A phytogeographic assessment of the Nuweveldberge, South Africa

Clark, Vincent Ralph; Barker, Nigel P.; Mucina, Laco

doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2010.07.011

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…A number of such inselbergs exist within the KwaZulu-Natal lowlands, eastern Free State and extending north archipelagolike along the main escarpment forming connections with Afro-alpine vegetation to the north (Carbutt & Edwards 2001;White 1983). Phytogeographic affinities also extend to the south into the Cape Floristic Region (Goldblatt & Manning 2000) via the Sneeuberg (Clark, Barker & Mucina 2009) and Zuurberg (Carbutt & Edwards 2001;Van Wyk et al 1988), as well as into the interior Hantam-Roggeveldberge and Nuweveldberge (Clark et al 2011a(Clark et al , 2011b. Notwithstanding that comparison among these would be compounded by the response of temperature to the combined effects of altitude and latitude, a spatially explicit assessment of phytogeographic affinities between the DAC and its inselbergs with these other montane regions, especially surrounding inselbergs similar to Platberg, would provide a broad geographic context for working toward conservation of the Drakensberg hotspot and centre of endemism of plant diversity.…”

Section: Role Of Inselbergs In Plant Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The alpine flora on inselberg summits in the Maloti–Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2019

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Background: Inselberg summits adjacent to the Maloti–Drakensberg escarpment occupy an alpine zone within the Drakensberg Alpine Centre (DAC). Inselbergs, the escarpment and surrounding mountains such as Platberg experience a severe climate; inselberg summits are distinct by being protected from human disturbance.Objectives: The aim of this article was to describe for the first time the flora of inselberg summits and to assess their potential contribution to conservation of DAC plant diversity.Method: We investigated whether the flora of inselberg summits formed a representative subset of the DAC flora in terms of shared, especially endemic or near endemic, species and representation of families. All species were listed for six inselbergs between Giant’s Castle and Sentinel, located in the Royal Natal National Park (RNNP) during November 2005. Comparisons, using literature, were made with floras of the DAC, as well as Platberg, an inselberg approximately 60 km north from Sentinel in the RNNP.Results: We recorded 200 species of pteridophytes and angiosperms on inselbergs, 114 DAC endemics or near endemics, one possible new species, and several range and altitudinal extensions. Asteraceae, Poaceae and Ericaceae comprised 42.1% of endemic and near endemic species, with Scrophulariaceae and Hyacinthaceae contributing 8.8%. Inselberg and DAC floras differed in respective rankings of Crassulaceae (8th vs. 15th), Polygalaceae, Apiaceae and Rosaceae (10th, 11th, 12th vs. 15th), Poaceae (2nd vs. 5th), Cyperaceae (3rd vs. 4th) and Scrophulariaceae (6th vs. 2nd). Growth forms on inselbergs were consistent with DAC flora. Inselbergs shared 40% of species with Platberg.Conclusion: Inselbergs, which supported 7.9% of species occurring in the DAC flora, are well protected from human impact, lack alien plants, but, despite this, are highly vulnerable to climate change. Conservation importance of inselbergs will increase as escarpment vegetation becomes increasingly degraded as a consequence of intensifying land use.

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Section: Role Of Inselbergs In Plant Conservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The alpine flora on inselberg summits in the Maloti–Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

2019

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“…These are the most arid components of the Escarpment in South Africa, but receive reliable winter rainfall and form part of the very species-rich Succulent Karoo and Fynbos Biomes (Low and Rebelo 1998;Mucina and Rutherford 2006;Desmet 2007). The Nuweveldberge has a much lower endemism than the rest of the Escarpment in South Africa, attributable to its unreliable rainfall regime (Clark et al 2011c).…”

Section: South Africa Lesotho and Swazilandmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Great Escarpment of southern Africa: a new frontier for biodiversity exploration

2011

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The biodiversity of the 5,000 km-long Great Escarpment of southern Africa is currently poorly known, despite hosting half of the subcontinent's centres of plant endemism and to have a rich endemic vertebrate fauna, particularly in the north-west and east. A country-based overview of endemism, data deficiencies and conservation challenges is provided, with Angola being the country in most need of Escarpment research and conservation. Given that the Escarpment provides most of the subcontinent's fresh water, protection and restoration of Escarpment habitat providing such ecological services is urgently required. Key research needs are exhaustive biodiversity surveys, systematic studies to test refugia and migration hypotheses, and the effects of modern climate change. Such research results can then be consolidated into effective conservation planning and coordinated international efforts to protect the rich biodiversity of the Escarpment and the ecological services it provides.

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“…The major biomes in the Sneeuberg include Grassland, Forest, Albany thicket and Nama-Karoo. In the Nuweveldberge, only 0.5% of species are endemic (Clark et al, 2011b), and the vegetation contains elements of Succulent Karoo and Grassland biomes (Clark et al, 2011b). The Roggeveldberge comprise vegetation with Fynbos, Succulent Karoo and Nama-Karoo elements (Clark et al, 2011c).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Range contraction to a higher elevation: the likely future of the montane vegetation in South Africa and Lesotho

2018

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AcknowledgmentsWe are grateful to three anonymous reviewers for their comments on this manuscript. We also thank Dr. V. R. Clark for the use of his plant occurrence database to provide independent evaluation occurrence records. AbstractGlobal climate change is a major challenge for the future with serious potential impacts on biodiversity. Biodiversity in mountains is particularly vulnerable as many montane species are adapted to narrow microhabitats, making them less able to adjust to a climatic change. It is considered important to investigate range changes in the South African Great Escarpment because of the high levels of biodiversity in these mountains, as well as their importance for water provision in South Africa. The current and future ranges of 46 montane plant species in South Africa and Lesotho were therefore modelled using biomod in R, using presence points and predictor variables which included rainfall and temperature worldclim layers. The performance of distribution models produced was evaluated using the Area under the Receiver Operating Curve (AUC), True Skill Statistic (TSS), Sensitivity and Specificity. We calculated beta diversity and species richness changes between current and future climates for the group of 46 species, as well as shifts of the predicted presence region boundaries and centroids. We also analysed shifts in minimum, median and maximum elevations. Results show a contraction in species' ranges towards higher elevation as has been documented from other mountain regions around the world. These results are a cause for concern as a warming climate is decreasing the potential regions of occurrence of montane species in South Africa and Lesotho's mountainous regions of high biodiversity. This region is under a diverse range of conservation and land use management practises, and our results suggest a coordinated response to climate change is needed.

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A phytogeographic assessment of the Nuweveldberge, South Africa

Cited by 13 publications

References 17 publications

The alpine flora on inselberg summits in the Maloti–Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The alpine flora on inselberg summits in the Maloti–Drakensberg Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

The Great Escarpment of southern Africa: a new frontier for biodiversity exploration

Range contraction to a higher elevation: the likely future of the montane vegetation in South Africa and Lesotho

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