scholarly journals A pedogeomorphic comparison of two granitic areas in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M.C. Munnik
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Parent Material ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Erosion And Deposition ◽  
The Creation

Two climatically different areas on granitic materials near Phalaborwa and Pretoriuskop in the Kruger National Park were pedogeomorphologically compared and the influence of climatic factors on soil and hillslope development in the two areas was assessed. The examination of 18 hillslopes and their soils showed that while the two areas have many broad similarities, there are specific soil and hillslope differences between them with the result that each area has its own distinctive pedogeomorphic character. While comparable parent material, situation and age appear to be responsible for similarities between the areas, the differences could in most cases be accounted for by the disparity in rainfall between the two areas. It was, however, also necessary to note the role of past (and possibly current) cycles of erosion and deposition in the creation of the two types of simple hillslopes occurring in the areas.

Stem mortality of Acacia nigrescens induced by the synergistic effects of elephants and fire in Kruger National Park, South Africa

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 655-662 ◽  
Author(s):  
Glenn R. Moncrieff ◽  
Laurence M. Kruger ◽  
Jeremy J. Midgley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Synergistic Effects ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Natural Fires ◽  
Large Trees ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Stem Mortality

Abstract:One manner in which elephants utilize trees is by removing their bark. This type of utilization is concentrated on the largest trees in the landscape. The role of bark removal in increasing the vulnerability of large trees to fire and the mechanism through which fire damage is mediated were investigated in Kruger National Park, South Africa, by experimentally removing bark and burning Acacia nigrescens stems with diameters ranging between 30 and 68 mm. Also, field surveys were conducted subsequent to natural fires in order to investigate mortality patterns of large trees with dbh greater than 15 cm with bark removed by elephants. An increasing probability of mortality was associated with increasing amounts of bark removal but only if trees were burned. When trees had bark removed but were not burnt, simulating damage only to cambium and phloem, none of the 12 treated stems died in the 4-mo period over which the experiment ran. Moreover, low levels of cambium damage were detected in large burned stems. This suggests that bark removal increases fire-induced xylem damage and that this damage contributes towards stem mortality. In a survey of 437 large trees, bark removal by elephants was frequent on large stems (44%) and larger trees have greater amounts of bark removed. Post-fire mortality of large trees was significantly associated with increasing bark removal and stem diameter. These results indicate that bark removal by elephants increases the vulnerability of stems to fire, resulting in mortality of large stems otherwise protected from fire.

scholarly journals Soil Patterns Associated with the Major Geological Units of the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
F.J. Venter
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Parent Material ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Soil Types ◽  
Strong Correlations ◽  
Dominant Soil ◽  
Geological Units

The dominant soil types of the Kruger National Park and their interrelationships with parent material, topography and climate are discussed. The geogenetic and topogenetic nature of the soils are manifested in the strong correlations between recurrent soil patterns, major geological units and terrain morphology. The soils are categorised into seven major classes on the basis of the parent material from which they developed. General soil patterns within the major classes are discussed.

scholarly journals Herbivores shape woody plant communities in the Kruger National Park: Lessons from three long-term exclosures

Koedoe ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin J. Wigley ◽  
Herve Fritz ◽  
Corli Coetsee ◽  
William J. Bond
Keyword(s):  
Soil Fertility ◽  
Soil Nutrients ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
National Park ◽  
Woody Plant ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Total Phenolic ◽  
Population Structures

The role of grazers in determining vegetation community compositions and structuring plant communities is well recognised in grassy systems. The role of browsers in affecting savanna woody plant communities is less clear. We used three long-term exclosures in the Kruger National Park to determine the effect of browsers on species compositions and population structures of woody communities. Species assemblages, plant traits relating to browsing and soil nutrients were compared inside and outside of the exclosures. Our results showed that browsers directly impact plant species distributions, densities and population structures by actively selecting for species with traits which make them desirable to browsers. Species with high leaf nitrogen, low total phenolic content and low acid detergent lignin appeared to be favoured by herbivores and therefore tend to be rare outside of the exclosures. This study also suggested that browsers have important indirect effects on savanna functioning, as the reduction of woody cover can result in less litter of lower quality, which in turn can result in lower soil fertility. However, the magnitude of browser effects appeared to depend on inherent soil fertility and climate.Conservation implications: Browsers were shown to have significant impacts on plant communities. They have noticeable effects on local species diversity and population structure, as well as soil nutrients. These impacts are shown to be related to the underlying geology and climate. The effects of browsers on woody communities were shown to be greater in low rainfall, fertile areas compared to high rainfall, infertile soils.

scholarly journals Blowflies as vectors of Bacillus anthracis in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizanne Basson ◽  
Ayesha Hassim ◽  
At Dekker ◽  
Allison Gilbert ◽  
Wolfgang Beyer ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bacillus Anthracis ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Selective Media ◽  
Chrysomya Albiceps ◽  
Sheep Blood ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
Bacillus Anthracis Spores

Anthrax, caused by Bacillus anthracis, is endemic in the Kruger National Park (KNP). The epidemiology of B. anthracis is dependent on various factors including vectors.The aims of this study were to examine non-biting blowflies for the presence of B. anthracis externally and internally after feeding on an anthrax-infected carcass and to determine the role of flies in disseminating B. anthracis onto the surrounding vegetation.During an anthrax outbreak in 2014 in the endemic Pafuri region, blowflies associated with two 2–3-day-old anthrax-positive carcasses (kudu and impala) as well as surrounding vegetation were collected and investigated for the presence of B. anthracis spores.The non-biting blowflies (n = 57) caught included Chrysomya albiceps, Ch. marginalis and Lucilia spp. Bacillus anthracis spores were isolated from 65.5% and 25.0% of blowflies collected from the kudu and impala carcasses, respectively.Chrysomya albiceps and Ch. marginalis have the potential to disseminate B. anthracis to vegetation from infected carcasses and may play a role in the epidemiology of anthrax in the KNP. No B. anthracis spores were initially isolated from leaves of the surrounding vegetation using selective media. However, 170 and 500 spores were subsequently isolated from Abutilon angulatum and Acacia sp. leaves, respectively, when using sheep blood agar.Conservation implications: The results obtained in this study have no direct conservation implications and only assist in the understanding of the spread of the disease.

scholarly journals Timescales of C turnover in soils with mixed crystalline mineralogies, Kruger National Park, South Africa

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lesego Khomo ◽  
Susan Trumbore ◽  
Carleton R. Bern ◽  
Oliver A. Chadwick
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
National Park ◽  
Large Fraction ◽  
Turnover Time ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Surface Soils ◽  
Organic C ◽  
Soil C

Abstract. Organic matter-mineral associations stabilize much of the carbon stored globally in soils. Metastable short-range-order (SRO) minerals such as allophane and ferrihydrite provide one mechanism for long-term stabilization of organic matter in soil. However, ancient and highly weathered soils that cover a large fraction of land area lack SRO minerals. Here we evaluate the role of different minerals on the amount and turnover time (TT) of carbon in a field setting designed to minimize the role of SRO by taking advantage of multiple lithologies in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Density separation demonstrated that most of the C was associated with minerals, even in surface soils. A parallel separation of clay-sized material demonstrated that 9–47 % of the organic C in these soils was stabilized by clays. Organic C associated with clay-sized material had average TT of 1020 ± 460 years in surface soils. The mean TT of this clay-associated C increased with depth and with fraction of total clay that was smectite. Because the C associated with smectite clay was so old, the amount of smectite (2 : 1 clays) controlled the age of bulk soil C across Kruger landscapes. The TT of the majority of soil C – not stabilized by clays – was much shorter, 190 ± 190 years in surface horizons. We suggest that this faster component reflects timescales of weaker C stabilization by crystalline Fe and Al oxyhydr)oxides and kaolinite (1 : 1) clays, as well as LF fractions not associated with minerals. Thus, bulk or HF carbon integrates C stabilized by mechanisms with inherently different TT, something that is often inferred from radiocarbon measurements. While SRO mineral concentrations were very low in these soils, the soils with most SRO had very high C content but also very young C. In other environments, SRO can be very stable and sorb C on very long timescales. We hypothesize that the seasonal wetting and drying in the KNP may reduce the age of SRO minerals as well as the C associated with them. Across the varying lithologies and a precipitation gradient found in the KNP, we found mineralogy to be the most important explanatory factor for C content (related to crystalline Fe) and turnover time (related to the amount of smectite).

scholarly journals Abstracts of papers from the Rhinoceros Conservation Workshop, Skukuza, Kruger National Park,31 August – 4 September 1988

Koedoe ◽  
1989 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Editorial Office
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Illegal Trade ◽  
Black Rhinoceros ◽  
Diceros Bicornis ◽  
Conservation Plan ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Vital Factor

The following abstracts is included: 1.) Finances: the vital factor in rhinoceros conservation 2.) Towards a black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis translocation strategy to meet the aims of the conservation plan for the species in South Africa and the TBVC states 3.) Status, history and performance of black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis populations in South Africa, the TBVS states and Namibia 4.) Distribution and monitoring of black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis populations in Zimbabwe 5.) Census and marking systems for black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis with special reference to Zulu- land game reserves 6.) The Auxiliary Game Guard System in northwestern Namibia and its role in black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis conservation 7.) Black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis capture and translocation techniques as used in Etosha National Park 8.) The role of non-governmental organisations in black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis conservation in Africa 9.) Development of an intelligence/information network to counter poaching and the illegal trade in trophies

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