Plant endemism in Griqualand West, South Africa

Frisby, Arnold Walter; Siebert, Stefan; Struwig, M.; Cilliers, Dirk

doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2019.03.041

Cited by 3 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…Griqualand West is primarily situated in the Northern Cape Province but extend to the Northwest Province of South Africa with a coverage of 40,000 km 2 [COON & HUNT, 1965]. It is a semi-arid region with average rainfall of 262 to 411m annually [FRISBY & al. 2019].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation Status and Threats to Endemic Plant Species of Griqualand West of South Africa

Bamigboye¹

2019

J. Plant Develop.

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Endemic species are important to biodiversity of any region they are situated. They are to be protected from over exploitation and population decline. This study evaluated the conservation status and threats to endemic plant species of Griqualand West in South Africa. The SANBI (South African National Biodiversity Institute) Red List data base was used in determining the conservation status and threats to these endemic species. The result of this study showed that all the endemic species of Griqualand West of South Africa are of conservation concern meaning they need to be given attention in terms of conservation. Also human induced threats were discovered in this study. This study thereby recommend that conservation priority should be given to the endemic species of this region that are of conservation concern, and also efforts should be made to control the human induced threats identified in this study.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conservation Status and Threats to Endemic Plant Species of Griqualand West of South Africa

Bamigboye¹

2019

J. Plant Develop.

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“…These figures probably have everything to do with the fact that the number of local endemisms is much higher on dolomite. This high richness in endemic species also occurs in other parts of the Mediterranean basin [ 30 , 113 , 114 ] and the world [ 25 , 26 ], areas in which protection measures for this type of habitat have been claimed [ 26 , 42 , 54 , 113 ].…”

Section: Conservation and Genetic Diversitymentioning

confidence: 84%

“…In general, these are nutrient-poor soils with low water retention capacity, which makes these communities unproductive in relation to the surrounding vegetation. Such a habitat calls for specialized adaptations, promoting endemism [ 25 , 26 ]. In these microclimate-soil areas, there are species which are very rare or absent in other places and, in many cases, have a marked relic character, likely due to a lack of severe competition.…”

Section: Definition Of the Dolomite Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such a habitat calls for specialized adaptations, promoting endemism [ 25 , 26 ]. In these microclimate-soil areas, there are species which are very rare or absent in other places and, in many cases, have a marked relic character, likely due to a lack of severe competition.…”

Section: Definition Of the Dolomite Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the southern hemisphere, the dolomite phenomenon or dolomitophily (according to Mota and colleagues [ 17 ]), has been noted in South Africa [ 7 , 26 , 46 ] and, to a lesser extent, in Australia and Tasmania [ 31 ]. There are also allusions to South America, although not very precise [ 47 ].…”

Section: The Extent Of the Dolomite Phenomenonmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Plants on Rich-Magnesium Dolomite Barrens: A Global Phenomenon

Poveda

Merlo

Martínez-Hernández

et al. 2021

Biology

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For botanists and ecologists, the close link between some plants and substrates, such as serpentine or gypsum, is well known. However, the relationship between dolomite and its flora has been much less studied, due to various causes. Its diffuse separation from limestone and the use of a vague approach and terminology that, until now, no one has tried to harmonize are among these reasons. After carrying out an extensive review, completed with data on the distribution of plants linked to dolomite, the territories in which this type of flora appears at a global level were mapped using a geographic information system software. In addition, data on soils were collected, as well as on their influence on the ionomic profile of the flora. These data were completed with the authors’ own information from previous research, which also served to assess these communities’ degree of conservation and the genetic diversity of some of their characteristic species. The results showed that the so-called “dolomite phenomenon” is widely represented and is clearly manifested in the appearance of a peculiar flora, very rich in endemisms, on dry soils, poor in nutrients, and with a high Mg level. Although dolomite habitats cause adaptations in plants which are even more recognizable than those of other rock types, they have not been widely studied from an ecological, evolutionary, and conservation point of view because, so far, neither their characteristics nor their universal demarcation have been precisely defined.

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Floristic analysis of semi-arid mountain ecosystems of the Griqualand West centre of plant endemism, Northern Cape, South Africa

et al. 2020

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Abstract. Van Staden N, Siebert SJ, Cilliers DP, Wilsenach D, Frisby AW. 2020. Floristic analysis of semi-arid mountain ecosystems of the Griqualand West centre of plant endemism, Northern Cape, South Africa. Biodiversitas 21: 1989-2002. The Griqualand West Centre (GWC) is one of 13 centres of plant endemism in South Africa. Despite its unique flora, it remains poorly conserved and studied. A recent study identified an extensive geographical core area for the GWC, but endemic plant species were found to be absent from certain parts within these borders. To address this, we refined the current GWC borders based on an ecological niche model, which predicted that endemic species are restricted to four mountain ranges within GWC. Mountain floras within these refined borders were then floristically compared to assess whether they are hotspots of endemicity. Floristically, the Asteraceae, Fabaceae, Malvaceae, and Poaceae were the dominant plant families. Mountain ecosystems differed from one another at species level, with indicator species explaining the compositional differences. Distribution patterns of indicator species were determined by mean annual precipitation, Ca: Mg ratios, soil pH, cation exchange capacity, iron, and sand content. These environmental factors are possible drivers of niche partitioning, environmental filtering and habitat specialization in each mountain ecosystem. Limestone and banded ironstone habitats were identified as conservation priority areas, since they contained the highest numbers of rare and threatened GWC restricted-range species, of which six were narrow endemics.

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Plant endemism in Griqualand West, South Africa

Cited by 3 publications

References 28 publications

Conservation Status and Threats to Endemic Plant Species of Griqualand West of South Africa

Conservation Status and Threats to Endemic Plant Species of Griqualand West of South Africa

Plants on Rich-Magnesium Dolomite Barrens: A Global Phenomenon

Floristic analysis of semi-arid mountain ecosystems of the Griqualand West centre of plant endemism, Northern Cape, South Africa

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