The present status of vegetation conservation in South Africa - Bothalia

Boihalia 14, 3 & 4: 991-995 (1983)

The present status of vegetation conservation in South Africa J. C . S C H E E P E R S *

A B ST RA C T Progress with the conservation of representative stands of the great variety of South African ecosystems, as represented by vegetation types, is reviewed against progress towards better co-ordinated and national planning of the various conservation activities pursued by different conservation authorities.

RESUME LE STATUT ACTUEL DE LA CONSERVATION DE LA VEGETATION EN AFRIQUE DU SUD Les progrês obtenus dans la conservation de zones représentatives de la grande variété d'écosystêmes sud-africains, tels qu'ils sont représentés par des types de végétation, sont examinés en les comparant avec ceux réalisés pour établir un programme á l'échelle nationale et mieux coordonné des diverses activités ,de conservation poursuivies par différentes autorités responsables.

A great d e a l has h a p p e n e d d u r in g the sixteen years since the 1966 A E T F A T m e e tin g o n ‘C o n s e r ­ v a tio n o f v e g e ta tio n in A fr ic a s o u th o f the S a h a r a ’ . T his p a p e r can o n ly s u m m a riz e the m a in d e v e lo p ­ m e n ts, assess tre n d s a n d a tte m p t to d e riv e c o n c lu sio n s re g a rd in g th e prese nt status o f v e g e ta tio n in S o u th A fr ic a .

co n se rv a tio n

In the lig h t o f H e d b e r g ’s (1976) follow - u p r e p o rt, it is necessary to refer to the U p p s a la m e e tin g w he re C o d d (1968) in his re g io n a l synthesis p o in te d o u t th a t greater co - o rd in a tio n was n e e d e d b e tw e e n the v ario u s b o d ie s c o n c e rn e d w ith c o n s e rv a tio n o f in d ig e n o u s v e g e ta tio n . T his is g ra d u a lly c o m in g a b o u t a n d w ill be refe rre d to a g a in . A t the 1966 A E T F A T m e e tin g , R y c r o ft, r e p o r t­ in g o n the s itu a tio n in th e C a p e P ro v in c e , r e c o m m e n d e d the cre a tio n o f extensive n a tu re reserves to conserve m o u n ta in fy n b o s , K a r o o S u c c u le n t S te p p e , S u b d e se rt ( K a r o o S h r u b a n d G ra s s ), a n d su bd ese rt S te p p e , u sin g the n o m e n c la ­ ture o f the A E T F A T v e g e ta tio n m a p (K e a y , 1959). A ls o u sin g the A E T F A T n o m e n c la tu r e , K illic k , briefly d e scrib ed the five v e g e ta tio n types in the T ra n sv aa l a n d discussed th e ir c o n se rv a tio n status at th a t tim e . H e suggested th a t it w o u ld be fa r m o re de sirab le fo r co n se rv a tio n status o f v e g e ta tio n types to be assessed o n the basis o f A c o c k s ’s V e ld T ypes (1975) rath e r th a n th e v e g e ta tio n types used in the A E T F A T m a p . H e r e c o m m e n d e d th a t each v eld type s h o u ld c o n ta in o n e o r m o re reserves c o n ta in in g a repre sen tativ e stan d o f th e v eld type. T his view im m e d ia te ly g a in e d w id e ac ceptance th r o u g h o u t S o u th A fr ic a . K illic k also suggested th a t steps s h o u ld be ta k e n to conserve all forest — eve n o n p riv a te ly o w n e d la n d .

assessing a d e q u a c y o f c o n se rv a tio n co v erag e. T hey r e c o m m e n d e d th a t p r o te c tio n be e x te n d e d to s u ita b le stands o f sw a m p fore st, m a n g ro v e s , coast forest a n d d u n e forest. R o b e r ts discussed fo u r A E T F A T v e g e ta tio n types fo u n d in the O r a n g e F ree S tate . H e r e c o m m e n d e d th a t p r o te c tio n be g iv e n to th e tw o m a in v a ria tio n s o f w o o d e d stepp e (A cacia S a v a n n a ) e q u iv a le n t to A c o c k s ’s V e ld T y p e N o . 16 (K a la h a r i T h o r n v e ld a n d S h r u b B u s h v e ld ). H e also r e c o m m e n d e d th a t a gre ater are a s h o u ld be co nse rve d o f the su bd ese rt stepp e ( K a r r o id G r a s s la n d ) o f v a rio u s types. A s p o in te d o u t by H e d b e r g (1 9 7 6 ), the la tte r n e e d has b e e n p a rtia lly m e t by T ussen- die- R iviere G a m e F a rm . A g a in s t the fo re g o in g h isto rica l b a c k g r o u n d , a m ile sto n e was rea che d w ith the review o f the status o f c o n s e rv a tio n in the R e p u b lic o f S o u th A fr ic a , b e in g a S o u th A fr ic a n c o n tr ib u tio n to S e ctio n C T ( C o n s e r v a tio n o f T errestrial C o m m u n itie s ) o f the In te r n a tio n a l B io lo g ic a l P r o g r a m m e . W h ile the in v e stig atio n s re p o rte d o n w ere s tim u la te d by th e in te r n a tio n a l p r o g r a m m e , the accent o f the review was o n n a tio n a l ra th e r th a n in te r n a tio n a l needs. O f p rim e im p o r ta n c e was the re p o rt o f E d w a rd s (197 4), o n a b r o a d survey o f th e c o n se rv a tio n status o f S o u th A fr ic a n v e g e ta tio n . S tatistical d a ta a n d m ap s sh o w e d the d is tr ib u tio n a n d to ta l areas co nse rve d by v ario u s c o n s e rv a tio n ag encies, th e size d is tr ib u tio n o f n a tu re reserves, a n d the areas a n d pe rcen tage s o f co nse rve d areas in re la tio n to A c o c k s ’s 70 v eld types a n d seven m a in v e g e ta tio n types. M a jo r c o n se rv a­ tio n de ficiencie s lay in the K a r o o a n d K a r r o id B u s h v e ld a n d G ra s s la n d v e g e ta tio n types, w he re 42 veld types h a d n o o r p ra c tic a lly n o c o n s e rv a tio n . In the T ro p ic a l B u s h a n d S a v a n n a T ypes, n in e v eld types w ere fo u n d to be ex tre m e ly la c k in g in co n se rv a tio n . A d d it io n a l reserves w ere seen to be n e e d e d to conserve ce rta in im p o r ta n t a n d local

B a y e r, B ig a lk e a n d C rass sim ila rly d e scrib ed the occurren ce o f the five A E T F A T v e g e ta tio n types in N a ta l, a n d discussed th e ir c o n se rv a tio n status. B y im p lic a tio n , th e y also suggested th a t the A E T F A T v e g e ta tio n types w ere n o t su ffic ie n tly fin e for

ecosystem s a n d species in the r e m a in in g 18 v e ld types, espe cially the S c le ro p h y llo u s B u s h (F y n b o s )

* Botanical Research Institute, Department of Agriculture, Private Bag X101, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.

a n d T e m p e ra te a n d T ra n s itio n a l F orest a n d S cru b T ypes a n d in ce rtain C o a s ta l T ro p ic a l F orest a n d T h o r n v e ld T ypes. A p a r t fr o m m in o r sh o rtc o m in g s , th e c o n s e rv a tio n status was o u ts ta n d in g fo r six o f

992

T H E PRESEN T STATUS O F V E G E T A T IO N C O N S E R V A T IO N IN S O U T H A F R IC A

these 18 v e ld types ( u p to 46 pe r cent co n se rv e d ) a n d very g o o d fo r a n o th e r six v e ld types. M e a n w h ile , th e N a tio n a l C o m m itte e fo r N a tu r e C o n s e rv a tio n ( N A K O R ) h a d b e e n e sta b lish e d in 1963 to p r o m o te a n d co - ordinate n a tu re co n se rv a­ tio n in S o u th A fr ic a th r o u g h co - o pe ra tio n b e tw e e n a ll o f th e o ffic ia l n a tu re c o n s e rv a tio n b o d ie s , w ith o u t in an y w ay d e tra c tin g fr o m the a u to n o m y o f an y o f these b o d ie s. N A K O R in itia te d a N a tio n a l P la n fo r N a tu r e C o n s e rv a tio n at the reque st o f th e th e n D e p a r tm e n t o f P la n n in g a n d the E n v ir o n m e n t (n o w the D e p a r tm e n t o f E n v ir o n m e n t A ffa ir s ) th a t w o u ld in te g rate a n d co - ordinate the N a tio n a l P la n fo r N a tu r e C o n s e rv a tio n w ith o th e r p la n n in g to w a rd s the N a tio n a l P hysical D e v e lo p m e n t P la n a n d re g io n a l d e v e lo p m e n t p lan s. A series o f q u e stio n n a ire s was d ra w n u p a n d sent o u t to th e co n se rv a tio n b o d ie s c o n c e rn e d , a n d this exercise is re p e a te d a n n u a lly to u p d a te the N a tio n a l P la n . T hese q u e stio n n a ire s relate to ex isting p e rm a n e n t c o n se rv a tio n areas, p la n n e d o r p ro p o s e d c o n se rv a tio n areas, a n d r e m a in in g fu tu r e c o n se rv a­ tio n needs. T h e a d e q u a c y o f ex isting a n d p la n n e d fu tu re co v erag e, a n d th e r e m a in in g fu tu re c o n se rv a­ tio n n eed s are assessed fr o m d iffe re n t p o in ts o f v ie w ,

e .g . c o n se rv a tio n o f v e ld types, c o n se rv a tio n special p la n t c o m m u n itie s , a n d c o n s e rv a tio n special h a b ita ts o f th r e a te n e d species.

T o d a te , facilitie s fo r the stora ge, re trie v al a n d processing o f d a ta a n d fo r m a p p in g h av e b e e n p r o v id e d by the B o ta n ic a l R e se a rc h In s titu te o f the D e p a r tm e n t o f A g r ic u ltu r e . U n t il recen tly the B o ta n ic a l R e s e a rc h In s titu te p r o v id e d the services o f a part- tim e #c o - o rd in a to r a n d part- tim e te c h n ic a l s u p p o rt. T he D e p a r tm e n t o f E n v ir o n m e n t A ffa ir s n o w p ro v id e s a full- tim e co - o rd in a to r w ith s u p p o r t­ in g staff, as w e ll as the S e c re ta ria t, a n d w ill so o n assum e re sp o n sib ility m a p p in g .

FYNBOS

pro cessing

and

q u e stio n n a ire s a n d m a p s are used at p la n n in g w o rk sh o p s to d e te rm in e c o n se rv a tio n p rio ritie s at n a tio n a l a n d p ro v in c ia l levels. W it h reg ard to the c o n s e rv a tio n o f v e g e ta tio n , T a b le 1 p ro v id e s a b r ie f s u m m a r y o f th e cu rre n t

OF SO UTH A F R IC A ( Provisional) & J.C. Scheepers(l982)

SUBTROPICAL CO AST F O R E S T /T H IC K E T TROPICAL

d a ta

vals. C o m p ila tio n s o f in fo r m a tio n d e riv e d fr o m the

22°

O. Edwards

fo r

T h e N a tio n a l P la n fo r N a tu r e C o n s e rv a tio n is an on- going p ro je c t o f a n o p en - e nd ed n a tu re . T h e d a ta base is a n n u a lly u p d a te d , a n d m ap s a n d c o ­ o r d in a te d p lan s are rev ie w e d at c o n v e n ie n t in te r ­

~r B IO M E S

of of

LOWLAND (COAST) FOREST

MONTANE FO RE ST-G RA SS LAND A F R O -A LP IN E G R A S S -H E A T H GRASSLAND MOIST W O O DLAN O /TH IC KET DRV W O O DLAN O /TH IC KE T MIXED WOODLANDS S E M I- A R ID

F ig . 1.— Provisional map of the biomes of South Africa.

J. C. S C H E E P E R S TABLE 1. — Percentage areas conserved o f various veld types (NB. These statistics are based on questionnairederived data and are subject to error) Veld Type No.

Area o f Veld T ype(ha)

Area o f Veld Type conserved (ha)

Percentage o f area o f Veld Type conserved %

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48

2 639 950,0 210 890,0 83310,0 402 090,0 1 196580,0 356 450,0 645 520,0 952 840,0 1 194 180,0 2 379710,0 1 900 450,0 587 920,0 839 350.0 1 822 050,0 2 086 810,0 13 908 190,0 1 804 570,0 3 986 720,0 3 448 180,0 1 301 870,0 389 150,0 462 230,0 2716710,0 J74 350,0 935 880,0 3 378 590,0 1 956 930,0 2 135 760,0 7 688 440,0 1 115 240,0 3714910,0 3714 190,0 2810590,0 733 540,0 2 783 870,0 5 983 060,0 1 107 060,0 119 150,0 119 540,0 617 420,0 121 750,0 225 870,0 621 280,0 3 173 780,0 394 480,0 178 880,0 928 870,0 3 753 160,0

34 367 150 3 400 13901 11 144 21 200 200 30 559 77 133 528 840 590 835 0 300 4 766 853 067 986 826 700 63 384 15 293 50 901 35 0 29 720 0 6 900 4710 320 1 760 760 0 540 9 485 4 600 3 306 0 63 849 11 521 0 0 0 0 2 849 75 177 101 397 618 10530 22 503 903

1,30 0,07 4,08 3,46 0,93 5,95 0,03 3,21 6,46 22,2 31,1 0 0,04 0,26 40,9 7,0 0,04 1,59 0,44 2,27 0,009 0 1,09 0 0,74 0,14 0,02 0,08 0,01 0 0,01 0,25 0,16 0,45 0 1,06 1,04 0 0 0 0 1,26 12,10 3,19 0,15 0,59 2,42 0,02

49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

1 714 730,0 4 707 150,0 275 780,0 1 079 790,0 1 211 510,0 290 240,0 62 910,0 989 980,0 1 475 200,0 980 080,0 256 720,0 1 522 320,0 3 003 360,0 151 940.0 788 830,0 540 580,0 1 843 740,0 577 160,0 248 990,0 67 330,0 1 980 130,0 1 747 290,0

7 300 13530 0 0 0 379 0 1 206 1 000 63 493 0 1 249 17 148 0 6 075 1 1 415 3 829 0 0 0 664 303 37 508

0,43 0,29 0 0 0 0,13 0 0,12 0,68 6,48 0 0,082 0,57 0 0,77 2,11 0,21 0 0 0 33,55 2,15

993

co n se rv a tio n status o f v e ld types. T h e n am e s o f the v ario us v eld types are g iven in the A p p e n d ix . T o fa c ilitate u n d e r s ta n d in g , the v eld types are g ro u p e d in to several b io m e types as m a p p e d in F ig. 1. O n this basis, the co n se rv a tio n status o f the v ario u s b io m e s can be assessed (T a b le 2). A n im p o r ta n t p o in t to re m e m b e r in e v a lu a tin g the co n se rv a tio n coverage o f v eld types is th a t a n u m b e r o f veld types, n a m e ly the so-called ‘false ’ v eld types o f A c o c k s , are sec o n dary , h a v in g b e e n d e riv e d fr o m the o r ig in a l n a tu ra l v e g e ta tio n as a result o f o v e rg ra zin g a n d tr a m p lin g , ov e r- b urning , a n d also u n d e r- u tiliza tio n a n d selective g ra zin g . It w o u ld seem p o in tle ss to conserve a n d m a in ta in these in th e ir ab u se d state by c o n tin u e d m a lp ra c tic e , fa ilin g w h ic h th e y w ill revert to the m o re n a tu r a l c o n d itio n , as is h a p p e n in g in the T ussen-die-Riviere G a m e F a rm in the F alse U p p e r K a r o o (W e r g e r, 1973). F r o m T a b le 2 it w ill be seen th a t the c o n s e rv a tio n status o f th e G r a s s la n d B io m e , p a rtic u la rly the H ig h v e ld G ra s s la n d s , is p a rtic u la rly lo w . T his is cause fo r grave c o n c e rn o w in g to the serious th re a t p o sed by a g ric u ltu ra l in te n s ific a tio n a n d o th e r d e v e lo p m e n ts . T o s u m m a riz e th e prese nt p o s itio n , it can be seen th a t, a lth o u g h chang es have ta k e n place since the survey o f E d w a r d s (197 4), th e g e n e ral pic tu re re m a in s s u b sta n tia lly the sam e as p re v io u sly re p o rte d . T he p re p o n d e ra n c e o f c o n s e rv a tio n e ffo rt is c o n c e n tra te d in the v eld types o f the eastern a n d so u th e rn parts o f S o u th A fr ic a . In c o n tra st, a lm o s t n e g lig ib le c o n s e rv a tio n is fo u n d in th e sem i-arid to arid w estern parts o f the co u n try . R e g a r d in g th e co n se rv a tio n o f special p la n t c o m m u n itie s , the in fo r m a tio n to da te is p a tc h y an d reflects the fact th a t n o sta n d a rd ac ce p ta b le list o f special p la n t c o m m u n itie s exists at prese nt. N e v e r­ theless, m u c h in te re stin g in fo r m a tio n has c o m e to lig h t b u t m u c h m o re d a ta are still re q u ire d . T he s ta n d a rd iz a tio n o f S o u th A fr ic a n p la n t- c o m m u n ity n o m e n c la tu r e is n o w receiv ing a tte n tio n a n d this w ill h e lp to system atize the c o n se rv a tio n o f special p la n t c o m m u n itie s a n d p u t it o n a s o u n d fo o tin g . W it h regard to K illic k ’s re p o rt at th e 1966 A E T F A T m e e tin g , the first step to w a rd s the all- em bracin g co n se rv a tio n o f forest has b e e n ta k e n . T he W ild life S ociety o f S o u th e r n A fr ic a has la u n c h e d a survey, e n listin g the co - ope ration o f its w id e m e m b e r s h ip in c lu d in g p r e d o m in a n tly th e lay p u b lic , to ascertain th e answ ers to the fo llo w in g qu e stio n s: W h e r e are all th e forests o n p riv a te la n d ? W h a t is th e ir c o n d itio n ? Is th e ir c o n tin u e d existence th re a te n e d in an y w a y ? W h a t special feature s d istin g u ish each forest? W h ic h forests s h o u ld be selected fo r co n se rv a tio n a c tio n ? T h e B o ta n ic a l R e se arch In s titu te w ill p ro v id e p ro fe ssio n a l a n d te c h n ical assistance w he re re q u ire d . A re p o rt w ill be s u b m itte d to N A K O R in d u e course. T he p o s itio n in reg ard to the c o n se rv a tio n o f th re a te n e d p la n t species gives cause fo r c o n c e rn . A m a jo r h a n d ic a p b o th fo r the o ffic ia l co n se rv a tio n agencies a n d fo r N A K O R in its fu n c tio n o f co - o rd ina ting co n se rv a tio n activities a n d p la n s , has b e en the la c k , u n til rec en tly , o f an a u th o r ita tiv e list o f th re a te n e d p la n t species. T h e W o r k in g G r o u p fo r T h re a te n e d P la n t Species ( o f the T errestrial B io lo g y

994

T H E PRESEN T STATUS O F V E G E T A T IO N C O N S E R V A T IO N IN S O U T H A F R IC A

T A B L E 2. - Conservation status o f South African biomes (w ith regional subtypes). The statistics are based on questionnaire-derived data and are subject to error

Biome -

Regional subtype

(w ith percentage area o f South Africa and actual extent covered)

Area conserved ha

1.

Fynbos biom e (3,96%; 48 351,7 k m 2 ) (a) Mountain Fynbos (& Forest) (3,05%; 37 274,2 k m 2)

Percentage area conserved %

734 844

15,19

701 811

18,8

Veld types 69 & 70 (b) 2.

(b)

4.

South-eastern

(1,2%; 14326,0 k m 2 ) Veld type 1 (south o f St Lucia) Southern (Alexandria Forest) (0,17%; 2 108,9 k m 2)

Veld type 2 Tropical low land (coast) forest biom e Veld type 1 (north of St Lucia) (3.85%; 46 985,0 k m 2 ) M ontane forest biom e (2,74%; 33 466,7 k m 2) (a) (b)

5.

33 033

(0,91%; 1 1 077,5 k m ! )

Veld types 46 & 47 Subtropical coast forest biom e (1,42%; 116434,9 k m 2) (a)

3.

Lowland Fynbos

Montane

(0,91 %; 11139,5 k m 2 ) Veld types 4,44 & 45 Submontane (1,83%; 22 327,2 k m 2 )

Veld types 3,5 & 8 Afro-alpine grass-heath biom e (8,03%; 9 800,8 k m 2)

2,98

23 267

1,60

23 117

1,61

150

0,07

115 916

2,5

161 019 115916

6,86 10,4

45 103

2,02

63 493

6,48

64 034 21 319

0,26 0,57

(including Subalpine) Veld type 58 6.

South African grassland biom e (20,7%; 243 124,3 k m 2 ) (a)

7.

Eastern Grasslands

(3,07%; 37 503,1 k m 2)

Veld types 63, 64, 65 & 66 (16,84%; 205 621,2 k m 2) Veld types 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 59, 60, 61, 62, 68 Moist w oodland biom e (including scrub and savanna intergrades) (1,8%; 21 961,5 k m 2 )

(b)

Highveld Grasslands

4 2 715

0,21

98 533

4,49

(a)

Eastern

98 333

6,34

200

0,03

(1,27%; 15 506,3 k m 2 )

Veld types 6 & 9 (b) 8

(0,53%; 6 4 5 5 ,2 k m 2 )

Veld type 7 Dry w oodland biom e (including scrub and savanna intergrades) (1,99%; 24 292,1 k m 2 ) (a)

9.

South-eastern

Mopane

(1,71 %; 20 868,1 k m 2 ) Veld type 15 (b) Pteleopsis — Newtonia Dry Forest/Thicket (0,28%; 3 424,0 k m 2) Veld types 1 & 10 (bo th in northern part o f St Lucia) Savanna biom e (including scrub) (28,9%; 353 150,3 k m 2 ) (a) (b)

Transvaal Bushveld

(9,4%; 114 796,7 k m 2 ) Veld types 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 67 Eastern Transvaal Lowveld (3,5%; 42 801,6 k m 2)

860 884

3,5

853 067

40,88

7817

2,28

227 160 134 644

6,43 1,17

1 119 675

26,16

987 526

6,28

Veld types 10 & 11 (c)

Kalahari Scrub and Thornveld

(12,87%; 157 127,6 k m 2 )

Veld types 16 & 17 (d) 10.

South-eastern Karroid Scrub and Thornveld

(3,15%; 38 424,4 k m 2 )

Veld types 21, 22, 23, 24 Karoo (26,27%; 320 759,48 k m 2 ) (a)

Succulent Karoo

(6,71 %; 81 949,2 k m 2 )

29 755 181 277

0,7

11 206

0,565 0,137

92212

0,565

77 859

1,03

8 446

6,43

Veld types 25, 31, 33, 34, 39 (b)

Central Karoo

(13,37%; 163 241,38 k m 2)

Veld types 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 35, 40, 43 11.

(c) Karoo - Grass Transition (6,19%; 75 568,9 k m 2 ) N am ib desert biom e (0,167%; 1313 k m 2) Small parts o f Veld types 3 1 ,3 3 and 34 in vicinity o f lower Orange River

995

J. C. S C H E E P E R S

S e ctio n o f th e N a tio n a l P r o g r a m m e fo r E n v ir o n ­ m e n ta l Sciences) has b e e n w o r k in g fo r several years to d ra w u p a list o f th re a te n e d p la n t species. T his has n o w b e e n p u b lis h e d ( H a ll et al., 1980) a n d a le a d can be giv en to th e c o n se rv a tio n agencies. T h e list is essentially a first d ra ft a n d m u c h m o re research needs to be d o n e b e fo re the c o n se rv a tio n o f th re a te n e d p la n t species can be p la n n e d a n d p u t in to

18 19 20

III A

FA LSE B U S H V E L D TYPES 21 False Thornveld of Eastern Cape 22 Invasion of Grassland by Thorn

IV

K A R O O A N D K A R R O ID TYPES 23 Valley Bushveld 24 The Noorsveld 25 S u c c u le n t M o u n t a in S c ru b (Spekboomveld) 26 Karroid Broken Veld 27 Central Upper Karoo 28 Western Mountain Karoo 29 Arid Karoo 30 Central Lower Karoo 31 Succulent Karoo 32 The Orange River Broken Veld 33 The Namaqualand Broken Veld 34 Strandveld

IV A

FA LSE K A R O O TYPES 35 False Arid Karoo 36 False Upper Karoo 37 False Karroid Broken Veld 38 False Central Lower Karoo 39 False Succulent Karoo 40 False Orange River Broken Veld 41 Pan Turf Veld Invaded by Karoo 42 Karroid Merxmuellera Mountain Veld Replaced by Karoo 43 Mountain Rhenosterbosveld

practice o n a scien tific basis. In

b rie f, w h ile there are e n c o u ra g in g signs o f

progress, it is cle ar th a t the c o n se rv a tio n status o f the S o u th A fr ic a n flo ra a n d v e g e ta tio n is still d e fic ie n t in a n u m b e r o f respects. T o m a k e g o o d these de ficien cie s is a c h a lle n g in g a n d im p o r ta n t task th a t w ill d e m a n d a great d e a l o f h a rd w o rk in the years a h e a d . ACKNOW LEDGM ENTS

I w ish to express m y g ra te fu l th a n k s to D r S. S. d u Plessis, C h a ir m a n o f N A K O R , fo r p e rm issio n to use statistics d e riv e d fr o m the d a ta b a n k o f th e N A K O R N a tio n a l P la n fo r N a tu r e C o n s e rv a tio n . I a m also greatly in d e b te d to M isses A . P. B a c k e r a n d E . C . A . S m ith fo r th e ir h e lp in p re p a rin g T ab le s 1 a n d 2. REFERENCES A c o c k s, J. P. H ., 1975. V eld types o f South A frica. Mem. bot.

Surv. S. Afr. 40.

T E M P E R A T E A N D T R A N S IT IO N A L F O REST A N D S C R U B TYPES 44 Highland Sourveld and Dohne Sourveld 45 Natal Mist Belt 'nGongoni Veld 46 Coastal Rhenosterbosveld 47 Coastal Macchia

C o d d , L. E. W ., 1968. Regional synthesis. In I. & O . Hedberg,

Conservation of vegetation in Africa south of the Sahara. Acta Phytogeogr. Suec. 54: 257-260. E d w a r d s , D . , 1974. Survey to determine the adequacy of existing

conserved areas in relation to vegetation types. A preliminary report. Koedoe 17: 3-38. H a l l , A . V ., D e W in t e r , M ., D e W in t e r , B. & V a n O o s t e r h o u t , S. A. M ., 1980. Threatened plants of southern Africa. S. A . National Scientific Programmes Report No. 45. H e d b e r g , I., 1976. Follow-up of the A ET FA T meeting at Uppsala in 1966 on ‘Conservation of vegetation in Africa south of the Sahara’. Boissiera 24: 437 -441. K e a y , R. W . J., 1959. Vegetation map of Africa south of the Tropic of Cancer. London: Oxford University Press. W e r g e r , M. J. A ., 1973. A n account of the plant communities of Tussen-die-Riviere Game Farm, Orange Free State. Bothalia 11: 165-176.

VI

P U R E G R A S S V E L D TYPES 48 Cymbopogon-Themeda Veld 49 T r a n s i t i o n a l Cym bopogon —Themeda Veld 50 Dry Cymbopogon-Themeda Veld 51 Pan Turf Veld 52 Themeda Veld or Turf Highveld 53 Patchy Highveld to Cymbopo­ gon-Themeda Veld Transition 54 Turf Highveld to Highland Sourveld Transition 55 Bankenveld to Turf Highveld Transition 56 Highland Sourveld to Cymbo­ pogon-Themeda Veld Transition 57 North-Eastern Sandy Highveld 58 Themeda—Festuca Alpine Veld 59 Stormberg Plateau Sweetveld 60 Karroid Merxmuellera Mountain Veld

VI A

FA L SE G R A S S V E L D TYPES 61 Bankenveld 62 Bankenveld to Sour Sandveld Transition 63 Piet Retief Sourveld 64 Northern Tall Grassveld 65 Southern Tall Grassveld 66 Natal Sour Sandveld 67 Pietersburg Plateau False Grassveld 68 Eastern Province Grassveld

V II

S C L E R O P H Y L L O U S BU SH TYPES 69 Fynbos

V II A

FA L SE S C L E R O P H Y L L O U S BU SH TYPES 70 False Fynbos

A P P E N D IX : V E L D TYPES C O A S T A L T R O P IC A L FO R E S T TYPES Veld Type No. 1 Coastal Forest and Thornveld 2 The Alexandria Forest 3 The Pondoland Coastal Plateau Sourveld 4 The Knysna Forest 5 The ’nGongoni Veld 6 The Zululand Thornveld 7 The Eastern Province Thornveld IN L A N D T R O P IC A L FO R E S T TYPES 8 North-eastern Mountain Sourveld 9 Lowveld Sour Bushveld III

T R O P IC A L B U SH A N D S A V A N N A T Y P E S (B U S H V E L D ) 10 Lowveld 11 Arid Lowveld 12 Springbok Flats Turf Thornveld 13 Other Turf Thornveld 14 Arid Sweet Bushveld 15 Mopani Veld 16 Kalahari Thornveld 17 Kalahari Thornveld Invaded by Karoo

Mixed Bushveld Sourish Mixed Bushveld Sour Bushveld