Fire policy optimization to maximize suitable habitat for locally rare species under different climatic conditions: A case study of antelopes in the Kruger National Park

2015 ◽  
Vol 191 ◽  
pp. 313-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michela Pacifici ◽  
Piero Visconti ◽  
Edoardo Scepi ◽  
Anna Hausmann ◽  
Fabio Attorre ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rare Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Fire Policy ◽  
Policy Optimization

scholarly journals Notes on distribution and relative abundances of some animal species, and on climate in the Kruger National Park during prehistoric times

Koedoe ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ina Plug
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Archaeological Sites ◽  
Animal Population ◽  
Faunal Remains ◽  
The Past ◽  
Relative Abundances ◽  
Insight Into

Faunal remains obtained from archaeological sites in the Kruger National Park, provide valuable information on the distributions of animal species in the past. The relative abundances of some species are compared with animal population statistics of the present. The study of the faunal samples, which date from nearly 7 000 years before present until the nineteenth century, also provides insight into climatic conditions during prehistoric times.

Fire monitoring in savanna ecosystems using MODIS data: a case study of Kruger National Park, South Africa

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Chongo ◽  
Ryota Nagasawa ◽  
Ahmedou Ould Cherif Ahmed ◽  
Mst Farida Perveen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Fire Monitoring ◽  
Modis Data

scholarly journals Overview of the fire management policy of the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
H.C. Biggs ◽  
A.L.F. Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Fire Management ◽  
Major Change ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Management Policy ◽  
Fire Policy ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
The Impact

New developments in fire management policy in the Kruger National Park are sketched against the background of changing attitudes towards ecosystem management. The experimental burning plots established in the mid-1950s are discussed briefly, as is the almost forty-year era of rotational block- burning. The lightning-driven fire policy initiated in 1992 and currently aimed at by park management is discussed, with comments on its early performance. More recent revision of the management plan stressed maximisation of appropriate research benefits from the experimental burning plots, con- doned the lightning approach for the present, but stressed the absolute necessity of the park not finding itself in the 1992 position again, where a major change in policy has to be made with no comparative evidence from other systems. To this end, a major landscape-scale fire management trial has been planned for implementation starting in April 2000. It is sheduled to run over a twenty-year period, and will be placed at four localities representing different major landscapes in the park. It will compare the effects of three different fire systems (lightning, patch mosaic, and range condition burning systems) on biodiversity elements crucial to the park's mission. The rationale for, layout of, and criteria for deciding on the outcome of the trial are discussed, as well as the trade-offs that were made to enable the trial to be of such a large scale and still fit into overall park planning. The impact of the trial on the park's monitoring programme is discussed.

scholarly journals Experimental burn plot trial in the Kruger National Park: history, experimental design and suggestions for data analysis

Koedoe ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Biggs ◽  
H.C. Biggs ◽  
T.T. Dunne ◽  
N. Govender ◽  
A.L.F. Potgieter
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Experimental Design ◽  
National Park ◽  
Block Design ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Original Design ◽  
Fire Policy ◽  
Experimental Burn ◽  
Soil Variation ◽  
Archival Documentation

The experimental burn plot (EBP) trial initiated in 1954 is one of few ongoing long-termfire ecology research projects in Africa. The trial aims to assess the impacts of differentfire regimes in the Kruger National Park. Recent studies on the EBPs have raised questions as to the experimental design of the trial, and the appropriate model specificationwhen analysing data. Archival documentation reveals that the original design was modified on several occasions, related to changes in the park's fire policy. These modifications include the addition of extra plots, subdivision of plots and changes in treatmentsover time, and have resulted in a design which is only partially randomised. The representativity of the trial plots has been questioned on account of their relatively small size,the concentration of herbivores on especially the frequently burnt plots, and soil variation between plots. It is suggested that these factors be included as covariates inexplanatory models or that certain plots be excluded from data analysis based on resultsof independent studies of these factors. Suggestions are provided for the specificationof the experimental design when analysing data using Analysis of Variance. It is concluded that there is no practical alternative to treating the trial as a fully randomisedcomplete block design.

scholarly journals Challenges faced in the conservation of rare antelope: a case study on the northern basalt plains of the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
C.C. Grant ◽  
T. Davidson ◽  
P.J. Funston ◽  
D.J. Pienaar
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Grass Species ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Equus Burchelli ◽  
Initial Drop ◽  
Roan Antelope ◽  
Hippotragus Equinus ◽  
Management Approaches

The conservation of rare antelope has long been one of the goals of the Kruger National Park. The roan antelope Hippotragus equinus, and to a lesser extent the tsessebe Damaliscus lunatus, represent low-density species or rare antelope in the park. Specific management approaches representing the older equilibrium approach, have been employed to conserve these antelope. Of these, the supply of artificial water over many decades was the most resource intensive. The sudden, severe drop in the roan antelope population towards the end of the 1980s was unexpected and, retrospectively, attributed to the development of a high density of perennial waterpoints. The postulated mechanism was that the perennial presence of water allowed Burchell’s zebra Equus burchelli to stay permanently in an area that was previously only seasonally accessible. The combined effect of a long, dry climatic cycle, high numbers of zebra and their associated predators was proposed to be the cause of this decline. As part of the new nature evolving or ecosystem resilience approach, twelve artificial waterpoints were closed in the prime roan antelope habitat in 1994 in an attempt to move the zebra out of this area. The zebra numbers declined as the rainfall increased. Closure of waterholes clearly led to redistribution of zebra numbers on the northern plains, zebra tending to avoid areas within several kilometres of closed waterpoints. However, at a larger scale, regional densities appeared similar in areas with and without closed waterpoints. There was an initial drop in the lion numbers in 1995, after which they stabilised. In spite of an improvement in the grass species composition and an increase in biomass the roan antelope population did not increase. The complexity of maintaining a population at the edge of their distribution and the problems associated with the conservation of such populations are discussed in terms of management options and monitoring approaches that may be employed in this process.

scholarly journals Geographical analysis of six rare bird species in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 117-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Hurford ◽  
A. T. Lombard ◽  
A. C. Kemp ◽  
G. A. Benn
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Habitat Associations ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
The North ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Population Sizes ◽  
Data Book

SummaryTwenty-eight predominantly tropical bird species have ranges that only just extend into the north-eastern part of South Africa, mainly within the Kruger National Park (KNP). These species are listed as “rare” (200 breeding pairs) in the South African Red Data Book (Brooke 1984). This study assesses the extent to which six of these rare bird species represent viable populations in the KNP. Grid squares in the KNP (2.5 × 2.5 miles) were visually assessed according to several bird habitat parameters. Bird records were also plotted on this grid system and habitat associations were identified for each species. This allowed for the measurement of total suitable habitat within the KNP for each species. Bird densities within known habitat were determined using spot-mapping and fixed-distance strip-transect techniques. Estimated population sizes for each species were obtained by extrapolating density estimates to total suitable habitat. Of the six study species, Arnot's Chat, Rudd's Apalis, Wattle-eyed Flycatcher and Tropical Boubou are likely to occur in sufficient numbers to constitute viable populations within the KNP, with estimated population sizes of 1,394, 4/758/ 2,070 and 10,450 birds respectively. The populations of White-crowned Plover and Long-tailed Starling are probably too small to be viable in the long term, with estimated population sizes of 305 and 382 birds respectively. The results presented here are testable and can be used as a baseline for future monitoring.

scholarly journals Effects of the number of people on efficient capture and sample collection: A lion case study

2013 ◽  
Vol 84 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam M. Ferreira ◽  
Nkabeng T. Maruping ◽  
Darius Schoultz ◽  
Travis R. Smit
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Sampling Site ◽  
Response Rates ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Research Projects ◽  
Sample Collection ◽  
Capture Site ◽  
Successful Capture

Certain carnivore research projects and approaches depend on successful capture of individuals of interest. The number of people present at a capture site may determine success of a capture. In this study 36 lion capture cases in the Kruger National Park were used to evaluate whether the number of people present at a capture site influenced lion response rates and whether the number of people at a sampling site influenced the time it took to process the collected samples. The analyses suggest that when nine or fewer people were present, lions appeared faster at a call-up locality compared with when there were more than nine people. The number of people, however, did not influence the time it took to process the lions. It is proposed that efficient lion capturing should spatially separate capture and processing sites and minimise the number of people at a capture site.

scholarly journals Range Expansion of the Yellowbilled Oxpecker Buphagus africanus into the Kruger National Park, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
1987 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Hall-Martin
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Range Expansion ◽  
National Park ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Circumstantial Evidence ◽  
Suitable Habitat ◽  
Long Period ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Final Confirmation

The Yellowbilled Oxpecker, long believed extinct as a breeding species in the Republic of South Africa has been recorded regularly in the Kruger National Park since 1979. The first definite indication of breeding was recorded in January 1984, and final confirmation of breeding was observed in December 1985. The recovery of the ungulate populations of the park, in particular buffalo, from overhunting and rinderpest during the long period of absolute protection stretching from 1902, has ensured a suitable habitat for the immigrant Yellowbilled Oxpeckers. Circumstantial evidence indicates that the birds have colonised in the park from the population of the Gonarezhou National Park in south-eastern Zimbabwe. The movement of the birds across the 50 km Sengwe area separating the two parks is explained by the cessation of cattle dipping and the movement of buffalo out of Gonarezhou from 1977 onwards. These events were a direct consequence of the hostilities in Zimbabwe at that time.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document