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 The influence of the 1991/92 drought on the woody vegetation of the Kruger National Park

Koedoe ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
A.J. Viljoen
Keyword(s):  
National Park ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
General Area ◽  
Variable Intensity ◽  
The North ◽  
Olifants River ◽  
Area North ◽  
The Impact

All observations and data related to the impact of the 1991/92 drought on the woody vegetation, excluding the riverine vegetation of major rivers, are summarised. This includes data from a visual estimate of damage from aerial photographs, surveys on selected sites, and general observations. Despite lower rainfall, the area north of the Olifants River (excluding the far-northern part) was less affected than the area south of it, suggesting that the woody vegetation in the north is more adapted to drought. A characteristic of the drought was the localised distribution pattern and variable intensity of damage to the same species in the same general area. Information on 31 species are presented briefly. Although a large number of woody species was to some extent damaged, when the woody vegetation is considered as a whole, the influence of the drought was not very severe.

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 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.

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.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Multiple Drivers Determining Woody Species Composition and Structure: A Case Study from the Kalahari, Botswana

Land ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meyer ◽  
Holloway ◽  
Christiansen ◽  
Miller ◽  
D’Odorico ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Species Abundance ◽  
Woody Species ◽  
Environmental Variable ◽  
Woody Vegetation ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Rainfall Gradient ◽  
Composition And Structure ◽  
Species Richness And Abundance ◽  
The Impact

Savannas are extremely important socio-economic landscapes, with pastoralist societies relying on these ecosystems to sustain their livelihoods and economy. Globally, there is an increase of woody vegetation in these ecosystems, degrading the potential of these multi-functional landscapes to sustain societies and wildlife. Several mechanisms have been invoked to explain the processes responsible for woody vegetation composition; however, these are often investigated separately at scales not best suited to land-managers, thereby impeding the evaluation of their relative importance. We ran six transects at 15 sites along the Kalahari transect, collecting data on species identity, diversity, and abundance. We used Poisson and Tobit regression models to investigate the relationship among woody vegetation, precipitation, grazing, borehole density, and fire. We identified 44 species across 78 transects, with the highest species richness and abundance occurring at Kuke (middle of the rainfall gradient). Precipitation was the most important environmental variable across all species and various morphological groups, while increased borehole density and livestock resulted in lower bipinnate species abundance, contradicting the consensus that these managed features increase the presence of such species. Rotating cattle between boreholes subsequently reduces the impact of trampling and grazing on the soil and maintains and/or reduces woody vegetation abundance.

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