M.C. Lötter

This chapter presents continental ecotonal biomes (CEBs) that straddle zonobiomes E1, E2, S1, S2, T3, and A4. Zonobiome E2 (tropical seasonal zone) creates the largest (and ecologically most complex) zonoecotonal units—either when straddling the zonobiome T3 Warm-Temperate Zone (AMG African Montane Grassland units, including those representing the...

The biomes of the zonobiome E2 Tropical Seasonal Zone occupy the largest portion of the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. This zone is also the dominant zonobiome of the studied MBSA. Physiognomically, the biomes of this zone are represented by savanna grasslands and woodlands, as well as Tropical Dry Forests (TDF). In bioclimatic term...

This chapter is devoted to the description of the basic biome fabric of the study region (MBSA) including six zonobiomes, eleven global biomes, twelve continental biomes, and 87 regional biomes are recognised. Furthermore, six zonoecotones accommodate six continental ecotonal biomes and 25 regional ecotonal biomes. Maps and climatic diagrams of the...

Afrotemperate forests are a representative of the zonobiome T3 Warm-Temperate Zone. The flagship regional biome of these evergreen forests dominated by species of such genera as Afrocarpus, Curtisia, Diospyros, Ilex, Nuxia, Ocotea, Olea, Olinia, Podocarpus, Pterocelastrus, Rapanea, Widdringtonia and many more, are the coastal Knysna-Tsitsikamma for...

The biomes of the southern portion of Africa, defined as the area south of an axis joining the Kunene and Zambezi Rivers, are mapped for the first time. The area covers nearly 3.4 million km2 and incorporates South Africa, Lesotho, eSwatini, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and southern Mozambique (south of the Zambezi River). This chapter sets out thi...

The subtropical forests of southern Africa represent a remarkable vegetation and ecological anomaly in that they extend as far as latitude 34° S, well into the warm-temperate thermic zone. Their occurrence at these extreme southerly latitudes can be ascribed to the strong onshore influence of the warm Agulhas Current of the Indian Ocean. The Southe...

Climatic, edaphic, and topographic differences between mountains and surrounding lowlands result in mountains acting as terrestrial islands with high levels of endemic biota. Conservation of mountains is thus key to successful biodiversity conservation. The Limpopo–Mpumalanga–Eswatini Escarpment (LMEE) in South Africa and the Kingdom of Eswatini is...

Systematic Conservation Planning (SCP) is a spatially explicit process used globally to prioritize conservation actions, but its effectiveness is difficult to quantify. In South Africa, terrestrial SCP processes are mainly used to identify important biodiversity areas outside of formal protected areas that are required to meet conservation targets....

The forests of South Africa and the neighbouring countries, including Lesotho, eSwatini, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique (south of the Zambezi River), were mapped and classified according to the global system of biomes. The new four-tier hierarchical biome system suggested in this paper includes zonobiome, global biome, continental biom...

The improved representation of freshwater and estuarine ecosystems and associated data was a key component of the 2018 National Biodiversity Assessment, and is an essential step in enhancing defensible land use planning and decision making. This paper reports on the enhancement of the National Wetland Map (NWM) version 5 for South Africa and other...

Van Deventer, H., Smith-Adao, L., Mbona, N., Petersen, C., Skowno, A., Collins, N.B., Grenfell, M., Job, N., Lötter, M., Ollis, D., Scherman, P., Sieben, E. & Snaddon, K. 2018. South African National Biodiversity Assessment 2018: Technical Report. Volume 2a: South African Inventory of Inland Aquatic Ecosystems (SAIIAE). Version 3, final released on...

Van Deventer, H.; Smith-Adao, L.; Collins, N.B.; Grenfell, M.; Grundling, A.; Grundling, P-L.; Impson, D.; Job, N.; Lötter, M.; Ollis, D.; Petersen, C.; Scherman, P.; Sieben, E.J.J.; Snaddon, K.; Tererai, F. & Van der Colff, D. 2019. South African National Biodiversity Assessment 2018: Technical Report. Volume 2b: Inland Aquatic (Freshwater) Compon...

Systematic conservation planning is intended to inform spatially explicit decision making. Doing so requires that it be integrated into complex regulatory and governance processes, and there are limited instances where this has been achieved effectively. South Africa is a global leader in the application of conservation plans, the outputs of which...

Systematic conservation planning and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are the two most widely used approaches for identifying important sites for biodiversity. However, there is limited advice for conservation policy makers and practitioners on when and how they should be combined. Here we provide such guidance, using insights from the recently develo...

Morphological and functional seed traits play an important role characterizing the species regeneration niche and can help understanding the reproductive biology of rare and threatened plants and support appropriate plant conservation measures. Seed morphometric and dispersal kinetics of the critically endangered Dioscorea strydomiana were measured...

This chapter brings the first comprehensive classification of the Eastern Scarp Forest. These are very fragmented and relictual forests, structurally complex, rich in tropical elements as well as species of conservation and horticultural value. Nearly all play an important cultural role for the local communities and deserve formal protection. Sixte...

The South African grassland biome is one of the most threatened biomes in South Africa. Approximately 45% of the grassland biome area is transformed, degraded or severely invaded by alien plants and the remaining natural areas are highly fragmented. In this fragmented landscape, the connectivity between habitat patches is very important to maintain...

This paper presents a hierarchical system of forest communities of Mpumalanga Province (South Africa) compatible with the existing South African National Forest Classification (NFC). It describes and interprets floristic and physiognomic differences between the communities and the relevant higher-rank vegetation unit. A total of 434 relevés (rectan...

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A new species Uvaria rovumae Deroin & Lotter, sp. nov. is described, illustrated and mapped from Cabo Delgado Province in northern Mozambique. Its morphology, as well as systematic affinities, habitat and conservation status are briefly discussed. Very similar to U. tanzaniae Verdc. by its habit, it differs mainly by its free sepals, inner petals s...

We present a test involving a large number of data-analytical techniques to identify a rigorous numerical classification method optimising on statistically identified faithful species. The test follows a stepwise filtering process involving various numerical-classification tools. Five steps were involved in the testing: (1) evaluation of 322 classi...

Taxonomic and nomenclatural notes on the monotypic genus Xymalos and general information on the family Monimiaceae.

This chapter describes good practices relating to interpreting and communicating Marxan outputs. Throughout this chapter we assume that Marxan is being used as recommended in the Marxan User Manual, version 1.8.10 (2008). Good practices related to the three categories of Marxan outputs (screen, tabular and spatial) are described. Although the inten...

In addition to setting ecological targets (see Chapter 4: Addressing Ecological Objectives through the Setting of Targets), there are a number of spatial reserve design considerations that can be addressed using Marxan. These include options to set minimum patch sizes for specific features (to allow for the capture of ecological processes that oper...

The integration of freshwater and terrestrial biodiversity priorities in systematic conservation planning is a major challenge to conservation planners. Maintaining upstream–downstream connectivity and the influence of catchments on freshwater ecological integrity are some of the issues that make it difficult to reconcile terrestrial and freshwater...

http://redlist.sanbi.org/species.php?species=3800-27

This is an extract of this Grassland Biome chapter from the pre-publication PDF of the book Mucina, L., & Rutherford, M.C. (eds). Reprint 2011. The Vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Strelitzia 19. South African Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria. ISBN: 978-1919976-21-1

Introduction The core of this book is the vegetation map of the region which is the culmination of many years of work by many people. The vegetation units described become far more useful when they are made spatially explicit and the dimensions, distribu¬tion and shapes of each vegetation unit cannot adequately be described by text alone. Also th...

Mixed evergreen forests form the smallest, most widely distributed and fragmented biome in southern Africa. Within South Africa, 44% of this vegetation type has been transformed. Afromontane forest only covers 0.56 % of South Africa, yet it contains 5.35% of South Africa's plant species. Prior to this investigation of the indigenous forests on the...

Appendix 1. Forest flora in 22 relevés on Blyde River Canyon Nature Reserve