The Sneeuberg: A new centre of floristic endemism on the Great Escarpment, South Africa

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

doi:10.1016/j.sajb.2008.10.010

Cited by 65 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…These sites were located in the eastern section of the SMC of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa and were separated by at least 40 km [Sneeuberg Nature Reserve (SBNR) 31°42 0 S, 24°38 0 E, situated 35 km north-east of Nieu-Bethesda; Asante Sana Nature Reserve (ASNR) 32°14 0 S, 24°55 0 E, situated 50 km east of Graaff-Reinet; and Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP) 32°18 0 S, 25°24 0 E, situated 15 km west of Cradock]. Precipitation in the SMC is transitional, with the maximum precipitation occurring during the late summer and autumn months (Kopke 1988;Clark et al 2009Clark et al , 2011b. Precipitation throughout the SMC is localized and heavily dependent on altitude (Kopke 1988;Clark et al 2009Clark et al , 2011b.…”

Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the Escarpment is known to have areas of high faunal and floral diversity, research has been sporadic and large parts of the escarpment remain under sampled (Clark et al 2009(Clark et al , 2011a. This is especially true for the vertebrate assemblages (Clark et al 2011a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most studies focussing on small mammal diversity at high altitude in South Africa have been conducted in the Cape Fold and central Drakensberg Mountains ( Fig. 1; Bond et al 1980;Nel et al 1980;Rauthenbach and Nel 1980;Rowe-Rowe and Meester 1982;Bowland and Perrin 1993;Armstrong and van Hensbergen 1996;Avenant 1997;O'Farrell et al 2008) The Sneeuberg Mountain Complex (SMC), situated between the Cape Fold Mountains and the Drakensberg Mountains, is part of the southern Great Escarpment (Clark et al 2009) and the small mammal communities that occur at high altitudes ([1,700 m) within the SMC have never been studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life on high: the diversity of small mammals at high altitude in South Africa

2012

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The Great Escarpment is the major mountain system in South Africa, yet very few biological surveys have been conducted outside of the well-known Drakensberg section. This is surprising given the important role that mountains play in local and global biodiversity patterns. In this study, small mammal diversity and community composition were estimated at three high altitude ([1,700 m) sites within the Sneeuberg Mountain Complex (SMC) of the Great Escarpment, South Africa from June 2009 to May 2010. The influences of selected environmental variables on diversity were also tested. Of 423 livecaptures, a total of 292 unique individuals of 12 small mammal species (one shrew, one elephant shrew and 10 rodents) were identified during 5,280 trap nights. No single environmental variable could account for the variation observed in diversity measurements but vegetation height appeared to be the most important factor to influence the number of individuals captured. It is hypothesised that the high species richness and diversity of small mammals observed in the SMC compared to other parts of the Great Escarpment is due to the SMC being located in a transition zone of the Grassland and Nama-Karoo biomes. Our results suggest that the SMC could be important in conserving small mammal species from western and eastern assemblages across South Africa.

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Section: Study Sitesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Life on high: the diversity of small mammals at high altitude in South Africa

2012

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“…Soils on hillslopes are discontinuous but extensive valley fills, up to 5 m thick, exist in valley bottoms. The vegetation of the Sneeuberg is a mixture of grassland and shrub and is described in detail by Clark et al (2009). Valley bottoms and valley side colluvium is often gullied to bedrock and, where badlands exist, A and often B horizons of soils have been stripped away.…”

Section: Study Area Materials and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The potential for gamma-emitting radionuclides to contribute to an understanding of erosion processes in South Africa

et al. 2017

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Abstract. Several research projects undertaken by the authors and others over the last 14 years have used fallout and geogenic radionuclides for understanding erosion processes and sediment yield dynamics in South Africa over the last 100-200 years as European settlers colonised the interior plains and plateaux of the country and imported new livestock and farming techniques to the region. These projects have used two fallout radionuclides ( 210 Pb and 137 Cs) to date sediments accumulating in reservoirs, farm dams, wetlands, alluvial fans and floodouts and have used other fallout nuclides ( 7 Be) and long-lived geogenic radionuclides (e.g. 40 K, 235 U) as part of a composite fingerprint exploring contemporary sediment sources and changes to sources through time. While successful in many parts of the world, applying these techniques in Southern Africa has posed a number of challenges often not encountered elsewhere. Here we explore some of the benefits and challenges in using gamma-emitting radionuclides, especially 137 Cs, in these landscapes. Benefits include the potential for discriminating gully sidewall from topsoil sources, which has helped to identify contemporary gully systems as sediment conduits, rather than sources, and for providing a time-synchronous marker horizon in a range of sedimentary environments that has helped to develop robust chronologies. Challenges include the spatial variability in soil cover on steep rocky hillslopes, which is likely to challenge assumptions about the uniformity of initial fallout nuclide distribution, the paucity of stable (non-eroding) sites in order to estimate atmospheric fallout inventories, and the limited success of 210 Pb dating in some rapidly accumulating high altitude catchments where sediments often comprise significant amounts of sand and gravel. Despite these challenges we present evidence suggesting that the use of gamma-emitting radionuclides can make a significant contribution to our understanding of erosion processes and sediment yield dynamics. Future research highlighted in the conclusion will try to address current challenges and outline new projects established to address them more fully.

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“…The Sneeuberg uplands form a distinctive landscape in the eastern Karoo of South Africa and are described by Clark et al (2009) as being surrounded by major river valleys and plains except in the northeast where the Suurberg provide a bridge to the Stormberg uplands ( (Johnson et al, 1996;Adams et al, 2001). Igneous intrusions are likely to be a remnant of the continental-scale Karoo Igneous Event (~183 Ma) which led to formation of intrusive dykes and sills (Riley et al, 2006).…”

Section: The Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term studies of land degradation in the Sneeuberg uplands, eastern Karoo, South Africa: A synthesis

et al. 2017

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For the past 15 yr, the Sneeuberg uplands in the eastern Karoo, South Africa, have been a focus for research on land degradation by the above authors and other colleagues. Earlier work in the Karoo emphasised vegetation change whereas we concentrate on physical changes to the landscape at the small catchment scale, e.g., bare, degraded areas (badlands) and gully (donga) systems. Analysis of sedimentation in farm dams allows for reconstruction of environmental histories using 210 Pb, 137 Cs, geochemical and mineral magnetic properties of the sediments. Erosion rates on badlands are monitored using arrays of erosion pins. A C C E P T E D M A N U S C R I P T ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT2 Sediment source tracing within small catchments points to the importance of hillslope sources and the relative erosional inactivity of gully systems.Sediment supply from hillslope and colluvial sources is maintained by high rates of weathering on mudstones and sandstones. Current degradation should be viewed in the context of a c. 200 yr history of overgrazing by European-style stock farming and limited areas of former cultivation in the valleys. Grazing pressures are now much reduced but the loss of soils and vegetation suggests that landscape recovery will require several decades.Additional drivers of past degradation are likely to have been periods of drought and fire (natural and managed) and a gradual increase in both rainfall intensity and the frequency of extreme rainfall events. The future of the degraded Sneeuberg landscape will depend on future farming practices. Desirable options include more sustainable livestock practices, adoption of wildlife farming and other more benign regimes involving mixes of agriculture, tourism, and wildlife protection together with landscape rehabilitation measures.

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The Sneeuberg: A new centre of floristic endemism on the Great Escarpment, South Africa

Cited by 65 publications

References 43 publications

Life on high: the diversity of small mammals at high altitude in South Africa

Life on high: the diversity of small mammals at high altitude in South Africa

The potential for gamma-emitting radionuclides to contribute to an understanding of erosion processes in South Africa

Long-term studies of land degradation in the Sneeuberg uplands, eastern Karoo, South Africa: A synthesis

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