Die plantekologie van die Waterberg Platopark

[摘要] English: The object of this study is to provide a foundation for management basedon sound scientific procedures.To classify the vegetation into different homogenous plant communities,the wellknown Braun-Blanquet-technique was used. A monitorsystem wasapplied to determine baseline data to evaluate future changes in theplant composition. The basal cover and relative frequency of the grasseswere determined by using an altered wheelpoint method. The productionof the standing crop was obtained by using the tuft-clipping method andquadrat clipping method. The production of the available browsing ofthe trees and shrubs was also calculated. The key fodder plants of themost numerous animal, the eland, was obtained through a feed preferencestudy. The standing crop of these key plants was used to provide a systemwhich could be utilized to classify the plant communities according tothe feeding preferences of animals.The vegetation of the Waterberg~plateau Park can be described as a homogenous deciduous tree savanna where the shrub layer has become closed thicketAcacia atxacantha,. The vegetation of the Waterberg-plateau Park wasclassified into six major communities which were divided into a further 23smaller units. The absence of well defined ecotones was apparent especiallybetween the TerminaZia sericea-plant communities. These deep sand communitiescover the greatest (29 000 ha) part of the game park, followed bythe PeZtophorum africanum-rock communities which cover more or less10 000 ha.According to the results obtained from the monitoring project, certainpalatable grass species, for example Anthephora pubescens and Digitariapolevansii did benefit by the veld fires while SporoboZus fimbriatus wasadversely affected. Similar observations which are important for managementwere made 1n the tree and shrub layers where the unpalatable Ochnapulchra proved to be sensitive to fire. This species is also partly responsible for the scrub encroachment.For the rest very few changes were observed in the plant composition.According to results determined by other workers and the quadrat-clippingmethod, the standing crop values obtained by the tuft-clipping methodwas too high. The highest standing crop (946 kg ha-1) is furnished bythe Anthephora pubescens - Eragrostis superba-plant community. Accordingto the carrying capacity determinations the Terminalia sericea - Melhaniaacuminata-plant community can sustain the highest number of animals, whilethe gamepark as a whole can carry more or less 2000 grazers. The resultsacquired from food preference study has indicated that although the elandis a selective feeder, it utilizes a wide range (42 species) of plantspecies. It was observed that during winter the eland ate herbs and agreat amount of dry leaves off the ground. Terminalia sericea andLonchocarpus nelsii proved to be very high on the preference list of theseanimals.With the help of the standing crop of the key fodder plant species of theeland, it was determined that the woody Terminalia sericea - Melhaniaacuminata-plant community is the best eland habitat in the game park.The available knowledge, obtained from this project, was used to providethe park with the necessary recommendations to place the future managementon a sound scientific basis.

[发布机构] University of the Free State