scholarly journals The vegetation and floristics of the Nkhuhlu Exclosures, Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Siebert ◽  
Holger C. Eckhardt
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
National Park ◽  
Riparian Zone ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Temporal Heterogeneity ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Heterogeneity ◽  
Floristic Patterns ◽  
The Impact

The need to conduct research on the impact of elephant on the environment prompted the construction of exclosures along two of the most important rivers in the Kruger National Park. Scientific research on these exclosures along the Sabie and Letaba rivers addresses how patterns of spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the riparian zone are affected by fire, flood and herbivory. To further assist this research programme, a vegetation survey was conducted at the Nkhuhlu exclosure site along the Sabie River to classify and map the vegetation of the area. This will provide baseline data to assess future changes in vegetation and floristic patterns due to small-scale environmental factors created by the presence/absence of herbivory and fire. Phytosociological data were analysed to identify plant communities and subsequent mapping units. Five plant communities, ten sub-communities and four variants were recognised and described in relation to prevailing soil forms. Differences in species richness, diversity and community structure of the plant communities are clearly articulated.

scholarly journals The vegetation and floristics of the Letaba exclosures, Kruger National Park, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Siebert ◽  
Holger C. Eckhardt ◽  
Stefan J. Siebert
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
National Park ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Vegetation Mapping ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Monitoring Site ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Heterogeneity ◽  
Vegetation Surveys ◽  
Soil Moisture Availability

The construction of exclosures along two of the most important rivers in the Kruger National Park was done to investigate how patterns of spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the riparian zone is affected by fire, flood and herbivory. To assist this research programme, vegetation surveys were conducted within exclosures along the Letaba River to classify and map the vegetation of the area. The history and experimental design of the Letaba exclosures are similar to that of the Nkhuhlu exclosures along the Sabie River, which is directly related to questions surrounding elephant management. The main difference between the Nkhuhlu and Letaba exclosures is local heterogeneity, since the latter lies within the Mopaneveld, which is floristically and physiognomically much more homogenous than the vegetation of the southern Kruger National Park. Nevertheless, four plant communities, eight sub-communities and six variants were recognised and mapped for the Letaba exclosures. The vegetation description was done in relation to prevailing soil forms, differences in species richness, diversity and community structure, and therefore should serve as a basis for further detailed and broad-based botanical studies. Vegetation mapping was done to sub-community level and, where possible, to variant level. As expected in Mopaneveld vegetation, the plant communities could broadly be related to soil types, although smaller-scale variations correspond to soil moisture availability because the Mopaneveld is considered ‘event-driven’, especially in the herbaceous layer.Conservation implications: Floristic surveying and vegetation mapping of a long-term monitoring site, such as the Letaba exclosures, is seen as a baseline inventory to assist natural resource management. Linking mapping units to biodiversity strengthens the understanding needed to maintain biodiversity in all its natural facets and fluxes.

scholarly journals Plant communities and landscapes of the Parque Nacional do Limpopo, Moçambique

Koedoe ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Stalmans ◽  
W.P.D. Gertenbach ◽  
Filipa Carvalho-Serfontein
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
National Park ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Vegetation Map ◽  
Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park ◽  
Eastern Boundary

The Parque Nacional do Limpopo (PNL) was proclaimed during 2002. It covers 1 000 000 ha in Moçambique on the eastern boundary of the Kruger National Park (KNP) and forms one of the major components of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park. A vegetation map was required as one of the essential building blocks for the drafting of its management plan (Grossman & Holden 2002).

Mitigating the Impact of Large Mammals on Wooden Electrical Distribution Poles in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 023006
Author(s):  
Samantha K. Page-Nicholson ◽  
Gareth Tate ◽  
Constant Hoogstad ◽  
Megan Murison ◽  
Megan Diamond ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Park ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Large Mammals ◽  
Electrical Distribution ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The impact of the provision of water for game on the woody vegetation around a dam in the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Thrash ◽  
P.J. Nel ◽  
G.K. Theron ◽  
J. Du P. Bothma
Keyword(s):  
Relative Density ◽  
Woody Plants ◽  
National Park ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
Colophospermum Mopane ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Combretum Apiculatum

Quantitative inventory surveys were done on the woody vegetation in permanently marked plots at distance intervals from the Wik-en-Weeg Dam, Kruger National Park, in 1973. The surveys were repeated in 1990 so that changes in the community composition, the density and the canopy cover and the survival of the woody vegetation could be determined in relation to distance from the dam. Relationships with distance from the dam were shown for the relative density ofCombretumapiculatum in all height classes, the relative canopy cover of the second height class of woody plants, the relative canopy cover of C. apiculatum plants, the survival of all height classes of woody plants and the survival of C. apiculatum and Colophospermum mopane plants. It was concluded that the provision of water for game at the Wik-en-Weeg Dam had an impact on the woody vegetation in the vicinity. The relationships of parameters of the two dominant species, Combretum apiculatum and Colophospermum mopane, with distance from the dam were compared. Combretum apiculatum parameters were more sensitive to impact associated with the dam than those of Colophospermum mopane.

Soil clay content and fire frequency affect clustering in trees in South African savannas

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 269-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Groen ◽  
Frank van Langevelde ◽  
Claudius A.D.M. van de Vijver ◽  
Navashni Govender ◽  
Herbert H.T. Prins
Keyword(s):  
South African ◽  
Tree Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Clay Content ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Fire Frequency ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Soil Clay Content ◽  
The Impact

Abstract:In this paper, we investigate which factors determine tree clustering in Southern African savannas. This was tested by measuring clustering of trees using the T-squared sampling method in plots of the Kruger National Park experimental burning programme in South Africa. Fire return interval is the main treatment in these plots, but also several auxiliary determining parameters like clay content in the soil, diameter of tree canopies, understorey composition, tree species diversity and average annual rainfall were measured while sampling. In the Kruger National Park 48 plots distributed over four different landscape types and with three different burning treatments (never, once every 3 y and annually) were sampled. First, we related the clustering of trees to these environmental variables. When looking at the most abundant species in each plot, the analysis revealed that clustering is mainly correlated with clay content in the soil. This analysis also showed that fire frequency had a positive effect on the clustering of tree species that are not very abundant. We suggest that less abundant species might be less resistant to fire and therefore adopt a mechanism of clustering to exclude grass fires under their canopy. Finally, we tested the effect of clustering on the impact of fire on trees by analysing the relationship between the distance of a tree to its nearest neighbour and its canopy diameter. We found that clustering reduces the damaging effect of fire on trees. Our study contributes to understanding of savanna functioning by showing which processes are relevant in the distribution of savanna trees.

Designing a research programme to promote river basin management

1995 ◽  
Vol 32 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 103-109
Author(s):  
C. M. Breen ◽  
H. Biggs ◽  
M. C. Dent ◽  
A. Görgens ◽  
J. O'Keeffe ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
River Basin Management ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Preliminary Evaluation ◽  
Ecological Research ◽  
Basin Management ◽  
Resource Managers ◽  
Research Programmes ◽  
One Year

Growing perceptions that ecological research is failing to meet the needs of resource managers has prompted a review of the structure and management of research programmes. In this paper we identify principles, frameworks and approaches to guide the restructuring of research programmes. Their application is discussed in relation to the restructured research programme on the rivers flowing through the Kruger National Park. A preliminary evaluation after one year of operation of this programme indicated beneficial changes in research and in stakeholder and client attitudes to research.

scholarly journals Spatial and Temporal Heterogeneity of Vegetation Properties among Four Tundra Plant Communities at Ivotuk, Alaska, U.S.A

2005 ◽  
Vol 37 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian M. Riedel ◽  
Howard E. Epstein ◽  
Donald A. Walker ◽  
David L. Richardson ◽  
Monika P. Calef ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Communities ◽  
Temporal Heterogeneity ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Heterogeneity

scholarly journals History, rationale, and lessons learned: Thresholds of potential concern in Kruger National Park river adaptive management

Koedoe ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 53 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig A. McLoughlin ◽  
Andrew Deacon ◽  
Hendrik Sithole ◽  
Thomas Gyedu-Ababio
Keyword(s):  
Adaptive Management ◽  
National Park ◽  
River Flow ◽  
Research Programme ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Management Options ◽  
Conservation Implications ◽  
New Thinking ◽  
Learning And Adaptation

The Kruger National Park’s (KNP) adopted system of management, called Strategic Adaptive Management (SAM), originated during the Kruger National Park Rivers Research Programme (KNPRRP) of the 1990s. An important concept in SAM is the thresholds of potential concern (TPCs), representing end-points in a continuum of change. TPCs within the KNP SAM system guide management if or when reached, ‘red-flagging’ possible negative biodiversity impacts and catalysing consideration of management options. TPC-related monitoring generates the strategic information for ongoing evaluation, learning and adaptation within SAM. Post- KNPRRP, although river flow and water quality TPCs have been implemented partly, those designed to detect undesirable changes in biodiversity have not been implemented, until recently. This paper describes the history, rationale, application and ongoing developments associated with the KNP river TPCs over the last decade, providing some key lessons for organisations utilising SAM. The paper concludes with an overview of new thinking and future directions envisaged for the KNP river TPCs, as part of the KNP SAM system. Conservation implications: This paper documents important concepts of strategic adaptive management associated with the KNP river systems. Understanding, related to the rationale and justification for use and development or refinement of the thresholds of potential concern, lays an important foundation for ongoing work in managing these rivers adaptively.

scholarly journals Suspended silt concentrations in the lower Olifants River (Mpumalanga) and the impact of silt releases from the Phalaborwa Barrage on water quality and fish survival

Koedoe ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Buermann ◽  
H.H. Du Preez ◽  
G.J. Steyn ◽  
J.T. Harmse ◽  
A. Deacon
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
National Park ◽  
Management Strategy ◽  
Kruger National Park ◽  
Physico Chemical ◽  
Concentration Changes ◽  
Olifants River ◽  
Fish Survival ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Chemical Water

Silt loads in the Olifants and Sabie river systems inside the Kruger National Park, were monitored by collecting water samples every consecutive week for a period of 20 months. The variation in silt concentration, changes in selected physico-chemical water quality variables and fish mortalities during flushing (i.e. release of silt, by sluicing) of the Phalaborwa Barrage, were also monitored. The Olifants River inside the Kruger National Park carried high silt loads in summer; in the dry season the suspensoid load was greatly reduced. A similar pattern was observed in the Sabie River, but the silt loads were generally lower. It was apparent that silt loads released from the Phalaborwa Barrage led to large variations in the natural silt loads of the Olifants River. These increased amounts of silt (25 000 mg/1 to >70 000 mg/1) caused drastic reductions in the dissolved oxygen concentration of the water, ranging from >6 mg/1 to 0 mg/1. Depending on the severity and duration of the flushing, fish succumb to such silt loads. These findings, as well as published information, indicate that the management strategy of flushing to improve storage capacity is ecological unacceptable. It is therefore suggested that the use of the Phalaborwa Barrage as a future reservoir should be critically re-evaluated.

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