Natural woodland vegetation and plant species richness of the urban open spaces in Gauteng, South Africa

Grobler, Christoffel; Bredenkamp, G.J.; Brown, Leslie R.

doi:10.4102/koedoe.v45i1.13

Cited by 17 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…En su lugar de origen se distribuye principalmente en sabanas, aunque también está presente en pendientes rocosas, barrancos y a las orillas de riachuelos; comúnmente en hábitats con suelos poco profundos y clima cálido y seco (1,2) . El pasto rosado se presenta en cualquier tipo de exposición, incluyendo las pendientes más cálidas y secas cuando ocurre en asociación con otras especies dominantes (2) . La principal amenaza para este pasto en su lugar de origen, es el sobrepastoreo y la compactación del suelo provocado por el ganado y fauna que emigra en determinadas épocas del año (3) .…”

Section: Introductionunclassified

“…In its place of origin it distributes mainly in savanna, though it is also present in rocky cliffs, gullies and along streams; commonly in habitats with shallow soils and warm and dry weather (1,2) . Natal grass is present in any kind of exposition, including the warmest and driest slopes when it occurs in association with other dominant species (2) . The main threat for this grass in its place of origin is overgrazing and soil compaction caused by cattle and the fauna that migrates in some seasons of the year (3) .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biología del pasto rosado Melinis repens (Willd.) e implicaciones para su aprovechamiento o control

Melgoza‐Castillo¹,

Valladares²,

González³

et al. 2015

RMCP

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RESUMEN El pasto rosado (Melinis repens) es una especie introducida de África que invade diversos ecosistemas. EnMéxico se encuentra en todos los Estados, y en Chihuahua es la especie dominante en extensas áreas de pastizales. Las invasiones reducen la calidad y cantidad de los productos y servicios del ecosistema. No se sabe exactamente cuándo llegó al continente americano. Dependiendo de las condiciones climáticas puede comportarse como anual o perenne de vida corta. Produce abundante semilla durante años con precipitaciones por debajo de lo normal comparados con años lluviosos. La germinación de la semilla puede ser en presencia de luz o sin ella, la máxima germinación es entre 20 a 35 ºC; a -0.2 MPa se inhibe la germinación y el fuego no la afecta. ABSTRACTNatal grass (Melinis repens) is an introduced specie from Africa that is invading different ecosystems. In Mexico, it is present all over the country and dominates large areas of grasslands. Plant invasion reduces quality and quantity of ecosystem goods and services. The knowledge of the biology of invasive species is a key factor when a management and control plan will be established. It is unknown when this specie arrived to America. Depending on climatic conditions this grass may behave as annual or perennial. Seed production is larger in years with precipitation below normal than in wet years. Germination takes place with or without light, optimum temperature is from 20 to 35 ºC; at -0.2 MPa germination is inhibited, and fire does not affect seed germination. When moisture is not limited and during the early development, root:shoot ratios ranges from 1.13 to 1.90 and relative growth rate from 0.0034 to 0.15 mg g-1 d-1 ; also, biomass is reduced when natal grass grows on native soil compared to sterilized soil. Although it is considered as poor forage, the main use is as pasture. Other uses reported include ornamental, medicinal, and fito-remediation. Fire favors its growth, and no control method is known. So far, grazing of natal grass is the most viable management. Additionally, when planning a control campaign it is important to reduce the movement of this specie as part of human activities.

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Section: Introductionunclassified

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biología del pasto rosado Melinis repens (Willd.) e implicaciones para su aprovechamiento o control

Melgoza‐Castillo¹,

Valladares²,

González³

et al. 2015

RMCP

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“…Further examples of this vegetation were described from the scarps and slopes of the Jack Scott (Coetzee 1974), from the warm temperate mountain bushveld within the Pretoria-Witbank-Heidelberg areas by , from the Melville koppies Nature Reserve (Ellery 1994), from the natural areas of the western local Metropolitan Council of Gauteng by Bredenkamp & Brown (1998a) and within various natural open spaces in Gauteng by Grobler et al (2002).…”

Section: Burkea Africana-setaria Lindenbergiana Major Communitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Descriptions of Acacia caffra-dominated vegetation are given by Bezuidenhout et al (1988) from the Vredefort Dome area, Bezuidenhout & Bredenkamp (1991) from the North-West Province grasslands and Grobler et al (2002) from the JohannesburgPretoria area. Particularly good examples (Eustachys mutica-Acacia caffra Woodlands) are provided by Coetzee (1975) from the Rustenburg Nature Reserve, Bezuidenhout et al (1994) from the slopes of the hills and ridges in the North-West Province, and Coetzee et al (1994Coetzee et al ( , 1995 Coetzee (1974Coetzee ( , 1975 from the Magaliesberg area, Bredenkamp & Theron (1978) from the Suikerbosrand, Behr & Bredenkamp (1988), from the Witwatersrand, Bezuidenhout et al (1994) from the Gatsrand area in North-West Province, Coetzee et al (1995), Bredenkamp & Brown (1998a;1998b) …”

Section: Description Of the Major Communitiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Major plant communities of the Marakele National Park

Staden

Bredenkamp

2005

Koedoe

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To manage and conserve any national park efficiently, a profound knowledge of the ecology is a prerequisite, and to achieve that an inventory of the biotic and abiotic components must be undertaken. As a contribution to such a program this information was collected for Marakele National Park. The study area covers 290.51 km² in the southwestern part of the Limpopo Province. The underlying parent rock of the study area is sandstone, shale and mudstone with several diabase dykes. The soils range from shallow to deep sandy soils on sandstone and clayey soils on diabase and mudstone. The rainfall varies from 556 mm to 630 mm per annum, mainly during the summer months. The study area experiences warm summers with temperatures of up to 32 ºC and cool, dry winters with frost in the low-lying areas. The vegetation of the study area was classified in a hierarchical, plant sociological system by using TWINSPAN and the BraunBlanquet technique. The floristic data from 130 relevés were classified to identify five major plant communities, namely one forest community, three savanna/grassland communities and one wetland community. These plant communities were ecologically interpreted by habitat.The phytosociological table was condensed to a synoptic table to describe the major plant communities.

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“…There are several examples of descriptive vegetation studies aiming towards classification of plant communities in several urban areas in South Africa. The vegetation of natural areas surrounding cities and fragmented areas inside cities have been described in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal (Roberts 1993), Potchefstroom, North-West Province , Bloemfontein, Free State (Dingaan et al 2001), Johannesburg and Pretoria, Gauteng (Grobler et al 2002(Grobler et al , 2006 and Nelspruit, Mpumalanga (Wilken 2007). What distinguishes these studies from the initial vegetation studies in Cape Town are the description of vegetation of disturbed http://www.ecologyandsociety.org/vol17/iss3/art33/ and degraded areas as well.…”

Section: Biodiversitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Urban Ecology in Cape Town: South African Comparisons and Reflections

Cilliers¹,

Siebert²

2012

E&S

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ABSTRACT. Little urban ecological research has been done in South Africa. The papers in the Ecology and Society special feature Urban Ecological and Social-Ecological Research in the City of Cape Town make, therefore, an important contribution to the development of urban ecology locally and globally. Different approaches have been used in the study of urban ecology of different urban areas in South Africa. Cape Town is situated in a biodiversity hotspot and is the only South African city which includes a national park. As a result the urban ecological studies were mainly driven by urban nature conservation concerns. In other cities such as Durban, open space planning and environmental management were the major issues which focused ecological studies on urban areas whereas other studies of urban areas in the Eastern Cape and North-West provinces included private and public open spaces and man-made habitats. We reflect on the Cape Town studies in a South African context and highlight conservation of biodiversity, protection of ecosystem services, management of control measures, and the conflict between humans and nature. A brief synthesis has also been given of South African urban ecological research in general.

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Natural woodland vegetation and plant species richness of the urban open spaces in Gauteng, South Africa

Cited by 17 publications

References 23 publications

Biología del pasto rosado Melinis repens (Willd.) e implicaciones para su aprovechamiento o control

Biología del pasto rosado Melinis repens (Willd.) e implicaciones para su aprovechamiento o control

Major plant communities of the Marakele National Park

Urban Ecology in Cape Town: South African Comparisons and Reflections

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