varying heigh~_ The main inlet w~nd c:rri~ars f:"~~ li2 1;.1ittir: the '~onfines c: 3) ;-.:; "C" . .:. ~ =- ;;cst severe sand m0ve::e~~s. The Beng~el~-------fr,gs ar~ ~ore 0ffec~~v0 1~~~ __ close to the coast and allow for the highest .I.~'-L~v1~ h~ndiversity'-'~ .. a~d density in this S~errgebiet ~Qne. these cool. ~isty c0n~~~io~stu~ a:-e a·::iverse:l:l a:f:::,:t.ed by of the inlet wind corridors. A high density of species also exists up to the 300 m contou~ especially south of the Klinghardt mountain barrier. Beyond the 300 m contour lichens are ~ainly restricted to the inselbergs with the density of species dwindling towards the no;:-th-east. corner whe~e the fogs are least effective. This area carries a flora related to the zone grading into the summer rainfall regime. All the factors above affect the biodiversity and density of the vegetation in general (Williamson in press) . Since the ~existing vegetation forms an important substrate f'or lichen species it follows that the existence of much of the lichen flora is directly reflected in the existence of plant hosts. 8 Ncte~ on Habitat and Species h~3.~ :::.nd (;C Id . :)W nu~rien~ 3vailabilicy and dry~ng out i~ Th~ various ~d~f~:ve ~odifications all~ws :or ~~~ ~ti~ity of nu~erous different subst~ates. Almos~ th~ only SG~r~e ~~ moist!2~e is derived frc~ At:antic fo~s. =-:J3 "SPF: :.~rgebit: t" lichsn::: "; the ~-1orld'3 flor2. is subdivided into two g~oups viz. epilitb,~ which comprise species that groN on the surface of a sutstrate ~nd e~d01~thi8 covering Bo~h groups OCCQr within the study 3.1'e2.. The Sperrgebiet lichen communities can be divided into:- 1. Corticolous - that 18 lichens growing on the bark of perennial plants. These species occur in 311 zones but are obviously more frequent where suitable plant hosts occur with sufficient perennial bark su~face area ( Stem or stem-leaf succulents) . Dense plant host communities also reflect the higher moisture availability. The texture (smoothness) , the presence of the dead, superficial layer of dried bark and the chemical composition of the epidermis seems to be important for establishment, of lichen colonies. 1.1 Throughout the vegetation zone below the 150 m contour from the Orange River mouth to Luderitz where there is suitable 9 ~G;og~a;hy deflests sa~d}, the follc~i~g ~:~nt2 s~e the main ..------.OSt3 - Othoiln3 fU~'2ata Ljnd:.; Druce . ....~..,J..- . , V~~i0US Ai~csc~3eJ Salsola nolioth6!lSis Aeelien. a:td ve::y occas~ona:ly ce~tain ~~se~bryan~hema and Pcel'clnis. g'labJ:'ata L.F. Fur-the: not,th, stilJ. bel-)!'1 t~e 150 m co:'""!tc:..:.:.~, from about -hos:.s Pel ar,s'on iu:n P. ca:nC3:.Jl!1 SarcocaLll on patersonii (DC.) G. Don. , Zygophyllum procumbens Adamson, z. S9P· . Ellphorbia ve:rucu10s~ ~!.~.2r BroJ-.il1:3.l?thus :rJ:.?:.~lothii (Pax) nn.'nibensis 33.120.1."3. :::eyher i r!"1oq. Common lichen species occurring the zone comprise the following - Xanthoris. flammea (L.F.) Hillm., x. tUl'binata Vain .. Teloschistes capensis (L.F.) Vain. T. chryophthalmus (L.) Th.Fr., Parmelia (Xanthomaculina) hottentotta (Ach.) Ach., RQ~a7~n~ o~n~n-is 1'h j;'- .~ ••• , ~ J.. • Species included in the following genera also occur Carbonea, Buellia, Lecidea and Physcia. Due to the diminished moisture precipitation and the presence of strong wind-sand corridors, corticolous lichens almost disappear from the area from about 10 km north of Bogenfels to Elizabeth Bay . Just north of Elizabeth Bay within the fog zone, large dense fields of lichens reappear. 1.2 Due to the continued presence of the fogs corticolous lichens are also similar in composition and common in the zone 10 -150 m to 300 ill but the host profile differs slightly due to the ZY6cphyl1um pri3m~tocarpu~ S. Hey. ex Sand .. Othonn:..z r.D;.~.) Sch. r.,~. , r: Den. " :..1'-_., ...... leget.G.tion with S31so13 spp. oc~urrir.g. These plants are ?he ffiubile sands are less frequent and thus p~o~ected depressicns have co~sider2b:e cove~ of 2. Lehen 3i='P. to 1 _ _ _ ...:..l;.;/!;:;_ 0f '.:~curr ing. The doxi:12.:n:s in these ::one3 are Tc>l c·sc f: i s tes c h r v:.7oh t hall!Jus. (1.) Th. Fr. ,Xanthoria flammea (L.F.) Hillm .• X. turbinata Vain. and T'310schi~tes C3P~:1Sis (L.? Vsi.n. L:n'g~ :ields west of BoegoeberJ 3~j south of Cham~i2 gate. ::"icher: :.~. ~:.h~ .::on2 D0:"th of the Klinghardt mountain barrier where the fog effectiveness is lower and the sand corridors feeding in from Chameisbucht and North Rock still have a severe effect well past Grillental. 1.3 Corticolous lichens are well represented on the high inselbergs of Klinghardt mtns. (Sargdecke 1), Boegoeberg, Aurusberge, Schakalsberg, Obibberge, Gomtsawib and Skilpadberg (close to Oranjemund). On many of the inselbergs, tall Aloe ramosissima is a very important host with up to 6 lichen species occurring on stems and branches. The width of the stem and the protection afforded gives maximum opportunity for lichen growth. On the inselbergs the yariety of tall plants coupled with high • fog precipitation allows for prolific growth. The lichen profile is very similar to the coastal species with several extra 11 ..'~ : OCC'...lrrences, Vl::. Ramalina dll1'iaei (de Not.) Bag!., R. melanoth:'ix Laur. ex Nyl, R. ce13stri (Sprengl Due tc ~hc harst Spe=rgebiet environment 1D ~l~ the vegetation ~Gnes there are dead p~ants. Several of the dominant live hosts e.g. Othonna furcat3 IL:ndley) Dr'Jce and ,41Je: I·3.:nosissima do not ~hey die but 5alsola. Z,vg'opl.yl1uJ!J. Sal'col.:[]ulan, Pel:1.1':]·on ium and P.I'o:S.sp.'1I'ag·us spp. do and thus host large colonies of lichen species similar to the profile that occurs on live plant:]. whi~h occur mainly en dead wood: R3m31in3 lace1':!. ':"'aund. N~te~Jd~r~n n~a3q!]3i73 Bruss2, Xanthoria turbinata V~in., Buellia sp. and Combea mollusca (Ach.) Nyl.(which is a rock- loving species) - These are nIl coastal species. An enormous community of lignocolous lichens occurs from about 62 km to 76 km north of Oranjemund and about 3 - 4 km wide. In this unique area the mair. host is Salsola spp. with Protaspal'ag'us ctlpensis. The landscape is coloured orange main ly by Xan thor ia tin'binata, Interspersed in this habitat are live plants hosting numerous corticolous species.