scholarly journals Primary grassland communities of urban open spaces in Gauteng, South Africa

2006 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.H. Grobler ◽  
G.J. Bredenkamp ◽  
L.R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Grassland Communities

scholarly journals Grassland communities of urban open spaces in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mamokete N.V. Dingaan ◽  
Pieter J. Du Preez
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Vegetation ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Proper Management ◽  
Species Analysis ◽  
Twinspan Classification ◽  
Natural Forms ◽  
Grassland Biome ◽  
Grassland Communities

Natural vegetation in urban environments is greatly impacted by human activities and it is in constant threat of degradation and destruction as a result of urbanisation. This vegetation, although fragmented, serves an important ecological function and needs to be properly managed and conserved. Studies on urban vegetation are lacking in South Africa, with only a handful having been carried out since the end of the last century. This study was initiated to identify, classify and describe the grassland communities of the urban open spaces in Bloemfontein. Relevés were compiled in 61 sample plots, where species present and habitat information were recorded. Care was taken to restrict sample plots to vegetation in pristine condition, wherever possible, and severely degraded stands were avoided. A two-way indicator species analysis (TWINSPAN) classification, refined by Braun-Blanquet procedures, revealed two distinct major communities, seven communities and four sub-communities. Both detrended and canonical correspondence analyses indicated the vegetation units to be associated with soil texture and pH, although biotic factors such as overgrazing, burning and mowing also influence the composition of the vegetation. The proper management and conservation of urban open spaces requires in-depth knowledge of the spatial distribution, floristic, structural and functional compositions within the major vegetation types in this environment. The present study further contributed towards formulating ways for the proper management, utilisation and functioning of the open spaces within the Bloemfontein area.Conservation implications: The Grassland Biome of South Africa is poorly conserved, mainly because of its status as an agricultural hub of the country. The preservation of natural and semi-natural forms of urban vegetation is important because such vegetation, although often disturbed and degraded, could form dispersal corridors between peri-urban and rural vegetation.

scholarly journals Prey manipulation in a grassland community at an inland airport in South Africa

2002 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 129-139
Author(s):  
A. C. Kok ◽  
O. B. Kok
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Control Strategy ◽  
Food Source ◽  
Terrestrial Invertebrates ◽  
Grassland Community ◽  
Grassland Communities

Terrestrial invertebrates and very small vertebrates were collected using pitfall and mouse traps in undisturbed long grass and grass which were kept permanently short over a period of 15 months (March 1994 – May 1995) at the Bloemfontein airport. Numerically insects contributed more than 90% of the overall sample. Twice as many individuals occurred in short grass compared to those in the long grass. The available food source for predominantly insectivorous avifauna at inland airports can thus be effectively reduced (indirectly also bird numbers) by implementing a so-called long grass policy as a control strategy. A significant and sustainable decrease in harvester termite numbers and activities was accomplished by administering bait treated with Gaucho in disturbed grass areas. As an important component in the diet of birds in grassland communities, bird numbers, and hopefully also bird aircraft strikes, can thus be reduced.

scholarly journals Avifauna in grassland communities at some inland airports in South Africa.

2002 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 140-148 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Kok ◽  
O. B. Kok
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Species Composition ◽  
Food Availability ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Similar Species ◽  
Grassland Communities

Over a period of eleven years (January 1985 – December 1995) approximately 5 000 individuals representing 51 bird species which, potentially, posed a threat to aviation were collected at the Bloemfontein airport. More than half of the species concerned can be considered as medium sized terrestrial birds of which the crowned plover (Vanellus coronatus) is by far the most important. A similar species composition occurred at the Kimberley airport, in contrast to the greater percentage of water associated birds at the Johannesburg airport. Indirectly, food availability appears to be one of the main environmental factors involved in the presence of the five dominant bird species at the Bloemfontein airport.

scholarly journals The grassland communities of the midslopes in the northern Orange Free State, South Africa

1993 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 478-484 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.R. Fuls ◽  
G.J. Bredenkamp ◽  
N. van Rooyen
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Free State ◽  
Grassland Communities

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

Koedoe ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 45 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
C.H. Grobler ◽  
G.J. Bredenkamp ◽  
L.R. Brown
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Species Richness ◽  
Random Sample ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Plant Species Richness ◽  
Open Spaces ◽  
Physical Representation ◽  
Twinspan Classification ◽  
Woodland Communities

It is estimated that approximately 60 % of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2025. In Gauteng, the most densely populated province in South Africa, the natural open spaces are continually under threat from development. Vegetation is the most physical representation of the environment on which all animals are ultimately dependent. In order to evaluate an areas potential for development or conservation it is necessary to make a thorough inventory of the plant communities and their associated habitats. A survey of the natural woodlands was undertaken as part of a project describing the vegetation of the natural open spaces within the Gauteng region. Relevés were compiled in 73 stratified random sample plots in selected open spaces within the study area. A TWINSPAN classification, refined by Braun-Blanquet procedures, indicated six woodland communities that can be grouped into two major woodland communities. A classification and description of these communities as well as their species richness are presented. The results indicate that there are still patches of well-preserved natural vegetation within the study area and contribute to the limited knowledge that presently exists for the vegetation of the area.

Time and Latitude in South Africa

1972 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 27-38
Author(s):  
J. Hers
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cape Town ◽  
Astronomical Observations ◽  
Royal Observatory ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Astronomical Determination ◽  
Limited Accuracy ◽  
Better Than

In South Africa the modern outlook towards time may be said to have started in 1948. Both the two major observatories, The Royal Observatory in Cape Town and the Union Observatory (now known as the Republic Observatory) in Johannesburg had, of course, been involved in the astronomical determination of time almost from their inception, and the Johannesburg Observatory has been responsible for the official time of South Africa since 1908. However the pendulum clocks then in use could not be relied on to provide an accuracy better than about 1/10 second, which was of the same order as that of the astronomical observations. It is doubtful if much use was made of even this limited accuracy outside the two observatories, and although there may – occasionally have been a demand for more accurate time, it was certainly not voiced.

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