scholarly journals A checklist of epigaeic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Marakele National Park, Limpopo, South Africa

Koedoe ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin S. Schoeman ◽  
Stefan H. Foord
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Alpha Diversity ◽  
Abundant Species ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Large Herbivores ◽  
Invertebrate Conservation ◽  
Invertebrate Diversity ◽  
The Impact

Ant surveys are extensively used to guide conservation decisions and form part of a ‘shopping basket’ of invertebrate taxa proposed for the use in monitoring programmes in South Africa’s national parks. However, very few ant inventories exist for these conservation areas. We report on the first quantitative survey of ants in the Marakele National Park (67 000 ha). Ants were sampled in four habitats, covering both the altitudinal range (1000 m a.s.l. – 2000 m a.s.l.) and three vegetation types in the park. A total of 4847 specimens, representing 29 genera and 104 species, were recorded from pitfall traps over a five-day period. Myrmicinae was the most abundant and diverse subfamily, representing 82% of all ants sampled, followed by the Formicinae subfamily, which represented 18% of the total abundance. The most abundant species were members of the Pheidole megacephala group, Pheidole sculpturata Mayr and members of the Monomorium salomonis group. In general, we found that the less complex habitats supported higher ant diversity. The Marakele National Park contains a quarter of the ant species recorded in South Africa and is a potential hotspot for invertebrate conservation. Conservation implications: The Marakele National Park represents an area of high ant – and therefore invertebrate – diversity. Ant conservation would require attention to each of the vegetation types to maintain complementarity (beta diversity) of the assemblages as well as consideration to the impact of large herbivores, whose presence positively influence ant richness at a site (alpha diversity).

scholarly journals The socio-economic impact of the Karoo National Park

Koedoe ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melville Saayman ◽  
Andrea Saayman ◽  
Madelien Ferreira
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Impact ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Local Economy ◽  
Business Survey ◽  
Socio Economic Impact ◽  
Tourist Survey ◽  
The Impact

National parks in South Africa are seen as major tourism assets due to the wildlife and various activities for international and local visitors. Little is known of the socio-economic contribution of these parks to their respective local economies. The purpose of this research was to determine the socio-economic impact of the Karoo National Park (Karoo NP) in South Africa, especially the economic impact of the Karoo NP on the local economy, the impact of tourism business development in the Karoo district, and how the park affects the community. Three surveys were used to determine the socio-economic impact: a community survey, a business survey and a tourist survey. The results show that the park has an impact in terms of production, income generation and employment in the area, but this impact is not as significant as that of other national parks in South Africa. A small percentage (4%) of businesses in Beaufort West owe their existence to the Karoo NP, but most rely on tourist spending. For the park to have a greater impact, it is imperative to increase accommodation capacity, offer more activities and promote activities and attractions in the region.Conservation implication: The importance of this article lies in the economic value that conservation management generates as well as identifying the benefits that communities derive from the existence of a national park. It also supports the notion that conservation entails more than just conserving fauna and flora and highlights the interdependence of conservation, tourism and community participation.

scholarly journals Browser impacts in Mapungubwe National Park, South Africa: Should we be worried?

Koedoe ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Corli Coetsee ◽  
Benjamin J. Wigley
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Species Diversity ◽  
National Park ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Medium Term ◽  
Management Interventions ◽  
Rocky Outcrops ◽  
The Impact

This study explores the impact of browsers on vegetation types within the Mapungubwe National Park and specifically whether rocky outcrops or ridges in the park serve as refugia from browsers, particularly elephants. We sampled 80 transects at 20 sites and recorded 1740 plants comprising 65 species. We found that a high proportion (> 80%) of the woody vegetation sampled indicated browser utilisation. Although certain woody species (e.g. Albizia harveyi, Boscia albitrunca, Lannea schweinfurthii) appeared to be preferred by browsers, browsing levels were relatively high among all woody species. High levels of browsing by herbivores other than elephants suggest that they have a significant impact on the park’s vegetation. We did not find that rocky ridges acted as refugia to browsers, but instead found that vegetation in rocky ridges was more severely impacted by browsers than vegetation in flat areas, despite vegetation being more accessible in flat areas. If elephant numbers continue to increase at the current rate (e.g. elephant numbers doubled between 2007 and 2010), we predict that some of the heavily utilised species will become locally rare over time.Conservation implications: High levels of browsing by both elephant and smaller herbivores contribute to significant impacts on vegetation away from rivers in Mapungubwe National Park. Without management interventions that address both types of impact, structural and species diversity are bound to decrease over the short to medium term.

scholarly journals Vegetation change (1988–2010) in Camdeboo National Park (South Africa), using fixed-point photo monitoring: The role of herbivory and climate

Koedoe ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mmoto L. Masubelele ◽  
Michael T. Hoffman ◽  
William Bond ◽  
Peter Burdett
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Fixed Point ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
National Park ◽  
Vegetation Change ◽  
Growth Form ◽  
Annual Rainfall ◽  
Management Interventions

Fixed-point photo monitoring supplemented by animal census data and climate monitoring potential has never been explored as a long-term monitoring tool for studying vegetation change in the arid and semi-arid national parks of South Africa. The long-term (1988–2010), fixed-point monitoring dataset developed for the Camdeboo National Park, therefore, provides an important opportunity to do this. Using a quantitative estimate of the change in vegetation and growth form cover in 1152 fixed-point photographs, as well as series of step-point vegetation surveys at each photo monitoring site, this study documented the extent of vegetation change in the park in response to key climate drivers, such as rainfall, as well as land use drivers such as herbivory by indigenous ungulates. We demonstrated the varied response of vegetation cover within three main growth forms (grasses, dwarf shrubs [< 1 m] and tall shrubs [> 1 m]) in three different vegetation units and landforms (slopes, plains, rivers) within the Camdeboo National Park since 1988. Sites within Albany Thicket and Dwarf Shrublands showed the least change in vegetation cover, whilst Azonal vegetation and Grassy Dwarf Shrublands were more dynamic. Abiotic factors such as drought and flooding, total annual rainfall and rainfall seasonality appeared to have the greatest influence on growth form cover as assessed from the fixed-point photographs. Herbivory appeared not to have had a noticeable impact on the vegetation of the Camdeboo National Park as far as could be determined from the rather coarse approach used in this analysis and herbivore densities remained relatively low over the study duration.Conservation implications: We provided an historical assessment of the pattern of vegetation and climatic trends that can help evaluate many of South African National Parks’ biodiversity monitoring programmes, especially relating to habitat change. It will help arid parks in assessing the trajectories of vegetation in response to herbivory, climate and management interventions.

scholarly journals Monitoring Selected Species of Mammals in Grand Teton National Park in 2001

2001 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 82-87
Author(s):  
Brian Miller ◽  
Hank Harlow
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Vegetation Type ◽  
Vegetation Types ◽  
Population Composition ◽  
Grand Teton National Park ◽  
Needed Information ◽  
Mammal Distribution ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Term Monitoring

Our objective is to establish a long-term monitoring project that will assess the abundance and densities of selected species of mammals at sites representing five defined vegetation types found in Grand Teton National Park. The term monitoring implies data collection over multiple years. Taking long term estimations of population composition before, during, and after biotic and abiotic changes provides needed information to assess the impacts of such changes and furnish useful options for management decisions. This standardized monitoring plan will provide information on small and medium-sized mammals that will (1) assess species use of habitat, (2) monitor changes in species composition as a result of environmental change, such as precipitation and temperature, (3) produce predictive models of small and medium-sized mammal distribution based on vegetation type, and (4) analyze the impact of wolf colonization on the mammal (and plant) community.

The Impact of Concessioners on Sustainability in and around U.S. National Parks: A Case Study of Grand Teton National Park Concessioners

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Qwynne Lackey ◽  
Kelly Bricker
Keyword(s):  
Social Exchange ◽  
National Parks ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
National Park ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Private Industry ◽  
Grand Teton National Park ◽  
The Impact

Concessioners play an important role in park and protected area management by providing visitor services. Historically, concessioners were criticized for their negative impacts on environmental sustainability. However, due to policy changes, technological advances, and shifting market demands, there is a need to reevaluate the role of concessioners in sustainable destination management in and around parks and protected areas. The purpose of this qualitative case study situated in Grand Teton National Park (GTNP), which was guided by social exchange theory, was to explore U.S. national park concessioners’ influence on sustainable development at the destination level from the perspective of National Park Service (NPS) staff, concessioners, and local community members. Sustainability was examined holistically as a multifaceted construct with integrated socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental dimensions. Twenty-three participants completed semistructured interviews. Researchers identified four thematic categories describing concessioners’ influence on sustainability; motivations and barriers to pursuing sustainability initiatives; and situational factors that facilitated concessioners’ sustainability actions. While participants commented on the negative environmental impacts of concessioners and their operations, these data suggest that concessioners were working individually and collaboratively to promote environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural sustainability in and around GTNP. Some concessioners were even described as leaders, testing and driving the development of innovative sustainability policies and practices. These actions were motivated, in part, by contractual obligations and profit generation. However, concessioners also had strong intangible motivators, such as intrinsic values and a strong sense of community, that drove their positive contributions to sustainability. Based on these data, we recommend that those involved in future theoretical and practical work with concessioners acknowledge the importance of both tangible and intangible motivators when attempting to promote higher levels of sustainability achievement and collaboration. This will become increasingly important as land management agencies continue to embrace strategies beyond the traditional “parks as islands” approach to management. Additionally, future work should explore more specifically the role of policy, conceptualizations of sustainability, and private industry sponsorship in promoting concessioners’ contributions to sustainability, especially in collaborative settings. This work is needed to understand if and how these observations generalize to other contexts.

Impacts of national parks on tourism: a case study from a prominent alpine national park

2009 ◽  
pp. 103-120
Author(s):  
Michael Getzner
Keyword(s):  
Development Strategy ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Tourism Development ◽  
Positive Trend ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Overnight Stays

-National parks and other categories of protected areas are often assumed to enhance regional economic development due to park tourism. The current study attempts to estimate the impact of the Hohe Tauern national park (Austria) on tourism by exploring whether and to what extent the national park may have had an influence on tourism development. For most national park communities, the results suggest that the establishment of the national park had some impact by enforcing an already positive trend or by weakening or reversing a negative trend of tourism. However, breakpoint tests exhibit turning points up to several years after the establishment of the park, indicating that taking a national park as the basis for tourism development is a medium to long term development strategy. In the short term, the impact of a national park on tourism is not measurable. Tourism increased by 1 to 3% annually after the breakpoint, indicating that the establishment of a national park has to be incorporated into the tourism and development strategy of a region right from the start. The causal relationship between the establishment of the national park and tourism development may be weak, in particular in communities where the difference between the actual and the forecast numbers of overnight stays is small. Marketing national park tourism and building up a brand or distinctive label may therefore contribute to regional development particularly in the long term.Key words: Tourism, national park, protected area, time series, stationarity, breakpoint test, ARIMA.JEL classifications: R110, L830, C220.Parole chiave: Turismo, parco nazionale, area protetta, serie temporale, stazionarietŕ, test di breakpoint, ARIMA.

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 Partnerships and Stakeholder Participation in the Management of National Parks: Experiences of the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. 399
Author(s):  
Walter Musakwa ◽  
Trynos Gumbo ◽  
Gaynor Paradza ◽  
Ephraim Mpofu ◽  
Nesisa Analisa Nyathi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Stakeholder Management ◽  
Stakeholder Participation ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
Natural Ecosystems ◽  
Parks Management ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

National parks play an important role in maintaining natural ecosystems which are important sources of income and livelihood sustenance. Most national parks in Southern Africa are managed by their states. Before 2007, Gonarezhou National Park was managed by the Zimbabwe Parks Management and Wildlife Authority, which faced challenges in maintaining its biodiversity, community relations and infrastructure. However, in 2017 the Frankfurt Zoological Society and the Zimbabwe Parks Management and Wildlife Authority formed an innovative partnership under the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust (GCT). This study examines the relationship between GCT management, Gonarezhou National Park stakeholders and communities as well as the impact of the relationship on biodiversity and ecosystems. The study also highlights challenges faced and lessons learned in managing Gonarezhou as a protected area. To obtain the information, key informant interviews, Landsat satellite imagery, secondary data from previous studies and government sources were utilized. The results indicate that the concerted efforts of the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust to manage the park are starting to bear fruit in improving biodiversity conservation, ecosystem management and engaging communities. However, challenges such as governance obstacles, problematic stakeholder management, maintaining trust in community relations, ensuring sustainability, managing the adverse impacts of climate change and human-wildlife conflicts must still be navigated to ensure the park’s sustainable management. Notwithstanding challenges, we argue that a partnership arrangement such as the Gonarezhou Conservation Trust is a desirable model that can be applied in national parks in Zimbabwe and Africa for better biodiversity management and tourism.

Assessment appraisal, disposal and transfer of neglected rangers’ diaries created from 1926 to 1930: case of the Kruger National Parks of South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nkholedzeni Sidney Netshakhuma
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
National Parks ◽  
National Park ◽  
Qualitative Methodology ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Content Type ◽  
National Archives ◽  
History Of ◽  
Parks Management

Purpose This paper aims to assess the appraisal, disposal and transfer of records of the Kruger National Park (KNP) rangers’ diaries processes from 1926 to 1930 with a view to recommend best practices. Design/methodology/approach The paper applied a qualitative methodology through document analysis, interviews and observations as data collection instruments to analyse contents of rangers’ diaries. The population of the study comprised rangers, a records manager and a representative from the National Archives of South Africa (NARSSA), a member of South Africa National Parks’ management and a scientist from South African National Biodiversity Institute. Findings The key findings revealed that rangers’ diaries contain historical, scientific and cultural information. However, such information is not disseminated to society. Lack of systematic appraisal, arrangement of records led to a loss of institutional memories. The role of National Archives and Records Service of South Africa is not visible to provide guidelines on the preservation of rangers’ records. Research limitations/implications This research is limited to KNP ranger’s diaries created from 1926 to 1930 because it is the period of establishment of the national park and introduction of rangers’ programme. Practical implications The findings are expected to be instrumental towards the preservation of rangers’ diaries within the park. Rangers’ diaries are also potentially of great biogeographical value in constituting a historical record of the plants and animals in a given area, their distribution and population changes, and the effects of human interventions such as game fences and artificially created waterholes, game culling and tourism, not to forget climate change. Social implications Preservation of ranger diaries may lead to documentation of records with historical, scientific and social value. Rangers’ diaries also form part of the national archival heritage of South Africa, as they bridge the gap of undocumented history of the rangers and national parks in South Africa. Originality/value This paper appears to be the first to research the assessment of the appraisal, disposal and transfer of rangers’ diaries created from 1926 to 1930.

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